Top 10 Things I Do For My Health

With New Year Resolutions in mind, I thought I would share the top ten things I do for my health.

10. Take supplements, including fiber, omega 3s, probiotics, and enzymes (HOPE formula), plus other supplements to decrease inflammation and balance hormones, especially natural CALM magnesium supplement (this is huge for mood and menstrual discomforts)

9. Read the Book of Mormon daily.

8. Listen to what my body is telling me and how it feels.

7. Practice vinyasa flow yoga 4 times a week for 20 minutes, M,T, Th, F

6. Use non-toxic products or Norwex cloths on my face and body.

5. Keep all chemical cleaners and other products with artificial fragrance out of the house, especially in my bedroom, laundry room, kitchen, and bathroom.

4. Move constantly throughout the day. Take a dance break after every hour of work.

3. Run a HEPA air purifier 24/7 in the main rooms of my house and in my bedroom.

2. Set my food intake at about 250 calories less than my maintenance intake (which is the same as a loss of .5 pounds a week). That means about 1700-1800 calories for my 5’9” frame. This calorie restriction keeps inflammation down in my body.

1. Listen to the promptings of the Spirit about things I should do for my health and about how to seek answers for my health.

Inspired Writing

Valerie J. Steimle

It's been a while since I really wrote anything of significance in my personal blog and this one here. It has been a real challenge for me to really dig down deep. I get ideas here and there but never follow through.  I believe it's because of the job I started a year ago next week.

Through a friend, I was able to get hired on for Native American Fatherhood and Families Association (NAFFA). It's home base is in Mesa and we all promote fatherhood and families. This was the dream job I was had waiting for over the last 30 years as I was driven to write. I focused on the strengthen of the family and that is what we promote at NAFFA.

The challenge for me now is to have enough energy, motivation and drive to write at night after I come home from a full day of writing and promoting family. Even writing early in the morning is tough because I end up falling asleep around 3pm at work.  It is a difficult task and after becoming an empty nester, traveling to visit family, married again and a 40-hour work week, I am totally exhausted. 

It takes a lot of brain power and time for me to write well so here I am trying to write to inspire all who read this blog.  Perhaps I can have a little help from fellow writers with inspiring words to help us all get motivated to dig, down, deep for inspired writings.

 “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.

That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

― Octavia E. Butler

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

― Jodi Picoult

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.”

— Virginia Woolf

Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.

- Orson Scott

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”

— Anne Frank

“People say, ‘What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?’ I say, they don’t really need advice, they know they want to be writers, and they’re gonna do it. Those people who know that they really want to do this and are cut out for it, they know it.”

— R.L. Stine

"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster."
--Isaac Asimov

"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself."
--Albert Camus

I hope that helps inspire you to write inspiring writing.  It certainly has me.

Christmas Memories

As I look back over the years of my life, I thought I’d present a few random memories of Christmases past:

As a little girl, the extended family gathered at our house. My cousin and I slept in my twin bed, her head at the foot so we had more room. Grandma slept in the extra twin bed in my room. Some relatives slept on the couch or floor in sleeping bags. No air mattresses in those days.

Christmas Eve we gathered around our organ in our pajamas and bathrobes and Grandma Mac played Christmas carols while we sang everything from “Jingle Bells” to “Silent Night.” In the middle of singing, we heard Santa’s bells outside. All of us children pulled off our bathrobes while running down the hall or up the stairs depending on where we were sleeping. We had to get to sleep so Santa would stop. When I grew up, I learned it was usually Uncle Johnny that slipped out to ring those bells.

One Christmas morning, a squirrel came in the open door and ran across the dining room table, and all around the living room. Then he spotted something familiar—a tree, and scrambled up it, breaking decorations on the way. The adults had a hard time chasing him out.

Then there was the year Mom made me something for Christmas, and insisted I had never seen a real one. As a know-it-all teen, I thought to myself, how does she know everything I have ever seen. Ah well, she won that one. She made me a 5-foot tall mermaid for a bed decoration.

