Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem

Tag Archives: boundaries


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Great Week!

It’s been a great week! Some common things, some random things and some unexpected things. I figured I’d just share those with you.

Sunday

First of all, we had amazing weather all week long! August is usually crazy hot and humid, giving our city the nickname “Hotlanta.” But this past week, it was as if Southern California descended upon us and kissed our foreheads. It’s been so wonderful to be outside, and I’m hoping this trend will take us into the fall.

Monday

I ate lunch with my friend and co-worker, Jen, who is always fun to talk to. We’ve both had a lot going on lately, so there’s never a lull in the conversation. She’s been a great source of encouragement and advice, and hopefully I am returning the favor. I’m glad to have a few good friends at the office that I can really hang out with.

I also received my copy of The Entitlement Cure by Dr. John Townsend. He is the co-author of Boundaries, probably the book I have recommended more than any other. If you haven’t read it, do yourself and everyone else around you a favor. It changed my life. But, I am really excited to be a part of the launch team for this new book. That means I’m getting to read it, promote it and give my feedback before it actually becomes available for sale. Pretty fun. So far, I can already tell you that it’s worth the read! Entitlement is an issue I think we all struggle with on some level, so I love that this book is addressing it.

Tuesday

This was a whopper of a day! I got an alert from a travel website I follow, TravelZoo, that said Frontier airlines was having a crazy two-day sale, with fares as low as $20 per one-way, AND they gave you a $5 code.

I have a lot of work travel coming up this fall, plus two event launches, so it really wasn’t a good time for additional personal travel. But for a deal like that, I had to look, right? And I thought maybe I could swing something in my own time zone to make it easier. I’ve really been wanting to get up to NYC to take in a Broadway show. I start getting a little antsy if it’s been too long—and it’s been too long. I’ve always said, if airlines would make it cheap to get in and out on the same day, I’d go regularly to see a show. But alas… So, I thought this would be my chance. Unfortunately, you only had one flight each day to choose from, so it ended up as an overnight trip, which hopefully I can use hotel points for. But, drum roll please, I scored a round trip flight to NYC for $30!

So, of course, now I’m on a buyer’s high! I looked to see if there was another option I could take advantage of. DC is another place I’ve been wanting to get back to, and it happened to be one of the handful of options open for this deal. Plus, there are still a number of things I’ve never done in DC. So, I snatched that one up too—yes, for $30 round trip! So, now I have a total of seven trips in about a 10-week time period, but I’m going to get to do some fun things!

I also started listening to Jen Hatmaker’s new book, For The Love. I can’t even begin to describe how much I adore this woman and want to be her friend. This new book just makes me dive a little deeper into my obsession. I laughed and cried and have already recommended this book to everyone I saw this week. Love. Love. Love. Get it now!

To top that day off, I had a long-overdue coffee date with my friend, Michelle. We were able to just slow down and catch up for a few hours. It was lovely, and the perfect end to Tuesday.

Wednesday

I went to my regular naturopath appointment, and got the results back from some recent tests I had done. Thank goodness—things are getting better! I’ve had chronic health issues for almost three and a half years. But my most recent blood and saliva tests show improvement and my body starting to work more the way its supposed to. This was a relief, since I was going through yet another phase of being frustrated about all of this. I am grateful for all of their help, and despite the expense, know that treating my body naturally is the way to go. Huzzah—starting to see some real progress!

I also finished watching the final season of The Newsroom. My love for Aaron Sorkin’s writing knows no bounds. It began with Sports Night, then The West Wing, followed by Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (my fav), and now The Newsroom. I wish everyone everywhere spoke the way this man writes. Wit and repartee and banter at its finest. Aaron, I’m waiting with baited breath until your next TV show. Please don’t make me wait too long.

Thursday

Despite my horrendous start to the day in getting my driver’s license renewed, the rest of the day was pretty enjoyable. (See rant on Facebook here. ) If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I love conferences and frequently attend them. Well, my friend Eryn was speaking at a conference in LA this week that I really wanted to go to, but couldn’t make it work. It’s called Yellow Conference, and I have been stalking them for about a month now.

Since I could attend, I ended up purchasing the Live Stream pass. So, Thursday was spent listening to incredible women and men with inspiring stories while I worked away at my computer. It was not as awesome as it would’ve been to be there, but still a great alternative. I was unable to listen in on Friday, but I’m excited to go back and watch the videos soon. And, Yellow Conference, I’ll see you in person next year!

Friday

Friday was a day for reconnecting. I had morning coffee with my friend, Pattie, who was in town for the day. She was the Georgia Chapter co-director for Not For Sale when we met, and was a great boss to volunteer under. She moved to South Georgia a while back, so I rarely see her anymore, and this was a real treat. It was fantastic to hear what’s going on in her life and tell her about mine. We always speak so easily with each other, and it was a great way to start the day.

After that, I headed over to one of my favorite places in ATL, Dr. Bombay’s, which has been mentioned numerous times on this blog since I just went to India with my friend Katrell who is the owner, as well as another friend and her employee, Stephanie. I hadn’t been able to hang out with Stephanie since returning from India, so we planned to work on our own stuff, drink chai, and chat in between. This was so nice. Katrell was also in that day so I got to hang out some with her too. It was a great way to end the work week—productivity, friends, coffee, tea and patio weather.

