Striving to Move Forward

It happened again. This week there was a question that I was pondering, not certain with whom to discuss the topic. I usually remember such things during that quiet time between arriving at church and the beginning of Sacrament meeting. I didn't think much about it until I noted that our bishop was one of our speakers today. Sure enough he addressed my concern as clearly as if we had been in a personal interview. I suppose his remarks also answered the questions of others present at the meeting, but I know that he was inspired to also answer my prayers.

His remarks talked about how we can evaluate where we are and where we need to go in order to keep moving forward in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love how our bishop knows his flock. He assured us that if we would work to internalize what we believe and know to be true that we will see our own progress.

Bishop challenged us to Make God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost so real in our lives that we couldn't imagine life without them.

He told us there were three things we could do to expedite this process:

• Study: Know your religion.
• Service: Don't wait to be asked. Be kind. Attend the temple.
• Prayer: Talk to our Heavenly Father and ask for insight and help to refine ourselves and overcome weaknesses.

With all of this we especially need a vision of what we want to become.

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a joy to know that my Heavenly Father loves me.

The Yellow Pad Method of Getting Things Done

A few years ago when my only occupation was genealogy research, I came up with an organization method that worked well for getting the task done. I used yellow pads to keep a research log and notes and tucked the information that I found in the back of the pad for safe keeping. The yellow pages were useful to help me find my notes among the other papers that research has a tendency to collect.

Eventually the yellow pads invaded other parts of my life. They were very useful to keep lists, take notes and such. I keep one with an errands list. Tucked in the back of the pad are the necessary receipts, coupons and such needed to run said errands.

After reading Getting Things Done by David Allen I tried to use the electronic method. It works for my son, but since I don't have an iPhone and don't always have connection on my iPod touch, I just didn't find that it worked well for me. Keeping the paper files diligently labeled with my Brother's labeler has been very successful for me though. My computer case has a pocket designed for keeping files, so it's handy for keeping project files close at hand. But the day to day stuff wasn't happening as efficiently as I had hoped. One day I grabbed a yellow pad. On the left I noted my appointments for a certain time of day. On the right I made of list of the other things that needed to be done. As people talked to me about their needs I made a third list at the bottom of the page. It worked just as well as when I used the method for researching...I was prepared for my appointments, got things done in a sensible method and felt like I wasn't putting out fires all day. When I would run into someone who needed something, I could take a quick look at my list and see how it fit, made myself a note, and the day went much better. I've done this for about a week and have found other benefits. I prefer carrying it to my planner . It only has paper, not important cards, receipts, and identification. When I need to take notes, I'm set. It's yellow, so when I set it down, I can find it easily, especially when I'm working at another person's desk. At the end of the day I have all of the information and notes that I need to complete my paperwork. I love when I've finished everything on a page. I rip it off the pad and joyfully throw it away. Notes that need to be filed away quickly find their place in my file system.

Who would have thought that I could actually find order in this busy life!

So That's What It Looks Like!

It was July 11th, 2006. That was the day that Wasatch Junior High suffered a devastating fire and that was also the last day that I remember seeing my laundry room floor. The reason that I remember the exact date is that Wasatch Junior High just recently reopened for the new school year. The day of the fire Rob called me and I was on the ladder painting the laundry room. So that day, I know that I could see the floor. Since then, it seems as though there were always piles of laundry. Recently it seemed that I had to climb a mountain of dirty clothes, just to get to the washer. But persistence has paid off. Keeping the washing machine full and running every chance possible, I finally found it--the laundry room floor! Tonight after making sure that everyone was busy getting homework done, I found a good Hallmark channel movie and started folding. I also matched the socks. Once kids had homework completed they were attracted to the tv. Then during the commercials the clean, folded laundry was put away. Now to tackle the very large pile of ironing!