Priorities Archives - Living Above the Noise

Finding Love in a Storm

I sit, watching the storm blow in, and I can’t help but remember my childhood at the lake.

Sitting on the oversized, padded porch swing tucked under my grandparents’ cottage, my cousins and I would swing and laugh and plan the next excursion of our summer vacation. We’d gather there in storms just like the one today, feeling oh, so safe amidst the pounding rain and the thundering bellow of the clouds.

And I realize something.

There is nothing so wonderful, or calming, and as peaceful as feeling safe — of knowing we are loved.

Those days at the cottage were my favorite memories of childhood. I often wonder why.

I imagine it’s because we gathered as families, loved by parents and grandparents who cared about giving us simple gifts like this — our yearly family vacation.

Possibly it was in this lovely space away from home, we had no cares in the world. Both adults and children left the hustle of work and chores to get away and breathe.

But one thing remains. A sense of peace. Of security. Of love.

God Give the Gift of a Storm

The quiet of the rain softly pattering on the roof. The mist brushes our cheeks as we swing on the porch. The slow rumble of the thunder echoes its way across the sky.

And we have peace. Peace amidst the storm.

I pause and ponder for the first time in what feels like months. And I realize how very important it is to give one another that sense of peace and love. That feeling of being wrapped in a parent’s arms in the storm, knowing we are safe. And loved.

Seek out your children or grandchildren today. Let them know they are loved and safe with you. Let them know you will be by their side. No. Matter. What.

Of course, remember this doesn’t limit us only to children needing safety and love. Our spouses need that same affirmation. And friends. Even enemies.

If that makes you nervous, go to God, the source of all Love and Peace. Ask Him how to love while seeking nothing in return.

He’s the expert! His love never fails.

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

This Is Definitely What Christmas Is All About, Charlie Brown!

By livingabovethenoise

Linus’s age-old adage rings as true now as it did 50 years ago! We remember with much nostalgia when he recites Luke 2, then concludes with the refrain, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”

Christmas is all about Jesus. It’s about celebrating God’s greatest gift to us — Jesus — our salvation through nothing else but faith in God’s Son.

Getting Sidetracked This Christmas?

It’s too easy to get sidetracked thinking it’s about decorations and gifts. Now, we love a decorated house this time of year! But it can get overwhelming. And you know about those hundred gifts on your list. “What?” you say. “I don’t have a hundred gifts on my list!” Umm, count again. Include teachers, bosses, neighbors, friends, greeting cards with pictures, stocking stuffers, cookies for the neighbors….yep, you’re getting close to a hundred! See what I mean about sidetracked?

Now don’t think I don’t understand. I’m right here with you….like forgetting about our Jesse tree and instead, getting started on my shopping trips. Reading the real Christmas story only because my daughters had a party for my ‘grandboys’! ‘Tis true…but get this — when I read to those wondering eyes, when I saw the intent on their faces, I remembered again.

This truly is the reason for the season. It is our job, our duty, to make sure we’re not quiet about what we believe and in Whom we believe!

Won’t you join me in relishing in the tinsel and holly and glitter, but not forgetting that simple, cold manger so many years ago? The sheer beauty of God’s gift of everlasting life, brought to us in the tiny frame of a babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Keep Christ’s Love In Christmas

A bit of encouragement and some ideas to renew your sense of purpose this season:

– Our friend owns a thrift store in town, but it’s not just any thrift shop! This one uses the store’s proceeds to feed the hungry in our community. Check out your local ministries to discover how you can help the needy this year. People are cold, hungry, lonely, sick. What can we do to be Jesus’s hands of mercy to them?

– Tiny Tim is a name most people know. Learn how to share God’s love from his simple pronouncement to those around him.

– Here’s a great way to bless those in need this year! It’s so easy to pass by those in need along the road. What if we were prepared for those meetings by having a care bag of goodies to hand the homeless? We will never have an excuse to look the other way. (We have a homeless woman on the edge of town. We pass her most days and wonder how she does it with the cold weather approaching. Reading this post again has me excited to bring her a care package this week!)

– Some people ask the question, Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? It’s easy to see that it’s gotten out of hand with Santa, “Happy Holidays,” and compulsory gift-giving. Some proclaim Christmas is for pagans and just a copycat of idol worship. My post declares why it’s a good thing to celebrate. Choose for yourselves….but as for me and my house, we will celebrate the Lord!