Saturday

Energy is a precious and rare commodity with any long-term illness. And for one that began with mono, it’s especially true. So perhaps it was the momentum of this week, but I woke up with a good amount of energy and a desire to be outside in this terrific weather in case it decides to take a hike. So, I headed out to the Silver Comet Trail for a long walk. I ended up making it about 3.5 miles, which I was pretty proud of. And it was doubly good because I listened to my newest audio book, Off Balance, during the first part of the walk and prayed on the way back. I was tired and sweaty when I finished, but it felt really good. I’m so grateful to have ended my week this way. Praying I’ll be able to do it again soon!

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who made it a great week!

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My Word for 2015

466850191Well, 2015 is officially underway! Can you believe it! I work in event marketing, so we’re always a year ahead on the calendar. But nevertheless, when said year shows up on my doorstep, it still seems pretty surreal.

The New Year means a lot of things to a lot of people: new goals, new diet, new budget, etc. For me, one thing is always consistent. It means a new “word for the year” or theme. I love everything “new” (and a theme) so it’s always an exciting time for me to choose my new word. I usually start thinking about it sometime in November.

My word for the year is a very cherished tradition. My friend Daron had the idea to take a word and use it as a lens to view your year. Post where you can see it regularly, and it helps guide you navigate each day. This way you can look at a year proactively, instead of coming to the end of the year and only reacting to what happened. You engage your year more along the way. So a group of my friends and I have done this for years, sharing our word and accompanying Bible verse, checking in with each other throughout the year to see how it’s going, and then evaluating at the end. It has changed my years!

For 2015, I had an idea in mind, but couldn’t quite figure out how to articulate it. I came up with the word in December, but I had to let it marinate for a while to see if I’d keep it or find something more suitable. But as the end of the year came to an end, it seemed a good fit. And that word is FRAME.

Weird, huh? Yeah, I thought so too. It was out of the ordinary for me. I always try to pick a verb because I like the notion that it keeps me in motion, moving forward. But FRAME allows me both a verb and a noun—a two-for-one kind of word!

The original idea came from the concept of “margin” which I’d loved since my friend Mark retaught an Andy Stanley sermon series on the subject years ago. Create space, or boundaries, around things like time, money and relationships to allow for a buffer when the space is pushed beyond what you’re comfortable with. It’ll help you bounce back, or not make decisions you’ll regret. That’s kind of a lousy explanation, but hopefully you get the gist. So, “margin” became part of my group’s vernacular. It’s something I’ve since striven for, with sometimes good and sometimes not so good results. But I keep trying!

This past year really pushed against my boundaries, though, so I decided to make them a priority for 2015. I could take 30 minutes to explain the theme, and even make gestures to emphasize it with my hands, but until I came up with FRAME I couldn’t really condense it. And who has room for a soliloquy on their bathroom mirror?

FRAME gave me what I needed. And at the same time, in noun form, I think it helps me form a picture of what I want 2015 to be. See what I did there?

So, FRAME it is. And I think it’s a keeper. I’ve already started putting it into practice, and it’s doing it’s job. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead, and time to invest in this word along the way. Even though I don’t know what’s in store, I know it will allow me to give 2015 the perspective it needs.

And speaking of perspective, that leads me to my Scripture. I think this verse sums up how to FRAME my year.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

 

Typically, I just choose my word through prayer, Scripture, contemplation and conversation, but this year I came across a few resources that were fun to incorporate. I actually had no idea so many people did this same “one word” thing! So, I wanted to list them here for you in case you’re interested in starting this tradition and want a little guidance. The last few are just some great advice for ending one year well and starting the next one strong.

  • One Word That Will Change Your Life – I stumbled across this book when someone posted about their four-day reading plan with the YouVersion Bible on Facebook. Their book only takes about 45 minutes to read, and I suggest it as an accompaniment to the reading plan. The reading plan on its own is a little abrupt to get the full effect, in my opinion.
  • My One Word – This book is about four hours long, and is great if you want more direction, stories and Scripture.
  • Andy Stanley’s Breathing Room series – You can watch or listen via iTunes to this four-part series on finding margin in your life regarding time, money and relationships. He teaches this now and again under different names with a little different emphasis, but I found this one most helpful for where I am right now in life.
  • 9 Actions You Must Take to Reach Your Biggest Goals by Rick Warren – This two part article is exactly what you’d expect from Rick Warren, practical and wise. A good read.
  • Preparing for a Fantastic 2015 – I came across this blog a couple of years ago during my SIMPLIFY theme. This couple sold all their stuff to travel the world. They talked about cutting the clutter to follow their dreams, and well, that was about the only sales pitch I needed to follow them. 😉 I include this post of theirs, however, not because I think everyone should follow their dream, but I really like how they take the time to sit and evaluate their year with a specific process. And of course, as a married couple, I could see the benefit of doing this with a spouse to get on the same page. So, an extra bonus there for you duos.

Hope your 2015 is off to a great start! May you find joy, and a little margin, in it over the next 11 and a half months.