Day 12

broke down a few shipping boxes that were hanging out in my room from various online purchases. Recycle.

Day 12

broke down a few shipping boxes that were hanging out in my room from various online purchases. Recycle.

Day 11

Simple shoes - too big - thought I could make them work but they don't fit. Wasted $20 on them (good price for Simple brand but when you can't/don't wear them, no price is good). Donate.

I know I know

I'm behind in my posting. I have been doing a thing a day, just haven't been putting them up. Soon I promise I will get them up here for you to read.

A Thing A Day 10

A tshirt and an old pair of shoes - donate.

A Thing Day 9

found papers that really belong at work. I need to go through them but I think I will go through them at work - old articles and publications that I intended to go through in my free time but they've been piled for several months. Go back to the office.

Found 2 candleholders that I will donate to Campus Life.

A Thing Day 8

bag of tea lights - donate to Campus Life

A Thing Day 7

found old mini body washes in a box (with the old travel documents) - give away to students - smell good but let's get real, I won't use them.

found candle holder - nice, no use for it. Donate to Campus Life to use for things like Chinook, Winter Formal, etc.

A Thing Day 6

recycled more papers - travel documents from a trip from a year and a half ago. Apparently I needed them for something really important...

white twinkle lights - donate to Cascade - Campus Life

Weekend Confession

My weekend got away from me and I didn't do any - ANY - decluttering! Bad Rebecca, Bad! I will have to do four days worth of sorting tonight. Shameful, shameful.

A Thing A Day 5

a pair of jeans that has seen better days - donate

I bet my list will be longer for the weekend. I have great hopes of going through some boxes under the bed. What I like about this concept is that I don't have to clean up everything TODAY. I can take my time, work on one small area at a time with no pressure to have amazing results.

The gal whose blog I stole the idea from said that as she's gone through the month, she has found this exercise to be easier with each passing day. I'm hoping this will be true for me. I hope at the end of 30 days I've blown myself away with how much decluttering I've done.

A Thing A Day 4

Yesterday I rid myself of old random papers in my Bible. I've been doing a study and so I've actually been using my Bible daily - GO FIGURE - and these papers were irritating me so I went through to see what they were. I found old random post-it notes placed in my Bible that no longer made any sense to me, bulletins from months ago, drawings from my cousin that are probably 12+ years old - time to go!

I also went above and beyond and took two tired polo shirts out of my closet - you know when everyone was wearing polo shirts, I'm guessing, 3 summers ago. Not going to wear them again I'm fairly certain. They will be the start of a donation bag. 2 weeks ago I gave a friend two yard trashbags full of old clothes that I was no longer interested in. She didn't want to buy new clothes, I didn't want the bags anymore. Buh-bye! Looks like I'll need to start a new give-a-way bag.

A Thing A Day

I was reading another blog and her goal for the month of February is to get rid of one thing every day. Her goal is to donate, recycle or toss. I thought that I could take on this challenge and so while I am already on the 20th day of February, I could still work on 30 days of ridding myself of the clutter in my life.

I have actually already done three days of ridding myself of unnecessary clutter:

Day One
Brought a pile of old stickers to the office to use for various Campus Life activities rather than have them sitting in a drawer taking up space like they have for a few years. Creepy clown stickers are a big hit with college students! I decided this counts because it's not in my house and I'm more likely to use them here at the office.

Day Two
Recycled old postcards from same drawer (and UGLY stationery- what was I thinking?). I've had them since college. I'm not going to use them.

Day Three
Gave extra 2008 calendar to a friend. She was pleased. I was happy to be rid of it. :)


So, friends, I will be posting A Thing A Day for the next 30 days. This will hold me accountable to purge my life of stuff that I don't need. I will either donate/give to a friend, trash it or recycle these items in a reasonable time period. I will tell you what I'm doing with them.

Just in time for Valentine's Day

I think I'm falling in love with God in a way I never knew possible. I feel like a school girl - all giddy and annoying. I want to tell everyone about how much I love Him and He loves me.

Warning: Learning In Process

I'm being worked on in ways I never thought possible.

I am thankful for the ways in which God is mysterious and indescribable.

I am thankful for the ways in which God is obvious and faithful...EVERY TIME!!!!

It blows my mind.

and yet, I've spent 31 years doubting Him and believing that His promises are not true for me.

I am done believing the lies I've been told. I am ready to live a full life!

I am finishing up my second week of a bible study with some girlfriends called Breaking Free by Beth Moore. There is so much I could share, insight that I am receiving from God but I don't think this is the time or place for it. Perhaps down the road it will feel right and appropriate to put everything out there for my faithful readers but not today. I'm not ready to feel that vulnerable.

For now, perhaps meditate upon:

Isaiah 61

The Year of the LORD's Favor

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.


To quote Beth Moore: "I believe a person can receive Christ as Savior, serve Him for decades, and meet Him face to face in glory without ever experiencing satisfaction in Him on this earth..I was in my 30's before I understood the huge difference between salvation from sin and satisfaction of the soul. Salvation secures our lives for all eternity. Soul satisfaction insures abundant life on earth."

