My beautiful daughter and I were discussing this morning how in order to be successful, there must be preparation. Life isn’t easy. Get over it already.
Please understand that I realize that grace is HUGE in our lives but let’s just face it, for most of us, we must prepare in order to be successful. Sometimes 10 minutes here, save 20 minutes later.
I know that if I have to stop for gas in the morning, it takes me longer to get to work than if I do it at night. Not because it takes me longer to pump gas in the morning but because if I don’t hit traffic at the right moment, more people on the road means that traffic will be bogged down.
I am amazed at Phyllis. I have had the distinct pleasure of walking her into school everyday pretty much for the last 3 months. Now, sometimes I do complain about it, but I get to kiss her on the head every morning and say ‘have a good day’. That doesn’t happen when she drives herself, because she sometimes isn’t even up by the time I leave for work if she drives herself. She has each class color coordinated. 1st hour notebook, folder, and book cover = yellow, 2nd hour notebook, folder, and book cover = pink, 3rd hour notebook, folder, and book cover = orange… and so on. She knows she needs all those things for each class, no grabbing the wrong colored whatever because she took the time (maybe ½ hour) in the beginning of the semester to prepare. Saves running back to locker to get the right ‘whatever’.
School. Sometimes it people are able to work their way up in a company, but for the most part, schooling in order to get a good job is necessary. If you love hair, going to cosmetology school is necessary. To be a nurse, college and nursing school. Business = college. Now, if you want to be a garbage man (there’s nothing wrong if that is your aspiration! – we need them afterall!) not much schooling is necessary, but you better be strong because my garbage is heavy – working out and being somewhat fit (preparation) maybe necessary).
Home. If I prepare the ingredients up front, dinners are so much easier. I cut my chicken in bit size pieces, all at one time, saving me time on dinner cooking time, it thaws quicker as well if needed in the microwave. I planned dinner every night this week, dinner was on the table every night within 15-20 minutes of cooking. Thus, saving money – because I didn’t go out because I didn’t want to wait for dinner to cook and because I planned, I didn’t spend unneeded money running out to get something not on sale. Saving calories – when I am hungry, I graze AND eat dinner, and saving energy (and lower stress level) so I wasn’t going crazy trying to ‘figure something out for dinner’.
I can say for myself, I have worked hard, at every job I had. I started at an insurance company and wnt to college to get my associate’s degree, took every class they offered in Excel, Powerpoint, & Word, in order to get a better job. And then onto an automotive company nad eventually did get my associate’s degree, kept going and finished my Bachelor’s Degree. It wasn’t the easiest way to get it done, but I did. Had I finished, and been willing to do the work up front, it would have been easier. A little work up front would have made things easier in the long run. But it is what it is, and maybe my story will help someone else to do the work up front instead of painstakingly finishing the way I did. BTW, I wish I would have been a teacher, and someday I might go back to school for Culinary Arts or Theology.
But most importantly, I must prepare my heart. I know that if I don’t spend even just 15 minutes each day with Jesus in His Word, in prayer, I am a mess. I am hard to deal with, I am hard of heart, and it takes sometimes DAYS or EVEN WEEKS to get back on track. If I don’t feed myself the Truth, it takes a long time to ‘undo’ the hunger of my heart.
Deut 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Please understand that I realize that grace is HUGE in our lives but let’s just face it, for most of us, we must prepare in order to be successful. Sometimes 10 minutes here, save 20 minutes later.
I know that if I have to stop for gas in the morning, it takes me longer to get to work than if I do it at night. Not because it takes me longer to pump gas in the morning but because if I don’t hit traffic at the right moment, more people on the road means that traffic will be bogged down.
I am amazed at Phyllis. I have had the distinct pleasure of walking her into school everyday pretty much for the last 3 months. Now, sometimes I do complain about it, but I get to kiss her on the head every morning and say ‘have a good day’. That doesn’t happen when she drives herself, because she sometimes isn’t even up by the time I leave for work if she drives herself. She has each class color coordinated. 1st hour notebook, folder, and book cover = yellow, 2nd hour notebook, folder, and book cover = pink, 3rd hour notebook, folder, and book cover = orange… and so on. She knows she needs all those things for each class, no grabbing the wrong colored whatever because she took the time (maybe ½ hour) in the beginning of the semester to prepare. Saves running back to locker to get the right ‘whatever’.
School. Sometimes it people are able to work their way up in a company, but for the most part, schooling in order to get a good job is necessary. If you love hair, going to cosmetology school is necessary. To be a nurse, college and nursing school. Business = college. Now, if you want to be a garbage man (there’s nothing wrong if that is your aspiration! – we need them afterall!) not much schooling is necessary, but you better be strong because my garbage is heavy – working out and being somewhat fit (preparation) maybe necessary).
Home. If I prepare the ingredients up front, dinners are so much easier. I cut my chicken in bit size pieces, all at one time, saving me time on dinner cooking time, it thaws quicker as well if needed in the microwave. I planned dinner every night this week, dinner was on the table every night within 15-20 minutes of cooking. Thus, saving money – because I didn’t go out because I didn’t want to wait for dinner to cook and because I planned, I didn’t spend unneeded money running out to get something not on sale. Saving calories – when I am hungry, I graze AND eat dinner, and saving energy (and lower stress level) so I wasn’t going crazy trying to ‘figure something out for dinner’.
I can say for myself, I have worked hard, at every job I had. I started at an insurance company and wnt to college to get my associate’s degree, took every class they offered in Excel, Powerpoint, & Word, in order to get a better job. And then onto an automotive company nad eventually did get my associate’s degree, kept going and finished my Bachelor’s Degree. It wasn’t the easiest way to get it done, but I did. Had I finished, and been willing to do the work up front, it would have been easier. A little work up front would have made things easier in the long run. But it is what it is, and maybe my story will help someone else to do the work up front instead of painstakingly finishing the way I did. BTW, I wish I would have been a teacher, and someday I might go back to school for Culinary Arts or Theology.
But most importantly, I must prepare my heart. I know that if I don’t spend even just 15 minutes each day with Jesus in His Word, in prayer, I am a mess. I am hard to deal with, I am hard of heart, and it takes sometimes DAYS or EVEN WEEKS to get back on track. If I don’t feed myself the Truth, it takes a long time to ‘undo’ the hunger of my heart.
Deut 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Comments
Great reminders! :)