Christmas took on a whole new meaning when I had children of my own. From the first Christmas pictures of toddlers crying on Santa’s lap to the first one as empty nesters, all had a joy of their own. What I miss most about having children at home is our tradition of baking cookies and taking them around to friends and neighbors and singing Christmas carols. I could write a whole post about our experiences with that.

With all of the merriment and trappings of the season, the most important thing to me—Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. Without His eternal sacrifice to pay for our sins, the world would be for naught. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Him. 

Motivation for Novelists

Truly have a reason to write or you won’t want to sit down and do it.

The disciple will come from wanting to finish your story.

Compare yourself to yourself.

Look at people you admire and think of it as modeling, not being envious. Do I want a life like theirs?

Appreciate each stage of your journey. Your journey is never linear.

Write what you love, and let the joy of creation come out.

Finding your voice happens when you let down your guard and let your real self through.

Push through and get the words on the page.

Break things down into little chunks.

GOALS

Decide what your real goals are.

Why do I want to write?

What are my dreams for my writing career?

What kind of success do I want to see?

How much am I willing to adjust in order to reach that success?

What do I envision my writing career will look like in 3-5 years?

WHO AM I?

Who am I choosing to be? A writer, a creator, a novelist!

What would my life look like if I were the best-selling version of myself? If I were a successful author, what would be true for me now? Act as if you are that person that you want to be.

What would the pro writer version of myself do if I don’t feel like writing?

What is the mentality of who I want to be? Go all in.

Best-selling novelists have a writing practice they do every single day. Figure out your own version of who you want to be and how you want to do it.

DAILY MIND-SET PRACTICE

Set a daily mind-set practice about who you want to be. Just five minutes for mind-set practice. Write your reality. Write your intention. What is the energy I want? Write where you want to go and what you want to achieve.

Do your soul work first before you start your writing day, and then take action.

With your mind-set practice, do something that triggers writing mode, like lighting a candle, diffusing essential oils, saying a mantra—some sort of ritual.

MAKE A COMMITMENT TO WRITING

Writing is a commitment, just like brushing your teeth every day.

What does a fit person do? What do they do every day? Apply that to you as a novelist.

You just have to take action, and it will eventually get you where you want to go.

YOUR PEP TALK

Tell yourself, “I am a bestselling author and bestselling authors write books!”

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

            How would US history change if Indians and Europeans across the board had cooperated like the tribes of the Wampanoag people and the pilgrims. Would Indian tribes exist today? Would they intermingle taking the good of each civilization?

We can ponder forever the “what if’s” of this life, but we can’t live in them.  There’s no way to know. It’s far better to look around us and find things to be thankful for. Even the smallest of blessings we have in our lives. Setting aside electronic devices, we have much to be grateful for in these times.

Transportation of produce for example. Today we have fresh fruits and vegetables available year around.

Eyeglasses and contacts shape our world. Hearing aids also.

Transportation shapes our lives. What would take days is now covered in hours. Minutes if air transportation comes into play.

Running water in our homes.

Indoor temperature control.

Scriptures and other books readily available.

TP and other disposable conveniences.

The list goes on and on endlessly. My challenge to you is to put a paper somewhere listing the small things you are grateful for and add to it as you hurry by. 

Halloween in Years Gone By

“What was Halloween like when you were a little girl in the 1950’s?” My grandchildren may ask. Many of the traditions were the same as today, but several have changed, some a lot.

When I was growing up, many of our neighbors made homemade treats like popcorn balls and cookies which we ate without fear. There wasn’t such a thing as mini candy bars. However, not everyone gave out the big ones. Taffy, small Tootsie Rolls, and sticks of gum were popular. I remember peanut butter flavored taffy with a bit of dried out peanut butter inside was at the bottom of my desirable list. Do they still make that stuff? They did when my children trick or treated. I traded that away 2, 3, or more to one, so did my children.