– Visit a Fire or Police Station and bring goodies for these first responders! With a son-in-law who has this difficult job, we see first-hand how much we take our safety for granted. Give the gift of appreciation this year!

There are so many ways we can remember what Christmas is all about. Let’s share our ideas — with friends and family — and here. Leave a comment with ways your family celebrates or shares God’s love this time of year!

Happy Holy Day & Merry Christ-mas one and all!

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:16-20

Planning For God’s Glory—Or Your Own?

By livingabovethenoise

You know—God is amazing! He works in the little things, but usually, we only notice Him in the big things. Sad. Because it’s in the little things where we can be truly faithful and follow His course.

After getting jazzed about planning this year (and I’m still over-the-top jazzed!) God woke me up last weekend to realize this. Everything I do—everything you do—is for His glory and in His plan for our lives!

So then, of course, planning would rank pretty high on our lists! Why? Because, if you can commit to using all the hours, days, weeks, and years for doing our best for Him (not to get into heaven; I’m not talking about that kind of work!) you’ll know you’re doing the best with the limited time you have. Exciting isn’t it?!

My tips for you this week:

Meditate—take a break here and there from the busy rush of life.
Think about what God brings to your mind.
Pray. Pray for wisdom to discern both what you need to do and what you need to stop doing.
Then get that planner out and start crossing things off and adding things into each week and day! It’s the only way you can really know you’re using each moment to do the best you can with what you’ve been given!

So there! Won’t you join me in using this life for the best God intended it to be?!

He knows just what you need. Trust.

Blessings this week!

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17

3 Steps To Stop The Chaos…Why You Need A Plan!

By livingabovethenoise

Are You Guilty Of Creating Chaos?

Did you know you can create chaos through lack of planning? Does a feeling of insanity ever come to mind? Then this post is for you—the eternally busy person with lots of to-do’s in their day, lots of people in their life, and lots of ideas in their mind. Somehow, some way, you need to make a plan. You need to get all the details of life organized so you can live above all the noise!

What’s the reward? Organization and order which bring calm, peace, and sanity.

You will gain sanity through planning.

Life’s busy for all of us, but the extent of that “busy” will depend on your season of life and your personality. If you have lots of ideas, goals, dreams, and projects you know what I mean when I talk of chaos and stress. And you need this post! If you enjoy a more simple lifestyle, you may not have big goals and lots of projects. For you, order comes more naturally. This post will help you stay sane when the busier seasons of life come.

I’m not a person who organically finds order in my day—but I crave it as I juggle all my responsibilities. Because I’m in the trenches like you, I’m seeking that balance between my always-saying-yes-to-great-opportunities personality and the reality that I need some structure and routine in my life! It’s given me plenty of opportunities to learn about planning, goal setting, brainstorming, planners, and more.

How about you? Do you want the peace of mind that comes from choosing to use your time well? But where do you start? Let me share some of what I’ve learned along the way!

Planning — Let’s Start With The “Why’s”

As you work through these steps and think hard about what it will take to accomplish your goals, you’ll discover activities or belongings that are just keeping you busy. They aren’t really helping you. You’ll see other things that stand out as really important. Sifting the time-wasters out of your life will help you turn down the noise in your own corner of the world!

#1 — First Things First – Why You Need A Plan

We all need a place to record our calendar items, the dates and times for events. Don’t just hope you’ll remember. Record them somewhere or you’ll forget one of them. Don’t ask how I know! :o)

When we know what’s next on our plate, it’s so much easier to enjoy the meal. Right?!

My Living Well Planner just arrived! I am so excited to have a new space to not only keep track of my events and to-do’s—but to plan and develop a system to reach my goals this year. (You’ll see what’s on my goals list below!)

Why am I so excited to get my planner? I love the motivation of starting fresh with a new perspective! My tendency is to write a to-do list or a brainstorm list (like everyone tells you to). Then, I get lazy. I use the list to choose what I feel like doing—then I record what I did in my day. Note the past tense verb! No planning. Just a list of to-do’s, then haphazard actions toward getting them done, and recording what I did in my planner. All with the hope they were the best things to get done. Argh. But there is a better way!

