Author: Kim

Rejoice and Remember

Published on by Kim

Holidays are an occasion to pause, celebrate and be thankful. They may not work out that way any given year, but they are an opportunity for us. In our current American holiday calendar, the indicated reasons for celebration do vary. Labor Day, for instance, has drifted a bit from the initial cause, but we can still be thankful for the blessing of work and employment while many enjoy a break from such.

In my daily reading I noticed that God gave a list of holidays to Israel in Deuteronomy 16. He also clarifies on multiple occasions, including in Deuteronomy 5, the importance of the sabbath. Further, He designated a sabbath year and the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25). It was that important. And in all that, the purpose for each is clearly stated. I noticed two words repeated in the descriptions of these holidays: “rejoice” and “remember”.

Rejoice These are days to enjoy! However you celebrate, whether it be a large family gathering or a quiet day at home, you are free to take pleasure in the day. It is a gift. Unwrap and make the most of it!

Remember Most of us reading this have been given so much. Our countries and the earth itself are the recipients of so many blessings from God on a regular basis. Taking one day to especially remember certain categories (Labor Day — employment; Christmas — Christ’s birth, life and death, our salvation; Easter — the resurrection; Independence Day — our freedoms) and be grateful for what God has appointed is a blessing in itself.

May your Labor Day be joyful and thankful — and every holiday to come!

Relax

Published on by Kim2 Comments

So, continuing on the theme of the joys to be had with shotguns and clays and a wide-open field…

You’re standing in the hot sun, holding your shotgun, joking around with friends. You know the goal is to vaporize the orange clay on the first shot. You know everyone around you is counting their shots and keeping one eye (or both!) on yours as well. Will you just chip it? Will you miss? Can you hit double after double? There is pressure to perform. If you are competitive, multiply that pressure exponentially!

Time after time, there has been consistent, obvious improvement in my accuracy when I am relaxed. The more relaxed, the more I hit. I’m breathing better, my muscles respond better, my energy is not wasted and can be used for what I want to do.

There’s a life lesson here too.

Relaxed and focused will maximize your time and efforts. Overwhelmed, panicked, tense, disturbed and distracted — all take time and attention from your goal or task or schedule for the day. The more time you spend ‘stressing’ or worrying about all you have to do and how you are going to do it, the less time you use to get it done. You psych yourself out of productivity when you focus on the potential problems.

Time after time, when I am coaching someone on process or time management, we start the hour with a HUGE project that seems impossible to get done. But as we break it down into steps and make a plan, twenty minutes later — it’s no problem at all. It’s possible. Not only that, it often is a project that can be enjoyed! How would you rather spend an hour: worrying and procrastinating, or working and enjoying the results?

My encouragement to you is this: Enjoy the moment! Do the work that is given to you for that time. Relax and get it done.

 

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Another way to support a little less tension in your day is to schedule margin. We have discussed this before, but it has a huge impact on reducing stress in your project or your calendar.