feedingfaith » Your Will

Deciding to break the rules

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:10:02 +0000

Hello readers. I apologize for not blogging in a while. I confess that I’ve broken one of my own rules. You know — the rules that I set back in September when I returned to work after a month long vacation with a “new attitude”. I was not going to get back into the pattern of working 14 hours days 6 days a week. Well– I did really well at that for a while and then the dung hit the proverbial fan. I found myself planning the purchase of a new condo, my organization’s relocation to a new office, a tenth anniversary gala, and the submission of 2 federal grants, as well as developing a whole new set of policies that we need to have in place before we move from under the auspices of our current host. Each one of those major projects has many moving parts. Frankly, it would be impossible for the most experienced, most educated, most energetic human being to accomplish all these things in a timely fashion by working a normal 8 hour day. Now please understand, I’m not saying this to complain, I’m saying it to make a point: Sometimes the rules have to be broken. I made a choice to work practically around the clock for the last two weeks, and probably into mid-March, because the things I am trying to accomplish are critical to the growth of the organization and to my making progress toward my personal goals. I mentioned in an earlier blog that it has become important to me to focus on things that will lead to joy, peace, happiness, health, spiritual connectedness, and relationship. In order to achieve those things I know that making time for myself to eat right, work out, and do things I love to do outside of work is important. However, work is important too. After all, it is work that allows me the flexibility to do all the other things. The Bible says that a person who does not work, shall not eat. Therefore, it’s alright that for the next few weeks I’ll have to break my own rules and put in some extra time. It won’t last forever. Things will ease up and I will get back to my routine. In the meantime, I’ll do all that I can to make good daily decisions in the midst of this period of intensity. I’ll make the best choices available to me for eating right, exercise, and rest. When the “smoke clears” I’ll give my self a well deserved three day weekend with no computer and no Blackberry: just me a DVD player and Bette Davis. Joyce Meyer is a great religious teacher who uses the Bible to give advice about practical everyday things. Joyce often says that peace is about balance. There will be times of great intensity in our lives, but if we learn to balance those times with times of great reflection and insight, it all works out. So tonight, as I prepare to go to bed after working for the 14th day in a row, with at least 5 more days before me, I will focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s feeding faith! The work is all for a good purpose, and the rewards of hard work come in unexpected and wonderful ways.

The role of FAITH in every day decisions – Faith Snack 1/13/10

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:22:31 +0000

I’ve learned that one of my food triggers is stress. Running a small and growing non-profit organization is, to say the very least, stressful. As the organization grows I am learning that one person cannot be director of development, director of programs, chief financial officer, grant writer, grants manager, and director of communications. It’s humanly impossible. The temptation is to try to do it all: A temptation to which I have succumbed in the past. Recently I have found myself working 14 hour days again. This has caused me to miss going to the gym at least twice since the first of the year. Some nights I am too exhausted to cook, or even think about what to eat, so I find myself tempted to default to take out. Last night I reminded myself of the connection between my work behavior, the weight I gained the past few years, and my overall health. I and began to think about all the things that I hope for my future: prosperity, good health, community. The evidence proves that when I put my work in perspective and refuse to let it control my life, I am able to live a healthier lifestyle. I lose weight, I feel better, my blood pressure is lower and I am generally more at peace. These are the things that will lead to prosperity, good health, and community. Work will always be there. Given the day-to-day priorities (routine and unexpected) there are some things that won’t get done each day. I have to learn to be alright with that. I have to learn to trust that I am making the right decisions about what’s important each day while still taking care of myself, maintaining my work ethic, and creating space for the things I envision for my future as well as the future of the organization. By faith, I see it. Through discipline and good decision making I will achieve it!

Your Will

admin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:15:30 +0000

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