I used paper grocery bags to put my candy in. Greedy children sometimes used a pillow case. I went with friends in their neighborhoods. We only had one old lady about a block away. The rest of the neighborhood had summer cabins or empty lots except one couple that came up for summers only.

My mom made me fantastic costumes, some of which had another purpose. My Alice in Wonderland dress was suitable for school without the apron, of course. Then there was the year I had panda pajamas, but I didn’t wear the hat with ears to bed. My children scrounged whatever they could find in our costume bag. Trick or Treating is still the same when children go house to house. No such thing as Trunk or Treat back then.

Tricks were still done on occasion like soaping windows or other mischief, nothing damaging. Some of the older boys in our small mountain village found an outhouse to put in the middle of the main cross roads every year. I’m sure my brothers took part in that tradition when they were teens. The one that was 5 years older complained about how hard it was to find abandoned outhouses.

Halloween is a fun holiday that brings fond memories as long as things don’t get out of hand. 

"I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints"

Valerie J. Steimle

The title of this blog post is quoted from the Primary Song Book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  Sing along if you know the song:

The Church of Jesus Christ

35395, Children’s Songbook, 

The Church of Jesus Christ, 77

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I know who I am.
I know God’s plan.
I’ll follow him in faith.
I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I’ll honor his name.
I’ll do what is right;
I’ll follow his light.
His truth I will proclaim.

Words and music by Janice Kapp Perry

 Today and also a few weeks ago, the president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, Russel M. Nelson, reiterated that the name of our church is not the Mormon Church nor is it the LDS Church but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and that we should try to use the name of Jesus Christ (since He is the Head of our church) as much as possible.

So in that light, I have updated our blog to reflect that name.

As writers for this blog, we haven't been very faithful in keeping posts very current.  We need to improve ourselves.  We need more contributors but everyone is so busy, they don't have time to contribute...including me.

We need more women to stand up for their standard in womanhood and Christianity to write to the world. Our Relief Society Declaration says it best.

If anyone is interested in writing uplifting and inspiring Christian blog posts, following the above declaration, then email me at valeriesteimle@yahoo.com with the subject title of Blog Post writers.

I hope to hear from you...

Make the Protagonist Choose the Ultimate Sacrifice

by Lisa Rector

I don’t know about you, but when the protagonist makes the ultimate sacrifice, that grabs me as a reader. That cements me to the character and into the story. As the character wrestles with making the choice, depth is added to the story and the character. And in the end, the sacrifice is what makes the protagonist a hero.

How can we make our protagonist choose the ultimate sacrifice in our writing?

One example of sacrifice a character has to make is in the TV series Moonlight. Vampire private eye Mick St. John has finally become human, and he no longer has his supernatural strength. He’s mortal. He could die. His beloved Beth, a human, is kidnapped. Her life is in danger, and Mick cares about her more than anything in the world. The only way he can save her is by becoming a vampire again, the one thing he despises most. Mick would give anything to stay human, but Beth is more important to him than his humanity. He makes the choice to become a vampire again, and we see that emotion when, in anguish, he slams his friend against the wall and shouts, “They’ve got my Beth!”

Mick convinces his vampire bud Joseph to bite him. As the camera zooms in on Mick as Joseph comes in for the bite, the look on Mick’s face says it all—he just made the ultimate sacrifice—to save someone else. Fans love this! It’s heartbreaking. And it makes a gripping scene.

As a writer, ask yourself—What ultimate sacrifice might the protagonist make to save someone else? What is the biggest deal, the worst thing he could do to himself for the sake of another? Who or what is so important that the protagonist would make this sacrifice? Now set up your story so the protagonist will have a choice to make. And the options aren’t good. The character is in a tough spot—stuck between a bad option and a worse option. Now ask—What series of events will bring your protagonist to the decision that will have to be made? Figuring this out will take some plotting, but the results will be worth the time.

