Principles for your journey to Fabulous!
I love these principles that Brenda came up with and how perfectly it goes with getting our priorities straight! No one said this was easy! Being a Princess is going to take a lot of hard work....but work that is eventually more rewarding than anything you will EVER do!!
Perseverance
"If you give your best only part of the time, your life will be like a puzzle with half of the pieces missing. The picture looks promising and interesting, but without all the pieces it is incomplete and not worth much" (p.194) I used Brenda's exact words here because they explain it so well. Have you ever felt like that, or know that you had done that? It is so true. I know that I have had days at work where I did not put my best effort in. I always regret it and usually end up working twice as hard the next day because I redo the job I did part way to do it the right way. What a waste of time and effort, even though it was only half effort. If we do our best at all times, we will feel better about ourselves on a daily basis knowing we gave it our all, but also, when people want to point fingers or accuse you of not doing everything you should, you know it's a lie, and better yet, God knows it's a lie, so we don't need to beat ourselves up over others' words.
The principle of neglect
This is kinda like saying that it is ok to say no or not right now, sometimes. Put first things first (see the post about priorities!) and neglect the things that don't need to be done right now....or maybe not done at all. Putting first things first on a daily basis might look different for each one of us. Some of us work outside the home and some do not. I don't right now, so my first things are my quiet time directly after breakfast, then each day is a little different as to whether or not chores are done first or errands or if I have appointments. But each day my tasks are prioritized, and some days, things get neglected! It took me awhile to be ok with that, but as long as I have accomplished the most important things each day, I am content.....and I NEVER thought I would be able to say that! Then there are the times where we need to completely ignore something, neglect it, altogether. For example in the priorities post I described the girl who couldn't get her homework done for all her activities and friends. Maybe on certain nights of the week, she doesn't talk to her friends on the phone...she will see them the next day in school. Perhaps she doesn't need to be involved in every sport offered...choose the one or two you really like and let go of the others. The stress of keeping up with all of these activities is sometimes more than the enjoyment you can get from them....that's a little crazy if you ask me.
The principle of blinders
Yes, blinders, just like you see horses wear in a horse race to keep them from being distracted by anything other than what is directly in front of them. And, my word, we live in a world full of distractions!! When I was a kid, our first TV was black and white and we got 3 channels. Now I have about 100. On the internet I can find anything, and I do mean ANYTHING! Even I have a cellphone that is smarter then me, and a computer, and an ipad (it was free!), and a Wii, and all kinds of DVDs and books, etc. I could fill up every second of my life with what I have right now and still not even touch all the things there are in this world to distract me!! I have got to put some blinders on. If over half of those things I listed weren't given to me I wouldn't have them, and I have gotten rid of a lot of things while doing the 1 Year to an Organized Life. People do not understand me and in fact have gotten mad at me when I have said no to them about things this past year. I do not work outside the home, therefore I do nothing....sound familiar? Certain people feel that I should come running whenever they want or need something. And I do want to help people. In fact this summer has been very hectic for me in that regard, but I have also managed to still keep up with at least the Bible study and organizational study here on the blog, as well as my quiet time. Those things I will not give up as I feel that it is my calling and task at this point in my life. I have to put my blinders on to other things so I don't let these things go. Jesus said, "follow me!" He didn't say look to your left and right as you trail along behind Me somewhere, we are to follow Him, and sometimes, just like a workhorse needs to stay focused, we need to make the decision to put our blinders on and follow Him.
Until Next Time.....
Franny
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