Here’s a little side story of how habits can stop serving us. My daughter-in-law happened to hear me talking about how this year I’m going to actually use my planner to plan, not just record what I did on a day. She outright laughed! She said, “You mean you write down what you did after you did it?!” That’s when I realized I’d been operating on pre-cell-phone-era habits. Back when the only way to remember life’s events was to write them down. With email, Instagram, and Facebook we don’t need to keep track anymore. We have a constant record of times and dates of events!

In what ways are you operating on old habits? Remember, a planner isn’t just a glorified calendar. It’s actually for planning all those activities ahead of time! Novel idea, huh?!

If you’re new to organizing and using a planner, this post will help you see even more benefits of planning. You can learn about all the different styles of planners here. My recent post, Time to Get Organized, has lots of helpful links and ideas to get you started thinking about the bigger picture of your life.

#2 — The Importance of Having Goals & Finding Accountability

Like the song from Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the very beginning.” A really good place to start is with what you want to accomplish…this year, in the next five years, or beyond. Your goal could be as simple as “clean out all my closets” or as complicated as “get my doctorate degree.” Based on the amount of time needed to do it, work your way backward using a calendar to see when you need to get started in order to make it happen! (The “How” steps in my next post will make this less overwhelming. I promise!)

You’ll quickly discover you need a place to map out your course. Plus, it’s easy to miss the important step of how to stay on track with those goals. A planner is the perfect tool for self-accountability…

…but we often miss another driving factor—outside accountability. Share your plans and goals with a like-minded friend, your spouse, or kids! It will motivate you to stay on track. The pressure of commitment helps you remember you were actually headed somewhere. Plus, you’ll gain a new perspective.

Let that special “someone” in on your plan to get organized, reach for a dream, or hit the bullseye on a goal. When you talk through your ideas, you’ll actually hear what you’re saying out loud, which helps hone your thoughts. Plus, that person wants to help you stay on track especially if they have something you can help them accomplish. Find your “someone” and let them in on your dreams!

Here are my goals for 2018-2019:

Really use my planner to bring order out of the chaos of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them.
Gain order in my home after 16 months of moving in and remodeling.
Update and revise this blog — hone my message; reach more readers with encouragement and ideas, develop great tools to help them live above the noise.
Write a book! This is one scary goal to share! Over the years, friends encouraged me to write a book using my experiences and ideas. My book is for parents—to help them realize their potential in teaching their kids to think, love learning, be responsible, along with discovering their child’s individual “why.” I also love to encourage the entrepreneur in people, so we’ll see where I fit that in!
Develop discipline to stay on course with my responsibilities, goals, and my plan.

Okay, so are you ready to get accountable for your goals? Share them! Write them on your Facebook page or post in the comments below. Accountability is good for us—it encourages us to know other people are hiking over the same rough terrain we are. We root for them while they cheer us on! Let’s get going on our goals together!

#3 — The Importance of Having A Planner — And Using It!

You know the old adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s a no-brainer. The busier life gets the more we need to plan. A plan keeps things from slipping through the cracks. Remember, all the stuff accumulating on our list along with those last-minute fire drills keep us from working on our bigger goals. We get sidetracked and forget what’s important! Planning actually helps you weed out the unimportant and it quiets your to-do list!

So…the solution? Get that planner! Take it from an over-analyzer. Just decide. I’ve used lots of planners over the years, but I’ve never found the perfect one. I’d procrastinate for months on end, trying to find the one planner suited just for me and my season. I’ve tried to save money by designing my own. But doing so much research always puts me behind. I’m finally realizing something. It doesn’t have to be perfect! And I don’t have to do all the work! Ahhh. (You’ll find free ready-made planner templates at Canva or you can choose from a variety of pre-made planners.)

In the 2nd picture in this post, I’m using Ruth Soukup’s weekly and daily planning pages (you can find them in her planner and on her website. I don’t have the routine down yet, but because PROGRESS is my word this year I’m committed to working on self-discipline and gaining order in my day! Messing up isn’t going to stop me. Don’t let it stop you, either!

Don’t forget this!

When we think it should be easy, we set ourselves up for disappointment when the going gets tough.

The solution? Expect reshaping habits to be painful. Don’t let the pain stop you from reaching for your goals.

Remember, the reward is sweet!

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

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