Chapter two of Goodbye Chaos, Hello Peace!
begins by asking you to consider and record a "snapshot" of where you are at right now in all the different areas of your life.
Why is this important to do? Have you ever used Google maps to get directions from one location to another? It's a very useful online tool that allows you to input two (or more) addresses or locations, immediately producing a map with the quickest route plotted, and telling you how long it will take and how far it is. Now, if you know your destination, but now where you are starting from, you cannot plot your course. You could look up your destination, and see where it is, what it looks like etc, but unless you know where you are to begin with, it is impossible to work out how to get to your destination!
The same is true in life when we want to change things or reach a goal. We need an accurate picture of where we are starting from, so we can take the right steps to move from there to our goal, or destination. It is very easy, though, to have only a vague idea of our starting point - we may feel that things are very out of control or overwhelming, or that there is SO MUCH to work on and change. But when we actually take the time to sit down and consider then record in complete sentences the current reality, we get a much more accurate picture, and often it's actually an encouraging one! Things are quite so bad as we felt they were. Either way, knowing your starting point is the first step in bringing about change, and besides, once we've travelled for a while down our path from chaos to peace, we'll appreciate having this "snapshot" to look back at and see how far we've come! When one is overweight, one often does not like to have photos taken of themselves, but later, having lost 30 lbs, that same person might cherish a "before" photo as it shows how far they have come! So take some time this week, if you haven't already done so, to jot down some thoughts about where you are at right now in the following key areas of your life:
As of the end of September 2013, I have so far harvested over 655 kgs of food! Considering I didn't really start planting until halfway through last summer, and so haven't even had a full summer season, I think that's pretty amazing! Along the way, as well as having fresh food for my family, some other really neat things have happened; I set up a blog to record monthly photos of my garden as friends kept asking to see them, which has expanded into sharing info and tips to help and inspire others. (You can find my garden blog at www.KiwiUrbanHomestead.com), I have met some really neat people along the way, and a major highlight has been that one of my daughters secretly nominated me for the New Zealand Gardener of the Year Competition - the first I knew was a phone call to tell me I had won the Best Vege Gardener section and was a finalist in the main competition (and could they send a journalist to interview me and take photos the next day??!!) The winner will be determined by public vote, which closes on Oct 29th. If you live in NZ and would like to vote for me, read more here: http://www.kiwiurbanhomestead.com/vote-for-me.html. The prizes are really wonderful, and will/could help me enormously with my twin goals - feed my family well on a very tight budget, and help and inspire others to grow their own food too.
Not so long ago, I would never have imagined all this could happen! But when you take the time to figure out where you would like to go, commit the journey to the Lord, and move through life with an awareness of your goals, it is amazing what can happen!!
Take some time this week, and Dare to Dream!
begins by asking you to consider and record a "snapshot" of where you are at right now in all the different areas of your life.
Why is this important to do? Have you ever used Google maps to get directions from one location to another? It's a very useful online tool that allows you to input two (or more) addresses or locations, immediately producing a map with the quickest route plotted, and telling you how long it will take and how far it is. Now, if you know your destination, but now where you are starting from, you cannot plot your course. You could look up your destination, and see where it is, what it looks like etc, but unless you know where you are to begin with, it is impossible to work out how to get to your destination!
The same is true in life when we want to change things or reach a goal. We need an accurate picture of where we are starting from, so we can take the right steps to move from there to our goal, or destination. It is very easy, though, to have only a vague idea of our starting point - we may feel that things are very out of control or overwhelming, or that there is SO MUCH to work on and change. But when we actually take the time to sit down and consider then record in complete sentences the current reality, we get a much more accurate picture, and often it's actually an encouraging one! Things are quite so bad as we felt they were. Either way, knowing your starting point is the first step in bringing about change, and besides, once we've travelled for a while down our path from chaos to peace, we'll appreciate having this "snapshot" to look back at and see how far we've come! When one is overweight, one often does not like to have photos taken of themselves, but later, having lost 30 lbs, that same person might cherish a "before" photo as it shows how far they have come! So take some time this week, if you haven't already done so, to jot down some thoughts about where you are at right now in the following key areas of your life:
- Physical health
- Spiritual health
- Financial situation
- Marriage
- Children
- Typical Day
- Biggest Frustrations
- Other information
- Your home
- Any special abilities or callings God has given you
- Other areas of your life that are important to you
As of the end of September 2013, I have so far harvested over 655 kgs of food! Considering I didn't really start planting until halfway through last summer, and so haven't even had a full summer season, I think that's pretty amazing! Along the way, as well as having fresh food for my family, some other really neat things have happened; I set up a blog to record monthly photos of my garden as friends kept asking to see them, which has expanded into sharing info and tips to help and inspire others. (You can find my garden blog at www.KiwiUrbanHomestead.com), I have met some really neat people along the way, and a major highlight has been that one of my daughters secretly nominated me for the New Zealand Gardener of the Year Competition - the first I knew was a phone call to tell me I had won the Best Vege Gardener section and was a finalist in the main competition (and could they send a journalist to interview me and take photos the next day??!!) The winner will be determined by public vote, which closes on Oct 29th. If you live in NZ and would like to vote for me, read more here: http://www.kiwiurbanhomestead.com/vote-for-me.html. The prizes are really wonderful, and will/could help me enormously with my twin goals - feed my family well on a very tight budget, and help and inspire others to grow their own food too.
Not so long ago, I would never have imagined all this could happen! But when you take the time to figure out where you would like to go, commit the journey to the Lord, and move through life with an awareness of your goals, it is amazing what can happen!!
Take some time this week, and Dare to Dream!
RSS Feed
