A Day of Wrath Working NOT

I simply must tell you about my day.

Oh yes - by the way, I know I've been slack with my blogging. What better way to get back into the swing of things than by giving you a laugh?

I've been told numerous times not to constantly use the internet as a place to vent, complain, and rant about your terrible moments or troubles. I agree. Bad idea. Pointless. Depressing for others.

I'm often tempted to do it. Don't think I gave in today, however. Oh no. I haven't. I've waited until the humorous side of the situation (there always is one) has struck me. Now I can write tongue-in-cheek, confidant that there is a point to it all.

So, about my day...

It began with me turning off my alarm clock. And going back to sleep.

For 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Looking back, I could have done without the extra sleep; it was filled with a strange and loathsome dream that hung around and irritated me throughout the rest of the day, if you know what I mean.

But I finally propped my eyelids open and fumbled my way to the kitchen. (I'm usually a morning person, so the mere fact that I was stumbling around groggily was not a good sign.) I knew I had exactly 30 minutes to fix breakfast and eat it; today was a treadmill schedule.

I fixed myself an egg and ate it without too much drama. But I was still hungry, so I grabbed some cereal and a banana, and went to the fridge for milk. Mom asked me to get her a grapefruit while I was there. In the process of trying to hold one banana and grab one pitcher of milk, I dumped a bowl full of shredded turkey.

All over the floor.

Shut fridge door. Fetch broom and dust pan. Explain to mother and sister how I made such a mess. Clean up mess. Return to fridge for grapefruit. Open door.

Jump as bottle of ketchup hits the floor.

I should have guessed right then and there that the day was going to be interesting.

I read James chapter one this morning, and claimed verse 20 as my key to the day, "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." I even highlighted it. I asked God to help me be sweet-tempered today - if, by some rare chance, I was tempted to be angry or loose my temper. As I replaced my journal on the shelf, I thanked Him for making me naturally laid-back.

HAH!

Did you hear me?

HAH!! The irony grips me.

Never, ever, do that. Today, without any particular regard to order of importance, I have suffered the following:

- Tried to pack a order for our business, and could not locate the needed item.
- While preparing to leave the house to go pick strawberries for a local farm, I could not find my boots, and subsequently was late in leaving.
- Before I left the house, my mother told me at least seven times to "be careful on those back roads!" To which I replied every time, "I will!"
- I've broken my sunglasses, so the drive was accomplished with a lot of squinting into the morning sun.
- Told my mother I wouldn't get cold, and then proceeded to freeze for the first 1/2 an hour while picking strawberries
- Was assigned to pick my brother up from work and made it there 20 minutes LATE.
- Also caused my sister to arrive at piano lessons 10 minutes late.
- Wanted VERY badly to do a certain activity, and was deprived of the opportunity because I had to rush home and get ready to leave again for a 2:00 appointment.
- Returned home frantically.
- Was told the appointment was not until 3:00.
- Was also told I should NOT have left my sister at my last location.
- Every time I entered or left the house today, a certain younger sibling has been banging away - skillfully, but noisily - on the piano just inside the front door. Which is also just outside my bedroom door. You do not understand this unless you have younger siblings who play an instrument.
- Made it to the appointment on time, but without a needed item. ....It was sitting at home on my bed.
- On the drive home, a water bottle spilled all over my shoes and purse.
- Back at home, I entered my bedroom and heard a "clunk" of a random item falling off the shelf in my closet. Just because I came into the room, I'm sure.

Hmm....listed like this, the events seem moderately amusing, but not angering. In real life, however, I lost patience when I couldn't find my boots and was repeated warned about back roads. I practically hyperventilated about being late. I cried oceans of tears over loosing the opportunity to do the activity I had to miss because of my "2:00 appointment." Smacked myself in the head for forgetting the needed item.

...But by the time the water bottle spilled all over my purse, I had to laugh. This really hasn't been a bad day. I've had two wonderful conversations about the Lord with two ladies I met while out and about. I didn't accomplish much in the way of business, but I got some good reading done. I loved picking strawberries. I spent a lot of time with my siblings. The weather is finally sunny here instead of cloudy.

I was silly to spend anger on these things. I was fully conscious that I had a choice; to hold onto the anger, or let go and relax. Sometimes I forget I have a choice, but not today. Today I knew it. Clearly.

It took me until about 2:45 to give in and "let go," but it was after that I was able to laugh. To find the humor. To look realistically at the situation and know my life was not ruined.

The wrath of man does NOT work the righteousness of God, and it doesn't do much for the good of the man, either.

Just a friend bit of advice based on personal experience.

Time Management?

Since losing my computer (temporarily, thank the Lord!) to a virus over a week ago, (...or was it two weeks?) I have been limited to using the family machine for all my computer-related activities.

Since I have two blogs, an online business, and lots of email correspondents, it's been challenging to keep up with everything while sharing the computer with everyone else. No longer can I plop down to work on something when I feel like it or if I just have a few minutes. Instead, I must wait until Mom and Dad are not using the computer, and if a sibling already has permission to be on, I must wait for them, as well. Then, when I'm on, I've got to be fast!

Maybe you don't have to worry about sharing your computer, but if you're like most of us, you know you give too much of your day to that Time Trap. You browse a little, jump from one site to another, and before you know it an hour is gone. Five minutes later, once you've gotten busy with something else, you remember what you really should have done while you were on the computer. That email that needs a reply. That website you meant to check. That quote you meant to research. And you spent all your computer time frittering around.

Sound familiar? Please tell me I'm not the only one who has had this problem.

So here's a tip for the day. A good way to make sure you get everything done on the computer in a timely manner is to think ahead of time, "what do I need to do on there?" and write it down.

As in; "old-fashioned-pencil-and-paper-writing-it-down." (Trust me. Sitting in front of the screen, you will never remember everything you meant to do on there. Something about that chair zaps your mind.)

Take that list with you to the computer, and begin by opening up a tab for each task you need to do. (Or windows, for non-Internet-related jobs.) One tab for your email, one tab for your blog, ect. (So many tabs open at the same time would drive my computer-savvy brother insane, but as long as your Internet connection can handle it, it DOES work splendidly to manange your time!)

Then start with the quickest task and do it.

Exit that tab. (Very important. Don't click onto another page, don't hop to another blog. EXIT THE TAB.)

Go to the next tab/task. Do it.

Exit that tab.

And so on and so forth until you've completed every task and are down to one tab. Now you know you've completed everything you need to do on the computer. If you have extra time, you can open up "fun tabs."

This principle of giving myself a "list of tabs" to accomplish at the beginning of my computer time, and working my way through them before moving on to "fun" computer time has really helped me make the most of limited time on the computer.

And, to be quite honest, even time on my personal computer is limited. I don't want to spend all day online. I have other things to do.

Do you find this idea helpful?