by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Accountability is difficult, yet essential in living what Jesus refers to as the abundant, full life.(John 10:10)
The A-word can pop up in various ways but today, let’s talk personal accountability.
You may ask what this has to do with making over our mornings. Consider this…
“The lack of accountability is likely the biggest culprit for so many of our failed projects, bad habits, poor routines, and unmet goals.”
Have you seen this truth come to fruition in your life? I’ve seen it more times than I’d like to admit, so how do we go about finding (and becoming) the right accountability partner?
- Find someone of the same sex that you trust implicitly. When their words hurt—which they will at times if you have the right accountability partner—you can rest in knowing and trusting the heart from which the words flowed. Having this type of trust is a must. (As an accountability partner, we must always ask God to check our motives before speaking.)
- Be clear about your goal(s) and specific steps you plan to take to reach those goals.
- Decide how you will communicate. Is shooting them a text enough or do you need a face-to-face commitment, or could you do both?
- Decide up front what you want them to do if you don’t contact them as specified. (I know, it’s hard to imagine, but…)
- Be totally honest with your partner. After all, God is already aware of whatever it is you’re thinking, feeling, or experiencing. (Psalm 139)
I’m passionate about this subject because I’ve experienced the power of transparency in my own life. Spiritually and emotionally, I have three accountability partners. Tough questions are posed and let’s just say my answers aren’t always what my partner hoped for, or expected. Physically, I attend a weekly Weight Watchers meeting. Knowing that a scale, two amazing WW coaches (Marlon and Hillary!), and a room full of fellow participants await me every Friday makes me weigh my food and exercise choices more carefully.
My mornings feel more orderly when I have accountability in place. Not perfect, mind you, but certainly more peaceful.
Is there a particular goal or habit you want to begin putting into practice? Find an accountability partner. Also be willing to become one. Hey, we all have goals, aspirations, and dreams! Let’s spur on one another in the power and grace of Jesus Christ!
How about you? Do you currently have an accountability partner? If so, how has this kind of accountability crushed your culprits in life? If not, are you considering finding one? (I’ll be praying for you!)
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
A favorite Lamentations verse lies between one that speaks of broken teeth in gravel (v. 16) and sitting alone in silence (v. 28):
Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3: 22, 23
Let’s face it. Some mornings feel consumed by everything but God’s compassion yet there it is, every single morning—God faithfulness covering our day.
I personally love mornings. Always have. Recently, though, I’ve felt discombobulated, like there’s too much trying to weave its way into my thinking, into my days. Perhaps the decluttering process I spoke of in
last month’s post needs to begin in the heart as much as it does the corners of my house.
So, with this in mind, I’ll take every Monday in September to share ways we can begin to make over our mornings – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. [Due to Labor Day, my post will be on Wednesday instead of Monday.]
To get things started, what is one area in your home or life you would like to begin the decluttering process?
And don’t forget…
It’s not too late to enter the August giveaway!
One last thing I’m learning as we close out this month’s series: Based on the elaborate displays in Barnes and Noble we are never too old to color! If
you would like to enter the random drawing for this “adult” coloring
book on Joy by Valentina Harper, simply fill in the blank via the
comment section! Winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 9th.
One thing I’m currently learning is _________________________________________.
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| Purchased at Barnes and Noble |
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
I hate clutter but you wouldn’t know if you knocked on my front door today. It would instead appear as a lifelong friend making itself right at home in any corner it pleases.
Little does it know, a plan is being set in motion to pack its bag and cart it off to the closest Goodwill. (Brian, ignore the stand-up bass loaded in the truck below.)
So why have I allowed books to nestle in the corners and a multitude of notes to scatter on multiple surface tops? I get overwhelmed—quickly! But you know what they say…
If you keep doing the same thing, then you will keep getting the same results.
I plan to share my decluttering strategy in more details down the road. Today, I share three unique questions that will lead the way:
- If I were shopping right now, would I buy this? Talk about a fresh perspective!
- Does it fit me or my current living space? I face the prospect of getting rid of my, shall I say, “spacier” clothes? That’s a lot of clothes but holding onto them signals my willpower that it’s okay if I gain my weight back. It’s not okay.
- Is the only thing that’s keeping me from disposing of this item is that I don’t want to waste money? This is a biggie. I’m learning that the ironic part of this argument is that our “stuff” often ends up costing us much more in the end — mentally and physically. There’s upkeep, the worry of someone knocking on the door which could result in two hazards: (1) our stacks will topple and (2) someone will see our stacks topple, and a whole host of other effects of clutter.
Okay, that’s all the transparency I can handle for one day.
Which of the three questions above would motivate you most to jump on the decluttering junk wagon?
(To read the source (Popsugar, Emily Co.) for the above questions in its entirety, click here.)
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life–whether you
have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more
than food, and your body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
The task was daunting for someone like me. Knowing how I want something to look is one thing, but getting it there often requires more confidence than I can muster. For instance, painting our farmhouse table legs a distressed white.
But one Fallish morning, it dawned on me that I’m not limited by own knowledge, or lack thereof. Pinterest and similar sites are just a tap away! What’s the worst that could happen? I could always slap a coat of black back on the legs if needed.
Chalk paint or no chalk paint? Gloss, semi-gloss, or flat? I was inundated with hundreds of options. Then, the pins parted, revealing one of my now favorite sites — Love Grows Wild. Liz’s option was simple. So simple, in fact, that I had everything but the paint on hand. Score.
What do you need?
Vaseline
Paint and brush
Damp rag
My version below will give you a glimpse into the process. When I did this last year I didn’t think to document my progress so these are just random photos taken along the way. To read Liz’s tutorial, visit her post on distressing here.
To ensure I’d like the new white distressed legs, I held up a white sheet of paper against the dark tabletop. I also googled images to snatch additional ideas. How could we survive thrive without Pinterest?
Okay, that’s self-explanatory, but hopefully you agree I made the right choice painting the legs white.
I began by painting a flat gray color over the black to add a layer beneath the white. This way, when distressed with the sandpaper block, gray would show through instead of black. The sweet part of this deal was the paint guy at Lowes took a flat black and simply added white to the mix until it hit the tint of gray I desired. The flat black paint was a return so I saved a few bucks which was, however, promptly spent at Starbucks on the way home.
BEFORE painting it white, I applied Vaseline, as Liz states in her tutorial. I smoothed it out with my finger, mostly around edges where natural distressing would occur over time. A few times I took my damp rag and whisked away at the edges in hopes of producing a more natural look. Remember! Wherever the Vaseline is, the overlay of paint (white, in my case) will not adhere well, so apply carefully. I painted two coats of white, waited until it was dry to touch, and then went back with a lightweight piece of sandpaper, gently sweeping across the less-adhered areas. It worked beautifully!
I chose to live with a lightly distressed table for awhile since I can always go back and distress it more. We’ve lived with it now for almost a year and still love it.
I’m learning that I can do things if I’m willing to have a teachable spirit…and follow tutorials by Liz from Love Grows Wild.
What’s something you’ve done that you didn’t think you could do?
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