This is going to be a big year for me! I am ready to live a different kind of life. A life of abundance and true satisfaction!

vacation accomplishments

Sorry that I didn't get back during my time off. I ended up in bed for four days with a nasty cold. I did get a few things accomplished:

* Read book for book club meeting: Fannie Flagg's Can't Wait to Get to Heaven

* finished Al Gore's book "The Assault on Reason"

* started new book on the nice "not so cheery" subject of self-injury called Cutting by Steven Levenkron

* also picked up Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

* had lunch with my dear friend Rebecca Marie

* saw family for holidays

* celebrated New Year's in a very low-key manner (still recovering from cold)

* made ornaments for everyone at church to signify the importance of believing in what we are trying to accomplish

* did in fact watch several movies - being sick doesn't inspire as much reading as movie watching

* joined the National Body Challenge 2008: comes with a free 8-week pass to Bally's and lots of helpful information about health, exercise, making better food choices, etc.

* did some thinking about the upcoming year and things I would like to see happen - more to come

Vacation

Yesterday began a long needed vacation from the office. I don't go back until the 2nd of January.

I do have to report for jury duty on the 3rd, but here's to hoping that I have nothing to offer and will promptly be dismissed. Several people have said that I should sit on a jury because it can be rather fascinating, but my luck would be sitting on some case involving the dullest topic and people of all time.

I'm sure that the next few days will involve reflecting on the year that I've had and what I would like to do with the year to come. Perhaps I will post some of those thoughts here.

I will definately be reading. There are about 4 books I would like to get finished by the end of the year - perhaps I'm being overly optimistic.

I will definately be watching movies. I just picked up Bourne Ultimatum, The Death of the President and Once. I also have endless OnDemand movies, thanks to my bunking with ma and pa! I'm sure there are several I would like to check out (Notes on a Scandal just released OnDemand and I will be watching it again!). I also think some cheesy Christmas movies are necessary over the next couple of days.

I have been trying to keep track of all of the books I have read this year and all of the films I have watched. I know that my movie list is longer. I can say that my first new year's resolution will be to have my movie and book lists be more equal.

I was nominated by a co-worker to review some christian women's books for a christian newspaper. We'll see if I am chosen. This could be really cool, or really awful. Maybe this will be my first chance to be "published" somewhere...one of my life goals.

I have been baking all day for church tomorrow. I'm tired! I don't know how women do this all of the time. :) I made lots of treats and am excited to share them with people I love.

Here's to a few days off! If I don't see you, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I pray God's blessings as you travel or stay home - seeing family and friends! May God bless you abundantly in the New Year.

May we see peace on earth!

Cool Blog Find

I just found a really fun blog for me and added it to my list of blogs I read because I love me a to-do list (I am being too lazy right now to add a link in here for you).

I don't know about any of you but I really enjoy a list of things that I need to get done. There are days when it feels dauting and that I will never get it all done but then the joy I find in crossing things off of my list is incomparable! I even include the most ridiculous goals and "wish list" ideas - especially for work, the things I really, really, really wish I could do in my job that I think would just be cool, but know that the likelihood of it happening is pretty slim. I include them so I don't forget the idea and because you never know!

I am excited to check out the To Do List blog in hopes of finding inspiration and maybe some other weirdos who enjoy them a list.

Time Management

Is there a way to make more time in a day?

No matter how organized I try to be, I can't get everything done. I leave the office thinking "What did I do today? I know I've been busy but I don't think I got anything done on my list!"

Disclaimer: I did just have a Mika dance party in my office with 5 students squished in here....maybe this has something to do with it. :) But having fun with students from time to time is also an important part of the job.

And then as that was done and I was moving back to work, I had a student come in who needed to complete his US Census questionnaire and was having difficulty figuring it out. So I got off track again.

Someday, just for fun, I will give you a play by play of a day at the office. Just for kicks!

What up, homes?

I promise I didn't die - not that anyone reads this anymore!

I have been so busy this year. The semester is flying by and I feel like I am getting left in the dust!!!!! My days at the office are passing too quickly. I don't feel like I'm getting an adequate amount of work done in a day. We've had quite a bit of behavioral issues this year to address.

Life has been happening around me and it's mostly been good. I have participated in two book clubs this month. I read "They Like Jesus But Not The Church" by Dan Kimball with several people from my church. I also recently joined a book club that will be more permanent and we read "Stormy Weather" by Paulette Jiles. I was chosen to select the next book and I'm having some trouble figuring out which book to choose. There are so many I want to read - how do I pick one? I've been spending a lot of my free time reading and I'm really enjoying it! I know most people would agree that one feels more relaxed after unwinding in the evening with a book rather than vegging out in front of the telly all night.

I've gone to the art museum, the opera, out of town to visit friends. Life has been good since last I wrote. I am taking a class on finances with some friends which I'm hoping changes the way I think about money. So far, I've already made significant changes and am proud of my choices. The church family has been struggling. We have lost quite a few members in our current state of transition. I have had some hurt feelings and I am trying to work on healing those hurts and forgiving the friends who have decided to move on.

I am happy to say that I am engaging in my life. It may sound silly to some but it's something I've had to work on over the course of the last year or so. I have realized that it's been easy for me to be a passive participant and let life happen around me. It's something that I struggle with. I am trying to look for ways to not watch life pass me by!