Going back to the sacrifice. What are some things the protagonist might sacrifice? It might be his humanity. The trust of someone he loves so he can be honest with them. Maybe his sacrifice pulls him into a dark place, making him a person he loathes, or his dark side emerges because of his actions, but for the character, the sacrifice would be worth it as long as the loved one is safe. (Think Anikan in Star Wars.) The protagonist might give his life for another, (but death isn’t always the worst fate.)

Whatever the sacrifice, make the choice agonizing. Make the stakes high. Make repercussions follow. The choice has to be so tortured and life changing that the reader will feel it too, especially if the setup in the beginning of the novel is done right and the character is someone the reader is invested in.

My Vampire

Vampires, creatures of darkness.
Their favorite treats… storm sprites.

The blood of a storm sprite makes an intoxicating elixir for most supernatural beings, including vampires. After Killian, a reclusive vampire, comes across Sasha, a rare storm sprite, and saves her life, they develop an unlikely friendship. Because of his constant cravings for her blood, Killian keeps his distance while protecting Sasha from the supernaturals hungering for her. But as his behaviors change and he draws closer, Sasha’s no longer sure of his motivations. One day his cravings will become too much.

When a woman’s brutal murder spirals a hunt for an amulet that has demonic powers, Sasha and Killian are stuck between the feuding demons and vampires who are determined to possess the amulet’s secrets. Sasha must find the amulet for her protection—before she ends up on the wrong end of a demon’s blade, or worse, has her throat ripped out by the vampire she calls hers.

Eliminating Distance by Cutting Out the Filters

by Lisa Rector

I recently read about eliminating distance in writing by cutting out filter words and was able to create an analogy to answer a spiritual question.

Try to follow me.

Filter words create distance between the reader and the story and pull the reader out of a deep emotional experience. By cutting filter words, the reader is drawn into the story and holds on to a meaningful connection with the character.

So, jumping back to the spiritual. Here’s the question. How can we repair the breach between God and us?

How did I use eliminating distance by cutting out filter words as an example to answer this question?

I’ll start by saying, “Don’t put distance between yourself and God. Cut out all the filters.”

How do we do that?

In literature, I often see writers use modals. For instance.

I could hear God.

Usually, the sentence is written this way when a character is in a hazy state or is about to pass out. They can hear but can’t see, and writers like to make sure the readers know it.

But the modal can or could is not necessary.

Let’s go a step farther.

I heard God.

You still might not be able to see God, but you definitely hear Him. But why use the filter word? Heard is passive, creating distance once again between the reader and the story.

So what’s next?

Try writing it this way.

God speaks to me.

The writer has cut out the filter word. The sentence is active. God speaking to the character is a sure thing. It’s written in a powerful way.

So we go from hazily hearing God to hearing Him to acknowledging the He speaks to us.

Let’s pretend the filter words are a metaphor for something in our lives that creates distance between God and us. What can we cut out to restore or strengthen the relationship? What in our lives bogs us down, only letting us vaguely hear promptings? What blocks the connection between Deity and us? What keeps us from drawing closer to God and having a deep abiding trust in Him? How can we have an active relationship with God?

The first step is acknowledging the things we need to do to repair the breach, whatever it may be. And then act. If we do these things and ponder the above questions, we can have a greater relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Potato Chip Rock

I had a grand adventure a couple of weeks ago with my son.

Have you ever heard of Potato Chip Rock? Didn’t think so unless you live near Poway, CA. One more bucket list item checked off. I hadn’t even heard of it until I moved away from that city. The hike is a 2 mile trek up Mt. Woodson.

My son Brian was my guide. It’s the toughest 4 mile hike I’ve ever gone on. 

We hiked through beautiful terrain.

I made myself notice the beauty every few minutes when I stopped and gasped for breath.

