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Posts Tagged ‘Busyness’

Sanity Savings Time

Posted in Daily Life, My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2012| 2 Comments »

Am I crazy or what?  I don’t need Daylight Savings Time.  I need Sanity Savings Time. For those of you who may not be aware, November is National Novel Writing Month. It comes with it a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 31 days.  You can participate with hundreds of other writers at NaNoWriMo online where you enter your daily word count, get lots of encouragement and follow others who are doing the same thing.

My decision to accept the challenge came just like everything else I say yes to – jump in there impulsively and wonder why later. Now that I’ve begun, I’m analyzing whether this is even possible. I have to admit I skimmed over the 50,000 word part when I first read about NaNoWriMo. But now my brain has led me to the point of realizing the expectation is 1,613 words a day.

Actually I can’t figure on a whole day in which to accomplish the 1,613 words. At least eight hours of my day are spent at work, not writing.  At least one hour of my day is spent in bible study and scripture reading, not writing. Another two or three hours of my day are spent in activities with family, church, and friends, not writing. Then there’s housework, cooking, driving, sleeping, showering, dressing, talking on the phone, eating, etc, etc. – not writing.

But, here’s the amazing part of this post – after two days I have actually written 4,527 words! That’s well over the average daily count and it’s a miracle.  When did I do it?  I have no idea.  I squeezed a few minutes from my lunch break.  I put down my fiction novel for the time being. I wrote while watching a movie with my husband. I wrote during some really early morning hours. I’m pretty pumped after two days.

How do we ever accomplish the things we pack onto our ridiculous schedules? By sheer determination, organization and teeth gritting tenacity, that’s how.

I’m watching my children do the impossible balancing of schedules with kids in school and extracurricular activities. I see things happening at church because already busy people commit and get busier. It is true that the more people have on their plate the more they seem to accomplish.  They are the people who can’t seem to say no and always seem to squeeze it in. They get much done but they sacrifice much at the same time.

There is a balance – I just haven’t quite found it yet. There are so many things I want to do and I’m not getting any younger. On the other hand, my body doesn’t always cooperate with my ambition. It keeps demanding rest and nourishment.

My brain is still running at full speed it seems because the ideas keep flowing. On the other hand it doesn’t always retain the stuff it needs to for as long as it should. A lot of my creativity can be found laying in the wake of where I have been. I had a great idea but by the time I get to the place where I can write it down it’s gone.

I’m not averse to slowing down a little. On the other hand, the minute I slow down I fall asleep. I hate that.

All this rambling is just to ask this question – can I do it? Can I write 50,000 words in 31 days? Probably. Will I have to sacrifice something else to get it done? Probably. Am I ready to reprioritize my whole life and cut back on activities? Probably not. Am I going to wear myself out periodically? Most definitely.

But my great goal is to have this on my epitath after I die:   With God’s help, she finally got everything done.

Lord, you establish peace for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done for us.  Isaiah 26:12

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Wearing Yourself Out So You Can Wear Yourself Out

Posted in Motorcycling, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2012| 6 Comments »

Next week marks the start of a ten day motorcycle trip from our home in Washington State to the Colorado Rockies and back again.  It’s called vacation – you know, that thing that brings up visions of rest, relaxation and lazy days.  Of course to get from here to there takes an awful lot of hard work.  Why do we do that to ourselves? We push so hard getting ready to ‘rest and relax’ we are too tired to enjoy it when we have the opportunity.

I’ve been putting in some long days at the office trying to get ahead, to set things up to ward off any crisis  in my absence, and to finish up every loose end so I can return to a clean desk.  After long days at work I’m cleaning, washing and packing at home.  Add to that the planning out of a couple of Sunday worship programs to make it easy for my team while I’m gone while still maintaining the every day schedule of grandkids, meetings, normal life (if there is such a thing) and I’m pretty much frazzled.  My goal is to get away but make it seem like I’m not even gone while at the same time making sure my absence is noted.  Is that twisted or what?

I came home extremely exhausted Tuesday night and my husband’s comment was, “You’d better toughen up because we’re going to have some ten hour days on the bike ahead.”  Imagine how that perked me up!  If you’ve ever motorcycled you know that ten hour days can be brutal.  My first thought after his comment was, “unsubscribe me.”  I don’t want to wear myself out getting ready to wear myself out.

Do you ever feel like life is just a series of trying to get caught up, set up and psyched up for tomorrow so you can start it all over again when tomorrow gets here?  I do, quite often in fact. You don’t have to tell me, dear friends who are reading this right now like Connie and Diane, that I am my own worst enemy.

