Last year my grandmother gave all of us girls a necklace. It had a pendant with our birthstone color and a metal pendant that had a word that was supposed to meet our personalities. Well, mine hit the nail on the head. Slam dunk. Hole in one. The word? "Honest."
Over the years I haven't really cared about how many friends I had. I can remember in high school thinking, "as long as I have these three, I'm ok." And to this day I still have two of them. I wasn't one for cliques and groups. I was just me. I still am. I still don't necessarily care about how many friends I have or if I have any. Throughout my life, people have always been turned off by me. When I was young, I felt bad that people found me to be rough around the edges. It cut me deep to know that people didn't like who I was. I didn't know why. By high school I realized, I COULD NOT CARE LESS what people thought of me. I was who I was and I wasn't going to change me to accommodate for others. (Though I know I did and still do.) In college I believe I figured it out. My pastor- Jon Davis mmhmm I'm calling you out to the world wide web- has shared his professors words to us for over a decade. "The gospel is offensive, you don't have to be." Woah. Deep words. Why is the gospel offensive? It states the truth. It is what it is. We can take it and be offended by it. OR we can take it and be convicted by it. Yikes. I soon realized that that was a huge part of why people didn't care for me. I'm honest. Sometimes too honest, for social standards. I'm offensive because I speak the truth. Over the years I have come to see that just because you know the truth doesn't mean you need to speak it. And sometimes it isn't just that I speak truth, but how I deliver the truth. And, believe it or not, I have worked on how I deliver the truth to the people around me. Some people need to hear it straight up to get it. Others need some sugar coating, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right? And sometimes I just smile and ignore things because they just aren't ready for it. So that is me. I'm honest. I'm offensive. The truth hurts us when it doesn't line up with what we want to hear. I'm not sure if I am ready to apologize for the offense of truth. However, if my delivery needed some work, I do apologize for being to blunt. I'm still growing. I'm not done yet. God is still working in me and through me. The beauty of it now is that I know I will never have a great number of friends. I know that I will have plenty that come and go. Most importantly, I know that God gave me the wisdom and discernment to know the truth in matters people wouldn't believe. It's my job to speak when needed. Whether I make friends or lose them.
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There are some women in my life who have wondered how I do it all. Well, my husband wonders also. I've been told my time management skills are top notch. In one way I'm proud and think, "Yeah, I'm pretty awesome." But usually I scoff, "Uh, it isn't that big of a deal." Yes. Yes, it is a big deal.
A few months ago I remembered the beloved bra commercials that bragged of comfort for 18 hours. Do you remember those? The woman goes from work to dinner to a club. Because isn't this what we all do? Hmph. You see, I know the importance of sleep: recovery from workouts, dealing with stress, regulating the body's systems. We're supposed to get 8 hours of sleep. I try for it, and usually get about 7. Let's say we get our 8, that leaves 16 hours of awake time. The way I see it, I have 16 hours to make the most of my day, and I don't need that 18 hour bra. So what do we do in those next 16 hours? I can't speak for everyone else, but my schedule changes from day to day. Regardless, I know I will have at least 2 hours of work Monday-Thursday and Saturday. That leaves 14 hours. But most days I work more, like 6 hours and my time drops to 10 hours left. An hour, maybe, for a workout. 13-9 hours. How much time do we spend preparing, cooking, serving, and eating food? Especially those of us stay at home mamas that are getting food for our kids every hour and a half! I clearly don't spend too much time on my appearance, so the shower and getting ready doesn't take much time. When we come down to it, we have single digit hours to get the house clean, laundry done, groceries bought, and more. How are we expected to do it all and keep ourselves together? Here's how I do it. I schedule and plan like it's my job. I fell in love with a planner that has months, weeks, and days. I write down every appointment. I write down every client. People think I'm crazy. Some would say I'm too rigid. But when the end of the day comes, I feel accomplished. I know I get more done in a day than others do in week. It isn't just a list of chores. It's also my checklist for what I do daily- quiet time, workout, reading, writing, work, AJ's