Getting Ready for Writing

It seems to me that whenever I start a project, family matters overcome them. I have a hard time finishing through my writing when I'm continuously with my family. We were in Vermont last week, and I was so consumed with doing activities with everyone that my 31 day writing challenge got away from me.

I suspect I need to create quick rituals for getting ready to write. For instance, right now, I'm taking the cue of my children having TV time to tell me to get my fingers moving across the keyboard. I set a timer, and go.

I guess my question to myself is, "What do I need to get ready to write?" And, "How can I make it fit in to days when the kids are home from school?" Because right now, most of my writing happens when I'm alone.

Getting Ready for a Day Trip

Today, the children and I are exploring while Daddy is at his conference in the hotel. I look out the hotel room window, and we can see Lake Champlaign. We can see the Echo Aquarium we're going to from our window as well!

Now that we're here, if I packed well, I should be able to reasonably easily get us ready for our day. I think the only thing I forgot was plastic spoons for the instant oatmeal. Oh well. I hope we can grab some at the front desk.

I packed small bags for each kid to carry. We have lots of snacks, water bottles, homework and rain coats. And purell. I got them each a surprise bottle of purell to carry.

So we're off to explore!

Getting Ready for Vacation

Vacations, no matter how small, require some getting ready. Today has been my day of getting ready for our three day mini-vacation. The kids and I are joining my husband on his business trip to Vermont (in peak color season, no less!). Pool, activities, we can't wait.

But vacations need preparations. If we want to swim, we need swim things. Clothes, sleepwear, medications, all need to be organized! I can only imagine if I weren't organized, it wouldn't be a very fun vacation.

What is on your list to get ready today?

Getting ready to meet God

Yom Kippur is probably not the most "fun" Jewish holiday out there. Its certainly the Holiest of days. Its certainly somber and hard. No, its not fun.

Taking a day to fast, to avoid eating and drinking, brings people to an extremely vulnerable place. In this vulnerable place, the place where we realize our human dependence on food and drink, we become grouchy and irritable. How can I be expected to meet God in this condition?

Maybe that's the point. We come through the caffine headaches and slight dehydration, low-blood sugar moods and dry throats, and even in that condition, God loves me and wants to meet with me.

So may we be inscribed in the book of life for a good year. I'm thankful for the grace of God through Yeshua our Messiah that I'm not dependent on my own goodness. Even on the holiest of days, I can't get away from myself. Only through Him can we draw near to God,

Getting Ready for Yom Kippur

Today is a busy day for people in the Jewish world. Tonight begins Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In my imagination, getting ready for Yom Kippur brings to mind all sorts of spiritual readiness. There IS plenty of spiritual preparation, but today, I'm going to discuss the other side of the coin. Physical preparation, I suppose we can call it. Here is a general list of what I need to accomplish today.

1. Stay Hydrated Before the Fast. When you get yourself ready for a fast, first of all, you want to make sure you're hydrated. So I need to drink lots of water today!
2. Prepare Food for the Children. I have children who will not be fasting during Yom Kippur. This means I should have meals at the ready for them so I don't have to mess with food. I remember one year I failed to prepare for the break-fast before the day of Yom Kippur, so I boiled some pasta. To test its doneness, I tasted it. Oops. That wasn't in the plan. So to avoid licking peanut butter off the knife when I make my kids some sandwiches, I should do so before I start fasting.
   
3. Prepare for my part in the break-fast potluck. I'm bringing Challah and orange juice. The challah needs to be done baking before I pick up the kids from school on Friday, for my own sanity!
4. Jonah DVD. I'm bringing the Jonah DVD for the children all to watch during the sermon.
5. Activities for my children, especially my 5 year old. It's a long day at synagogue. They'll need something to keep them busy.
6. Medicines, as needed. If we're not going to be home, I need to have any meds I'll need for the day.

Sometimes I feel that in the doing of things to prepare for a Jewish Holiday, you can miss the point of the day. On the other hand, the physical acts done to prepare can also enhance the spiritual experience of the day. If I'm prepared now for tomorrow, tomorrow should run smoother. May those of us who fast tomorrow have an easy fast!

Getting Ready :: Routines

Routines have in the past been the bane of my existence. I mean, where's the fun in the schedule? I'd rather not be told what to do, even by myself. But life tends to work more smoothly with routines. When I was newly married I discovered Flylady. One of the points she made was that whether we schedule them or not, we all have routines. Those are the things we do consistently. Sleep in late, make dinner late, rush to school at the last minute  - these can be routines as much as good routines of getting the dishes and laundry completed.

The first step in reforming routines is to get ready. It can be as complicated as a spreadsheet, or just a note or two on a piece of paper. I have come to realize that if I do a couple of specific tasks the very first thing when I wake up, specifically preparing my son's formula, my morning runs much smoother.

Because then when things go askew(there's always something), you have some space to handle it.

If you have to run find the hair dryer to dry off homework that accidentally was spilled on, at least other parts off the morning ran automatically with routines.

31 Day Challenge 2014::31 Days of Getting Ready

Welcome to my 31 days Challenge. Thank you for reading along. I'm going to focus this month on getting ready. So many parts of life can be made easier when we take a little time to get ready for the next thing. I don't mean that we need to keep our noses in the future, rather, we have to have an eye on the future to anticipate the next need. I know that dinner happens nightly. I shouldn't be surprised that I have to prepare it for my family (it's part of my job). Life works more smoothly when it's planned.

Join me as I touch on different ways we can be ready for some of the things that life throws our way.

Getting ready::routines