Ponderings of My Predicaments – June 27 2018

Ponderings of My Predicaments June 27 2018

So I was talking with a few friends a while back about my blogging and mentioned that I was considering starting a new series that was just me talking about what’s on my mind. They said they thought that was a fabulous idea to help my readers get to know me better.  I’ve been meaning to do this before now, but it just sparked in my brain to actually start it while I had my laptop fired up 🙂

I had a blog way back when when it was rare for people to blog’ and I used the picture of myself above (from several years ago) and called that very first blog, “Ponderings of my Predicaments”.  So I decided to pull that out of the photo archives on my computer and use it. I think it looks very reflective as if I really am pondering my predicaments 🙂

My House and My Mouth

I’ve been cleaning and decluttering my house since June 8th. Really hitting it hard and gathering things in boxes and bags I want to get rid of (or hopefully sell).   I’m suffering for it, but was trying to push through the pain.  I have spinal stenosis which means I have nerves in my back that are getting pinched. The worst pain is when I’m bent over and forward like when you get clothes out of the dryer or reach for something in the back of the fridge (I SO miss our old bottom freezer fridge!) or make the bed. The official term is, “narrowing of the nerve root exit points”.  It’s in my lower left back, but I’ve been having pain in my entire lower back since starting the cleaning efforts. I’ve been spending a lot of time at night with my ice pack and my TENS unit.

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Doodle Challenge for July 2018

July 2018 Doodle Challenge

It’s officially summer! Wow! So many things to do. Places to go, people to see 🙂  I hope this month’s doodle challenge puts you in the mood to enjoy all that summer has to offer!

This challenge is participated in by the members of my Facebook group, Christian Planner, Journal, and Craft Fellowship and any of you who would like to join us! You can join us in the group or join along on Instagram.

Why do we doodle? Doodling helps improve our drawing skills so we can improve our Bible art journaling pages!

Click the thumbnail image below to pull up the full-sized PDF file for printing! –>

July 2018 Doodle Challenge Thumbnail

 

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Prismacolor colored pencils 

 

  

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Mindful Monday Devotional – Set Your Boundaries

Mindful Monday Devotional June 25 2018

This week’s devotional is for my planner friends and my Proverbs 31 study ladies.  It’s a topic that’s difficult for most of us to apply to our lives.  I’ve had to set boundaries for myself in a few situations and am trying to learn to do it in more. For instance, my mom is in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. I try to visit her twice a week. If I’m there more often than that, I fall into depression and don’t want to get out of bed or accomplish anything with my own life. I just mourn that my mom is in the state she is now. I adore my mom and it’s hard to see her decline. I want to be a good daughter and be with her and I need to be with her anyway because I love her so much. My sister would like me to be there every day and sometimes gets angry with me if I’m not there more than the twice a week I’ve limited myself to. It’s for my own mental health that I’ve set this boundary for myself. I need to take care of my family and myself and if I’m a depressed blubbering mess, that can’t happen.

How have you experienced setting boundaries in your own life?  I’d love to hear!

 

Set Your Boundaries

Throughout the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John repeatedly note the amount of time Jesus spent in solitude—away from the disciples, the crowds, and the busyness of his ministry. The frequent mention of this behavior suggests that Jesus was a master at setting boundaries with His time. Likewise, if we are to effectively manage our time and make our greatest contribution to the world, we too must establish clear boundaries with our schedules.

Like Jesus, this should start by allocating regular time for prayer (Mark 1:35) and study of God’s Word. Most of us are are used to the idea of tithing our money. But what about tithing our time? If we fill-up our schedules with demands from work and home and then try to find time to spend in prayer and study of God’s Word, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Before you go any further in this study, take some time to determine what time you will tithe exclusively to prayer and study of Scripture on a daily basis.

Once you have set clear boundaries in your schedule for spiritual disciplines, it can be helpful to take a similar approach to budgeting your time at home and at work. For me, a regular routine helps me keep my “work-life balance” in check. Nearly every day, I head to the office at 4:45 a.m. and I arrive back home at 4:00 p.m. This predictable schedule gives me clear boundaries within which I force myself to concentrate my work. Is my work ever done? Of course not. But that would be true if I worked until 5:00, 6:00, or 10:00. There’s no such thing as done. Having a hard line in my schedule for the end of my day at the office ensures that I have plenty of time to spend with my wife, kids, and church family.

If you don’t take the time to set boundaries in your schedule, someone else will. If you haven’t already, follow Jesus’ lead and set clear boundaries within which you will spend your time. This is the first step in getting control of your calendar and managing your time well.

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 5:16 ESV

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1:35 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 ESV

–by Jordan Raynor on http://www.jordanraynor.com/time/

End of the Age Prophecy Updates for 6/24/18

End of the Age Updates for June 24 2018

Hi everyone!  How are you all?  I’d love to hear how your summer is going!  Is it as busy as mine has been?  My mom had a stroke last month but seems to be doing better now. She has alzheimer’s, so she doesn’t even remember having been in the hospital :/     Since then I’ve been working REALLY hard trying to get my house in order. Lots of pitching of clutter and cleaning and gathering things for a few yard sales I hope to have next month. I have a real problem with spinal stenosis (pinched nerves in my back) and bad knees, so doing it all by myself has been a real challenge, but the Lord is seeing me through one day at a time.  So my days have been really busy other than a day or two here and there when I had to just take some time for my body to recover a bit with my ice pack and TENS unit. I had an EMG done yesterday.

So enough about my spring and summer, on to the End of the Age Updates!

 

Pastor J.D. Farag:

 

(Pastor J.D.’s Video List Here)

 

Amir Tsarfati:

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Scripture Writing Plan for July 2018

July 2018 Scripture Writing Plan

I’ve been a bit behind on my blog because I’ve been tearing into my house for spring cleaning. At the same time I’m gathering things for a few yard sales I’d like to have next month. I hope to really get more content here for us all as soon as I slow down a bit 🙂

A few ladies in my Facebook group have asked if I had the July scripture writing plan finished yet, and so I took a break to get this ready for you all.  I had something totally different in mind, but after praying about it, the Lord led me to change the topic to Repentance, so this is what He and I put together for us all 🙂

Use these passages to write out the scriptures and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 🙂

Click on the image below to pull up the full-sized PDF file for printing –>

July scripture writing thumbnail. Click here to pull up the full-sized PDF

I usually print these out on sticker paper and just stick them right into my planner or journal (usually bullet journal).

Print these out on full-size (letter) sticker paper.  I use these here.  They’re priced great and you can write on them easily. They are good enough quality for my needs.  If you want a top-quality sticker paper look for these or clear ones here. (Though not all pens or markers will write well on the clear ones). If you don’t want to use sticker paper, you can print them on card stock or regular printer paper and glue them down.  Honestly, the sticker paper is the best way, however. Regardless of the type.

Going through a lot of ink printing out planner stickers?  Do like I did and enlist in the HP Instant Ink program! I’ve saved so much money on ink since I did a year and a half ago.  They have different plans, but the one I’m in (the most pages) is that I can print up to 300 pages worth of ink for just over $9.99 per month. You can choose lesser pages for a lower rate, but I do a lot of printing between coupons, planner stickers and other things.  Click on the image here to check it out! –>

HP Instant Ink