Category: Others

Others

Other, Others, Resources

Resources and Systems for Finding Them When You Need Them

joyimpactus

This week I had a friend reach out to see if I had my notes from some meetings we had together approximately 3 years ago.

These notes were regarding resources for times of grief, so it was something I was quite conscious about storing. Thankfully I was able to find these when asked. As I reflected on this, I realized how there are areas where I have good systems in place for organization and other areas where I struggle to retrieve things I’ve deliberately saved. So this post will be about resources and systems for finding them when you need them.

Google Drive

I make use of my google drive to store documents that I am likely to want to retrieve from my laptop or my phone.

Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote notebook is what I use at work to record notes from meetings, for tasks, technical notes etc. A book that was very helpful to me in deciding how to organize this notebook was Getting Things Done by David Allen.

Good Ole Pen and Paper

There is a time and place for things that are just freeform. Using a good ole pen and paper is helpful for things that are more short term. Things like quick to-do lists, or processing thoughts and emotions are often well served by pen and paper. If later you decide something you’ve written down is worthy of longer terms storage, you can always type it in.

A Time to be Messy

As much as I love being able to find prior notes and resources, I firmly believe there is a time for messy. Brainstorming sessions are one such time. No filter, no organizing while trying to capture the ideas. The time for that can come later, if needed. If you are to get all of your ideas down, this is a time for messiness.

What are some of your favorite ways to capture thoughts? Do you find it easy to re-find resources when you need them?

Others, Yourself

Who Should We Be Listening To? / Questions God Asks?

joyimpactus

“Who told you …?”

Would it surprise you that this is a question that God asked Adam. Well to be more correct, it is part of a question that God asked Adam. The full question was “Who told you that you were naked?” Genesis 3:11. The context was that Adam and Eve had done what God had commanded them not to do. As a result Adam and Eve were hiding. In the course of the discussion, Adam said he was ashamed because he was naked. This is when God asked the question. This is a question that I used to just brush right by. But as I have grown, it is a question I hear God ask me so often … Who told you … you were not enough? Who told you … you couldn’t do this? Who told you … this is just how it is? You get the idea.

So who should we, as Christians, be listening to? I know it can be easy to answer this with “God” or “Jesus”, and yes that is true. But really what does this look like. How do we walk this out? How important is it anyway?

Today I read a familiar passage …

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

This verse begins with this very topic – do you see it? “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked …” This is basically saying that it matters whose voice we give weight to!

For me, lately a way that I am working to practice this scripture is to not allow fault finders, complainers, unkind people etc to be the ones that I cower to or strive to impress. Think about it, how many times do you hear something good or neutral and just minimize it and move on, but when you hear something negative it hits like an arrow stabbing you in the heart. I want to caution you and me to be careful whose counsel we are sitting under in these situation.

I read a meme the other day that sums it up this way…

“Don’t take criticism from someone you would not go to for advice.”

I am not saying to only surround yourself with “yes men” / people who tell you what you want to hear. But I am telling you that sometimes asking ourselves “Who told you …?” is a good and healthy thing.

So what should we spend our time thinking about/listening to?

The verse addresses this as well … “And in His laws (God’s Word) he meditates day and night.” For me in practice this has meant that I have recently made it a daily (actually multiple times per day) practice that I stop (pause) and just be still and know that He is God. In those moments sometimes I just meditate (repeat over and over internally) on what God says over me. I’ll say (internally) things like God, You say that I am Your masterpiece; God, You say I can do all things. God, You say that You have chosen me.

So I want to encourage you to ask yourself “Who told me …” when you are struggling and if God did not say it, replace it with what He did say.

Others

Dependability

joyimpactus

Today I read about a speech at a local school that was about dependability. When I read this, I immediately thought, that is a great topic to speak with school aged kids about.

Do what we want when we want.

I’ve noticed that my kids tend not to make many plans very far in advance. I think this part of the technology day and age we are living in. It used to be we would have to call our friend’s home in order to make plans with them. We knew that if we didn’t make plans with them there was a very real chance that when we did want to make plans we may not be able to reach them.

Another reason I think we don’t necessarily plan ahead is simply self-centeredness. Sometimes we want to wait and see if we “feel” like doing that particular thing at that time.

So what’s the big deal if we don’t plan ahead?

So, you might be thinking to yourself, what’s the big deal if we (or our kids) don’t plan ahead. I contend that there are some things that are valuable with only come with this type of planning ahead. One of those things is the opportunity to prove ourselves dependable.

Scripture tells us that our yes needs to mean yes, and our no needs to mean no (Matthew 5:37). This sometimes means that once we’ve committed to something, we may end up needing to sacrifice in order to fulfill that commitment. I contend this is a valuable lesson for both us and our kids. It is yet another way where we learn that our life is not only about ourselves.