Month: July 2022

Checking In

We are sailing thru the third quarter of the year. How smooth is your sailing?

It is important in these tough times to maintain joykeepers in our routine.

The worldscene is in a devastating place right now and although we do not want to be obsessed we must be aware of what is going on globally. It seems we may feel hopeless at times when we see what’s going on yet we can pray for others in difficult situations.

The fact that we have our own situations can be challenging. There are those that are near and dear that we worry about. It is true we have our own responsibilities we have to care for. And sometimes our own situations can consume most of our time whether it’s financial responsibilities, life‘s responsibilities, shortage of time, funds or energy. It is hard to keep up, however we still have to make time to go out and get that walk to enjoy a little sunshine or read a bit in a book or listen to some good music. We can call someone that needs to hear from us. We can express love and care now. There are many things we can do to enrich our life.
We still have five months, approximately 23 weeks to accomplish self improvement goals. what goals have you set? To save a little, or to establish a new routine for improved rest, or to replAce one meal a day with a healthy salad, or organizing our paperwork so we can be ready for tax time early. There are many things we can do in this 23 weeks to be more organized and more healthy. Join me in this, I believe I will do this Eight Minute exercise routine every morning from today on. I found it on you tube. Now onto the joy keepers…

We could get a massage if you can afford it or a pedicure. It is vital to take good care of yourself. Giving more attention to our personal care routine like our hair, skin and nails once a week. Before bed I rub a nice jelly like lotion into my nail beds of fingers and toes, it is a way to acknowledge them each day for working so hard for me.

I enjoy being able to watch some PBS music shows. A great channel is JW Broadcasting on the Roku with some really positive and encouraging talks, movies, and beautiful music always free.

The walks can help take care of your physical health. Bible reading helps with my spiritual, emotional and mental health. Going out in the sunshine a bit always cheers me up.

Each month I try to find a couple new recipes to try. I want to make simple soups and not alot of it. A friend just recommended I try to go to bed earlier in the evening and I thought I would give it a try.
I am dealing with the exhausting effects of chronic illness. I have to rest more than I want. It is a joy buster having something interfere with your regular routine. Yet, I still try to include good things in my daily life. I want you to do that too.

I really want to know how you are you doing. Any new routine are you trying? Is anything new and different? Life is unpredictable and the sailing may experience much turbulence as the stormy winds and waves of life interfere with us maintaining our route. The problem is we must accept there will be storms for now, yet our efforts to Stay The Course will be blessed in due time. Keep up the joy with much prayer.

Written by Gina Rydin

Life is full of uncertainties, yet, we must find joy keepers to endure the trip and stay the course. This article helps us to consider some possibilities.

Endurance with Joy is a challenge. Let us consider a few possibilities.

July 2022

July, July, what can I say good about you?

The good news is that July has five three-day weekends. If it is possible to take a Friday and Monday off for a mini-vacation or staycatIon how wonderful would that be!

There are five long weekends either way if one wants to employ them.

If a household has school-age children then it’s a perfect time to go through the children’s room. The closets, drawers, etc. and see if they have age-appropriate things. Our children grow up in front of us yet we do not always see it happening. All too often their drawers an closets have things they can no longer wear. It is time to get rid of some stuff they no longer need or use. It us good to keep in mind that we have to exercise consideration and not get rid of things that might be important to them.

Yet by going through the closets and drawers seeing how many clothes they have that fits. This is the perfect time to make the list and take them shopping. A controlled shopping trip, is it possible? By having a list of what they need we can afford to get a couple things they really would like without blowing the budget. Then this is a good learning experience for them, purposeful fun w structure, control, yet a bit of freedom. Imagine that we can pair down, clean up, and be refreshed.

We can see it’s a good time to go through our closets, drawers and rooms. We can also see what we are no longer interested in or what we might need that’s new. We might need some new white blouses and some clothes have gotten dingy can get tossed or recycled.

Can we make time to clean the windows, baseboards and the doors. The furniture can be wiped down, do we need new bedding and can we change around the room? Time to consider is there any painting that needs to be done in these rooms.

Is there a room in the house that has become blaa? It is time to really look at this room, what do you see? Is there anything in the room that technically should be put away elsewhere? Is the rooms purpose obvious and utilized? Can the room be repurposed?

If you decide to repurpose the room or use it for its original purpose you need to plan an action. The first thing could be start with one corner and just pull everything out of that corner. Three things are handy like a trashcan, a box and a basket. Throw away everything that you just no longer have a use for. To put items in a box for what you can donate or sell. Anything in a basket to put the things that you’re gonna put away later when you leave the room. Set a timer and see how fast you can clear out this corner then proceed to the next one. See how much you can do and without stressing yourself out but feel a measure of accomplishment it may be an afternoon job or a job that may take you all week. I have areas like this and it’s overwhelming I didn’t see it happening at the time I don’t know how messes like that occur.

Although I’m not a big believer in ME time I do feel that getting some R&R is really important. If possible can you can plan a few days to go somewhere nice that’s not far away just to get some quiet time. Consider seeing some beautiful sites without expending a lot of money. Be refreshed!

What if there is a hobby you’ve ever wanted to explore doing. There are many reasons we put off personal interests you didn’t feel you had the room for it. Whether your limited with your time, space or finances. Maybe your life has changed or your circumstances different now. Has some children moved out or you have a little more room than you used to have? Or consider is there a possibility you really don’t need the guestroom and you can turn it into your activity room like your workout area with a desk in there for your office and if you like to maybe a sewing area. Really consider your interests and even if all you can do is make a corner of the room to suit your new interest your life will be enriched. July is a good time to reconsider the goals you had for 2022 that you came up with in January . Are you making headway on those original goals? If those goals were important to you? Is there anything more you can do to progress on the original goals? Are you watching your diet and getting your exercise that you intended? Some people have spiritual goals and wanted to read the Bible daily, are you picking your Bible up even if it’s only for five minutes or three minutes a day ? You can create a variety of things to do that’s different on each weekend to enrich your life you can plan it ahead of time even market on your calendar. The first week can be looking through your drawers and closets the second week can be some deep cleaning of those rooms and any necessary shopping. The third week could be a mini vacation. The fourth week could be repurposing a room or any other project that has been sitting to the side that you have wanted to make headway on. The fifth weekend it can be a joyful weekend having fun with family and friends . So whatever you choose to do with your month, look ahead and see how you can purposely plan it out to be rewarding where you feel accomplished and it makes the next few months a little easier by getting these things done and out-of-the-way. From your author Gina Rydin