What if . . . we gave thanks?

Enjoy this Classic Peanuts Thanksgiving Dinner.

What if ... you pondered the Ten Commandments over a ten week period?

I know as I first pondered the ten commandments over a ten week period for the Mirror Mirror on the Wall Book Project, I received tremendous blessings in my own personal walk with the Lord through my own devotions.

Being able to read the writings/devotions of the other nine women who contributed to this book project, I am even more blessed as I now get to ponder the ten commandments once again but from the personal experiences, thoughts and creativity of others helping me to gain even more insight into the ten commandments.

What if ... you pondered the ten commandments over a ten week period and added your own thoughts, devotions and prayers to the end of each commandment?

What If...We Wrote A Book?

The Question:

What do you get when you gather Ten Women pondering the Ten Commandments for a period of Ten Weeks?

The Answer:

The first collaborative book project of the Pink Collar Club.

Yep. You read it right. The Pink Collar Club publishes our first book ever! And not without the total commitment of 10 women writers not to mention the fabulous Anne Goodrich who tirelessly perfected the graphics and layout for Mirror, Mirror...On The Wall. It's stunning, isn't it? (Thank you, my friend. What more can I say?)

The seed for Mirror, Mirror...On The Wall was planted back in December 2006 but the original intention for the content of this book was NOT the Ten Commandments but rather reflecting the promises of God. As the matter of fact, I told the story of exactly how Mirror, Mirror...On The Wall came to be in the introduction of the book. (I also recorded it and posted it on the Pink Collar Club website. Maybe you'll listen?)

But the "real meat" of the book comes from 10 women who openly (and creatively) shared from the heart the meaning of each commandment personally. But don't look for a dry read. Oh, no. We have Penney who compares each commandment to a 1970s song, Anne who wrote some beautiful poetry, Lynn included "tips" in each of her writings and so much more. How's that for creativity?

I must say that one of the biggest perks of writing a book like this lies in the personal blessings bestowed upon the writers. God used this book to touch the lives of each of us and I believe He will use it to touch the lives of the readers as well. I really do.

So...today is a day of celebration. And, it's also my birthday. Let's celebrate!

What If...We Wrote A Book?

Well, we did!

What if...We Didn't Burn Out?

Last night, my family and I witnessed a spectacular event: A power line near our home exploded, snapped, and caught fire. The weather caused this power line to send a surge of electricity that, at first, did not wipe out our power, but did so later on for an extended period of time. Thankfully, no one in our neighborhood was hurt, and fire trucks and the electric company were on the scene immediately.

This event made me think of how often we run on “power surges” in our own lives. For example, I have a colleague who has three major projects running right now, and she asked me to be a collaborator on her next book project. I told her I was tired just listening to all she was trying to juggle. I let her know of my concern that if she doesn’t slow down and maybe postpone one of her projects, she’ll burn out and be left without any energy. Sound familiar?

There is usually something innate in all of us that drive us to perform, to perfect, to catch up on, etc. Have you ever gotten to the end of that ‘power surge’ and find that the result didn’t quite meet your expectation for all the work you put into it? Therein lies the burnout.


TIPS TO PREVENT BURNOUT:

1. IDENTIFY YOUR POWER SOURCE. If you rely completely on yourself for your physical and emotional energy through every facet of your life, you will burn out time after time. After each power surge, you will probably notice it takes longer to recover. For those of you who rely on God as your power source, 2 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing POWER is from God and not from us.

2. SOLICIT HELP FROM OTHERS whenever possible. I have a friend who does everything herself and at times when she has ‘turned over duties’ to someone else, she has always redone their work. Learn to trust others. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness!!

3. RE-PRIORTIZE YOUR TIMELINE. If you have several projects that are urgent to you, ask yourself “What’s most important right now?” Evaluate the amount of time it will take for each project (days, weeks, etc.) and start with the one project that excites you. If none of them ‘wow’ you, start with the project that will take the least amount of time to get done. When you have finished it, it will motivate you to keep moving instead of procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed.