My Life Zones Status Update

I know it’s been a few days since the last post. The past few days have been a bit unusual for various reasons, and I simply have been unable to sit down and write. So here’s a brief update on my progress in the Life Zones I’m working on:

Because of how the last few days have gone, yesterday is really the only day I have to report on. I did okay in the personal and relational arenas, but because of the crazy weekend I was wanting to catch up on some stuff, so at first I tried to cheat a bit with my computer time. (Yeah, I know…) The computer wouldn’t let me, however. It has an issue that acts up every once and a while and it chose yesterday morning to act up (providentially, perhaps?). So I finally put the computer down and helped the kids clean the playroom. Not exactly playtime, I know, but it desperately needed to be done and it was way too hot to go outside. So while we didn’t play together, we did accomplish something together.

In the physical area, I didn’t do anything last week. I didn’t run at all last week, not one step! But I did run last night. It was quite an effort to do it. I’m way out of shape, and running is one of my least favorite exercises, but I did it! I ran for 30 minutes, and felt good about the accomplishment. I even feel sore this morning to prove it! I’ve also been doing fairly well in the home area and doing one load of laundry a day. Still not getting it folded and put away every day, though. I’ve got to work on the follow through with the laundry so I’m not constantly playing catch-up.

As far as the social element goes, I’ve just tried to squeeze my volunteer duties into my restricted computer time, but I probably need to be more proactive about it. I think if I figured out some sort of structure there it would probably help me a lot. Maybe if I devoted a couple of days to Worship Team stuff and a couple days to blogging and a day to surfing/social networking during my computer time (or something like that) I will be able to fit it all in. I may just have to play with it a bit and tweak it till I find a structure that works. My hang up here is that I’m not the greatest at structuring my time. I’ve tried doing the lists and the daily schedule, but I either get frustrated by the list because I can’t get to everything on it, or something happens that totally wrecks the schedule, so I usually just give up on it. The other problem is that I’ll get bored with a routine after a while and instead of changing it up a bit, I usually just drop it altogether.

Now on to the financial zone – we’re still working on keeping to our budget. We did overspend last weekend, though. Shawn received travel money from work and the kids were staying with my parents, so we had TWO date nights! (Now you know why the weekend was so unusual…) We really needed the time, but we probably could have done it with less money. Our favorite thing is dinner and a movie (I know, cliché), but we rarely get the chance to do it, so that’s what we do on dates when we have them. Plus it was really hard to resist seeing Transformers and G.I. Joe in the theater. I grew up watching those cartoons and pretending I was Scarlett every Sunday and Wednesday night before church started when I was a kid (while all the boys were various other G.I. Joe characters). Can I just tell you that Transformers ROCKED!!!!! God was talking to me through it, too. It was an amazing experience! (Yes, I know it still doesn’t justify overspending. This is just a glimpse into how my mind works.)

I learned something last week about disciplining my mind. Off and on I have problems with insomnia. I’ve tried various ways to deal with it, the main way being laying in bed and trying to go back to sleep. If I get up I’m usually wide-awake from the effort and won’t go back to sleep at all. The problem with laying in bed is that there’s nothing to do but think or pray. I try to pray, but my mind usually wanders too much. So, I usually start thinking about something, and get a strong urge to look it up on the computer. I then decide that I’m not going back to sleep anyway (after laying in bed sleepless for an hour or more), so I get up and get on the computer. Well, on this particular night I tried that, but didn’t go back to sleep (duh!). Around 5:00 or so I decided to go ahead and do my Bible reading for the day. Within a few minutes I fell asleep, not because I was bored (I actually find God’s Word pretty fascinating – you should see how marked up my Bible is), but because, through reading the Word, I was able to bring my mind back in line. I slept for a couple of hours more and finished my reading when I woke up. If I’m going to see lasting change, my mind must be disciplined. I must make choices that bring my mind in line with the Word of God and the God-given desires in my heart. God knew I needed sleep that morning, so when I made the choice that allowed Him entrance into my heart, He was able to provide me with the thing I needed. If I constantly make the choices that allow Him entrance into the moment, He will provide me with what I need and empower me to accomplish what I put my hand to.

You know, structuring changes and blogging about it is really helping me to examine why I do what I do, and gives me a better perspective on myself. I’ve known about my hang-ups for a long time, but have often felt powerless to do anything about them. I’m so grateful to God for this outlet. I’m really optimistic that the outcome will be good and beneficial for me, my family, and those around me. I’d love for you to join me! Anyone can join me at anytime. Just read this post for a review (I introduce Life Zones toward the bottom). You can focus on just one thing at a time or more. Structure it so that it best fits into your life and what you are able to accomplish. Make sure to drop by and comment on your progress. Together we can hold one another accountable and see God accomplish great things in and through us!