schoolwork- and weekly - project for knitting, candles for client, typing pages for novel, posting on the website or blog. My "work" is something that I created for myself when I was getting ready for shows and building inventory. "Work"ing is my weekly to do list. So for my "work" to get checked off, I would have to do part of that list. Here's a big key of to do lists: The check off. When your day has 18 things to do, each check mark next to something empowers you to do more. And at 6:00pm when the last item is checked off, you feel the freedom. You can let yourself relax. Now, I will give you some advice about those checks. Do not check something off until it is completely done. My husband used to kill me with this. When he had a day off and wanted to help me, he would check things off like crazy. One day I felt so accomplished seeing all the checks. Until I walked into my bedroom and there were two loads of laundry unfolded and hanging out. I had a conversation with my hubby that went a little something like this: "Um, Charlie?" "Yeah." "I thought the laundry was done?" "It is. I just need to fold it and put it away." "Then it isn't done." I repeat - DO NOT CHECK SOMETHING OFF UNLESS IT IS DONE COMPLETELY. It just leads to misconceptions and false hope. Here's and example of a typical week day for me on my planner. **Note - I wake up at 5:00 to do my workout, even though it gets a different time slot. 6:00- QT (quiet time) Workout 7:00- Read Read 8:00- Write Work 9:00- AJ Schoolwork 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 - Training (I write the person's name, but I won't share online.) 2:00 - Bus 3:00- Tutor/Tutor (Two students at the same time) Tutor 4:00- Tutor Caleb Homework 5:00- Training 6:00- Caleb read Daily list: Weekly list: Linens Type (35 pages) Sort kids laundry Candles Walmart Knit Scarf Bank Two workouts online Now, my daily things in the time slots are usually done by 10. They are there to be checked off. (Yes, people think putting Quiet time, also known as devotional time or time with Jesus, shouldn't be a check list item. And now, I probably don't need it. But I used to. I used to need it on my daily planner to make sure I made time for HIM.) The clients, be it training or tutoring, are placed at their appointment times. I'm sure some people still think I'm crazy for writing every little thing down. I am! And I will be more crazy if I sit around trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing! So list it out. List out every little thing! Then check it off! You'll find yourself with more things accomplished, and more stress free free time! It is good for the soul to manage your time well. The Bible teaches us repeatedly to be good stewards of what we have. That includes our money, time, influence, talent, and more. The verses that keeps me moving are Ephesians 5:15-17. I will leave you all with it. "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time because the days are filled with evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." This isn't my first attempt at a blog. However, with my first blog I didn't know what I wanted to talk about. As you can see, I wear many hats, juggle many balls, have a lot on my plate. I never knew what I was supposed to talk about. What did people want to hear from me? And this is what I'm learning. I have a lot of knowledge in the categories you see on the home page of this website. And the truth of it is, I love those parts of my life. I love my family beyond words. And that's saying a lot since I love words and write on a daily basis. I stay fit for me, and my business. Yes, Sweeney fitness is a profitable business that I pour my heart and soul into because I want to see a healthier world. I tutor for even more of a profit. For some reason people trust me with their children. I then receive the joy of watching the light bulb click on for the first time. It's thrilling. And I create. I create jewelry, candles, and knitting projects on top of other things. Each aspect of my life is me. Without it I don't know where I would be or who I would be. God has blessed me with skills, knowledge and passion. Who am I to waste them? So after a Facebook post wondering what y'all (don't know if I like that) might want to read about, I concluded - a little bit of everything. So check back. I know for sure I will publish one blog post every week, but maybe there will be weeks where I just have more to say. Sometimes the blog posts will line up with a different page like home and family, or fitness. Sometimes it will just be me saying what needs to be said.
Thank you to all that have encouraged me to do this. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so, scared! Haha - Just kidding, but if you know the reference, I love you. |
AuthorI have a lot to say about a lot of things. Archives
May 2023
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