But, even though I’ll be worn out by departure day, here’s what I’m clinging to, what I know from past experience to be true:

  • I won’t be in the kitchen for ten whole  days.  Someone else will be doing the cooking, the serving and the dishes. That’s a big hallelujah!
  • I won’t be driving.  I’ll be sitting back enjoying the scenery, making up stories in my head, pondering, telling myself jokes (yes, I do that), hugging my guy now and then just for the heck of it, and letting stress and tension blow off my shoulders and fall to the road behind me.
  • I won’t be responsible for making decisions about the route.  That’s all mapped out by my husband.
  • I won’t be donning high heels, pantyhose and business suits for ten whole days.  I’ll be pulling on jeans and t-shirts, hiding my hair under a helmet and looking cool in leather.
  • I won’t be rushing from work to a meeting at church then to home, laundry and meal prep.  I won’t be rushing anywhere.  I’ll be moving at the speed dictated by my ride, breathing deep and smiling the whole time (except maybe on those 10 hour days).
  • In the evenings I’ll be settling down in a nice clean motel room, journaling about the great sights and experiences of the day.
  • I’ll be spending quantity and quality time with my best friend in all the world, my husband of 45 years, something that gets pushed aside too often.
  • I’ll be tired but happy, a little sore but relaxed.  And the one thing I won’t be is busy!  I’m in a hurry to get to that point (which I realize is an oxymoron).
  • And by the way,I won’t be blogging for the next two Mondays or Fridays.  When I return I should have some great stuff to share with you though.

I would covet your prayers for good weather, a safe journey and grace moments each day. God always gives me beautiful insight and speaks to me often as we roar along.  I’m looking forward to those conversations most of all.

It is useless for you to work so hard  from early morning until late at night,  anxiously working for food to eat;  for God gives rest to his loved ones. Psalm 127:2

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My Race With The Sun

Posted in Motorcycling, My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2012| 7 Comments »

I love 4:30 a.m. on a summer morning.  When I slip outside in my robe with a cup of coffee in hand it’s still dark.  And quiet – so very quiet it brings a sense of peace that I embrace because I know within a short time it will be shattered by the day’s  events.

Everything is asleep.  No birds sing.  The trees are still.  There isn’t even a hint yet of the sun stretching her arms and yawning before peeking over the distant hill.  It is a moment in time filled with expectation.

With the stretch of sweltering heat we’ve been experiencing, the early air is a kiss of cool that will not last so I let it settle around me and I sit very still.  I’m waiting for the first sense of something.

It comes with the tiniest puff of a morning breeze.  That sweet little sensation is followed by the distant sound of a car engine starting.  I feel bad for the driver who hasn’t the time to welcome a few moments of stillness.  I keep my eyes on the horizon because I want to be the first to catch a glimpse of pinkish light.  I want to see the beauty and have a flash of compassion for the sleepyheads who are missing this.

The beginning of a new day is not something to be taken for granted.  Our human minds can never know ahead of time what will follow.  Oh, we have our routines, our tasks, our plans, our responsibilities.  We are so caught up in them we miss the grace filled gifts that drop unexpectedly when we least expect them.

Take this morning for instance.  I could be delving early into my housework, repairing the damage of a busy week before we jump on the motorcycle in less than two hours.  I could be getting a start on the laundry.  I could be working on my latest manuscript that I’m always trying to find time to finish.

But if I were doing any of those things, I wouldn’t be sitting here watching the neighbor’s cat slinking along the top of a wooden fence like an Olympic gymnast on the balance beam, soundless yet alert, in search of an unsuspecting mouse in the field.

I wouldn’t notice that when the willow branches stir they dance in perfect unison to a soundless symphony.

I wouldn’t catch the beginning of light dispelling the darkness to the point where shadowy outlines begin to reveal themselves and it’s like God is creating the earth again as I watch.

I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of laughing to myself and telling the first golden rays of sun, “Ha – I win the who-got-up-first contest.”

In a few minutes I will see dust and hear traffic and feel heat.  In a few minutes I’ll be busy.  In a few minutes my plans and routine will begin to be rerouted by the unexpected turns of the day.  In a few minutes I’ll have to have conversations, make decisions, get exasperated, and keep moving forward.

But for these few moments the world is perfect.  Every morning that I get the chance to do this I think it must be like resurrection morning when Jesus stood expectantly, waiting for the weeping world to wake so He could reveal Himself as the miracle of all miracles.  I bet He watched shadows fade, saw the sun wake, felt the breeze stir, listened for the sound of approaching feet and inhaled the beauty of the moment knowing He would soon be busy with His people and His message.

Precious Lord, this morning my heart overflows with gratitude for this tiny moment in time when You come to me to resurrect a heart that has been beaten down by the pressures of living.  I appreciate your taking the time to lift Your hand and point out the beauty of stillness.  Remind me today in the valley of my life that the mountaintop awaits on the other side of the day, here on my porch just before sunrise.  Amen

His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.  Habakkuk 3:4

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