Rules of the Roof...

Recently my colleagues and I were discussing eating habits. One of my colleagues who is trying to lose weight in every way possible was telling us about how much she dislikes vegetables and is looking for palatable presentations of vegetables - because she knows (and appreciates) why she just has to have veggies. She jokingly said her dislike for veggies was all because she was forced to eat veggies as a child. So parents/caregivers, please listen up...

Deal-icious or Death-icious?

Welcome to the "tomorrow" we referred to yesterday...A few yesterdays ago, my eyes caught an ad for a sandwich - part of its caption said it is "Deal-icious." After looking at the content - egg, bacon, cheese etc. - I asked do they really mean "death-icious"?

There are so many catchy ads and phrases that draw people to food and many other things. The question I suggest you ask your self when the item on display is: "Is this really deal-icious" or "death-icious"? Let's think of one obvious example, eating the sandwich with egg, bacon, cheese and more. How can that be a "deal" when it is adding to your cholesterol level?

Tomorrow...

Just want to share a few quotes as we step into the 2nd half of this year and prepare for another tomorrow...

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

~Author Unknown

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.

~Leo Buscaglia

To worry about tomorrow is to be unhappy today.

~Author Unknown

Purpose to make the most of today so that tomorrow you're not regretting yesterday...and you're in place to continue progressing tomorrow...

Psalm for the season (5)

As we close this series, I'd like to focus on the last few verses. I like these 2 renditions of Psalm 92: 12-15 (italics mine)

Amplified:

The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. [They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Contemporary English Version:

Good people will prosper like palm trees, and they will grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. They will take root in your house, LORD God, and they will do well. They will be like trees that stay healthy and fruitful, even when they are old. And they will say about you, "The LORD always does right! God is our mighty rock."

If I had only one desire in life, it will be to prosper like a palm tree. Have you noticed that palm trees always look beautiful - in the sunrise or the sunset, in the desert or at the beach. As if that is not enough, palm trees are able to withstand storms, rather than break, they bend. Likewise, it is my desire that the beauty and glory of God are seen in my life in every situation of life. For me, the A & Z of Ps 92 are that: Praising God - as my way of life - will make me a daily testimony of God's goodness and righteousness because "Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place." (Ps 23:6 - Amplified)

How beautiful and glorious - join me in this lifestyle. 

What do you see, sense and support?

This morning, during my QT, I read some verses of Hebrews 11. Verse 23 struck me as if I'd never seen or even read it before - has that ever happened to you? Let's read the verse together - in 2 versions... pay attention to the words that jumped out to me (italics mine)

Hebrews 11:23
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (NIV)

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. (NLT)

This verse reminded me of something I keep doing - like Mary did in Luke 2:19 & 51:

"Multi-tasking is...

...tasking." I know that phrase seems likes a play on words so let's dig into it some more. Like many other women I know, I "pride" myself in being able to multi-task. In recent times, I've heard quite a bit about multi-tasking. At a conference, the presenter said she has taken the word "mulit-task" out of her vocabulary and life - she just doesn't do it any more. When I heard that I immediately thought: "You don't multi-task?" I couldn't help but wonder how much she really gets done in a day - I was almost empathizing with (actually pitying) her.

Then on a webinar about managing virtual meetings, the presenter asked us to guess the percentage of people who multi-task during virtual meetings. Considering that I was multi-tasking while listening, I guessed 50%. I was almost comforted by the answer - 70% - knowing that I even multi-task during face-to-face meetings so doing that during virtual meetings seemed "easy". Well guess what? At the end of that day, I realized that I made mistakes on something I was working on...due partly to the fact that I was multi-tasking when doing it and listening to the webinar.

The amount of time I needed to fix the mistakes made me start thinking about the real benefits of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking is "running number of programs simultaneously: the simultaneous management of two or more tasks by a computer or a person."*

The first thing that struck me was that multi-tasking is first related to computers and then humans. Hmmm! For me, multi-tasking is about doing "more with less" - more things within the same or in even less time. However, I've come to find out that if you do not carefully consider the compatibility between the tasks, you may find out that you've done: "more with more stress" or worse - "less with more stress."

There are some things that we can comfortably multi-task with e.g. if you have your dishwasher and washing machine going at the same time you are cooking. Personally, I've found that working and cooking do not go well together (so not sure how the lady in our picture is coping). While I have not reached the point of "deleting" the word "multi-tasking" from my vocabulary and life, I'm at a point where I have decided to reduce how much I task myself.  I'm giving myself permission to do (& properly finish) one thing at a time...

Like I said at the beginning: "Multi-tasking is tasking." If you want to do more with less stress, like I'm planning do, do the same thing I'm planning to do which is: take my advice and multi-task less. I can almost bet that you'll find out you'll be less exhausted (spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically) and more fulfilled at the end of day.

One more tip: Praising and thanking God is compatible with many tasks...

Sources:

*http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?lextype=3&search=multitasking

Psalm for the season (4)

I recently listened to a message by Bishop David Oyedepo.* He had a lot to say about Ps. 92.
Here are some of the lessons he shared (some are verbatim). He said that Thanksgiving...

1. ...grants us access to God's presence...and His presence makes all the difference. Ps 100:4 says: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!" (Amplified). God's presence is the only cure for all pressures; Ps 16:11 - "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (NKJV)
2. ...grants us access to supernatural strength. You cannot be grateful without being joyful - the grateful will be joyful. Neh 8:10b says: "The joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold." (Amplified) Joy is a booster of strength. Access to God's presence moves us from strength to strength. According to Ps 84:7: 7 says - "They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God in Zion." (Amplified)
3. ...makes us fresh - we shall be anointed with fresh oil. God is always looking for thanksgivers so He can anoint them with fresh oil. In Ps 89: 20 God says: "I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him," (NKJV)
4. ...leads to flourishing - Ps 92:12: "The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]." (Amplified) Did you know the palm tree is one tree that every part of it is useful?
5. ...leads to fearful blessings. Ps 67: 5-8: "Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." (NKJV)

The bottom line is "You are deprived of God's presence and strength, and all they bring to us, without the attitude of gratitude." Live the Psalm 92 life...it is good to praise the Lord!

Source: 

*Day 1 of the 30 Anniversary Service - http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/worship#