We climbed 1,300 feet in elevation in the 2 miles up.

Potato Chip Rock deserves its name, and I wish I could have had my picture taken on top, but I couldn’t climb up the crack in the rock necessary to reach it.

I waited my turn in line, but when I needed to raise my knee to about waist height especially in that small space, my back said, “Don’t do it.” I didn’t. Still worth the hike.

The descent was easier, but by then my body was telling me “enough!” Brian made sure I drank enough water all along the way, and gave me a granola bar for calories before starting down.

I was surprised I didn’t have sore muscles the next day. My calves were burning on the way up, and the top of my thighs on the way down.

Was I disappointed that I couldn’t go to the top of Potato Chip Rock? Yes! But not devastated. At my age I’m thankful I could take the journey with my son. 

One on one time with any of my children is always special. 

It’s an adventure I’ll always remember.

I can do hard things, but I still have to be smart, and know when to let it go.

Succoring Us in Our Afflictions

By Lisa Rector

Part of Christ succoring us is not only giving us strength or patience to endure out infirmities, but also allowing a moment when the Spirit confirms a comforting truth that heals us emotionally and spiritually. “This is the power the Savior extends to us to succor us in our trials.” (Darren Wilcox, October 2017 Ensign) This is the power that comes to us through His atonement.

For example, we know that when our loved ones die, we don’t really lose them. They are waiting for us on the other side of the veil. But in the midst of our grief and affliction, we are often so weighed down by our sorrows that, until we receive again the confirming witness of the Spirit, re-declaring to us what we already know, our darkness won’t lift and turn to light. But as long as we put forth effort—studying and praying to God and trusting in His son, eventually that confirmation will come and bring us relief. It may come in a light-bulb moment, when darkness turns to light, after we go through our own personal Gethsemane and experience the darkness and bitterness.

I have felt the darkness turned to light. I have had my own light-bulb moment when the Spirit confirmed a spiritual truth to my soul that healed me from depression. I know there is power in the atonement to heal us. The Savior truly does succor us in our afflictions.

Giving Thanks

Today’s the day we remember to be thankful. It’s common to go around the table and mention what we’re thankful for. It’s usually the big things, Mom & Dad, healing, food, modern conveniences, health, a child’s teddy bear, home, and so forth.

This post will point out different ways to find gratitude. For one week, notice everyone and everything that helps, encourages, or lifts your spirits in any way: The clerk in the store that smiles at you, the spouse that says “good morning,” the Face Book post that makes you smile, birds singing in the trees, trees, the sun shining, the Face Book post that inspires you, the clouds that bring needed rain or snow, and on and on. See how many you can find in one day. It doesn’t matter if it gets silly, nobody will know except you.

Living a life filled with gratitude will make us happier. Look for that silver lining in the cloud hanging over you. Even if you have lost a loved one, ponder the joys they brought into your life. Find someone else with trials, and lift their spirits. Lift the person you think least needs it. Chances are they also have a heavy load to carry.

Joy and happiness are born of Gratitude. Gordon T. Watts

The Struggle is Real

By Lisa Rector

I’ve been dealing with several different health problems this year, and I’m about crushed with exhaustion. Having health issues is very isolating and often people don’t understand. But I do. I haven’t really been questioning why, but more really, how much longer can I endure? 

I have many moments when I have felt God’s help, and it has been humbling. I don’t blame him, and I’m not angry at him, but I’m frustrated. I’m putting forth so much effort every day just to stay mobile, and it’s tiring. I have felt the spirit guiding me with things I need to do to help myself. There are some areas where I had to give up things, and this leaves a lot of guilt, so I am trying not to be too hard on myself. 

A sister missionary said in church one Sunday that she always says the phrase, “The struggle is real,” but conference helped her see it in a new light. Now she says, “The struggle is really good for us.” I wanted to get up and leave the meeting, but I mostly choked back tears. I have had many struggles in my life. Mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and now physically, which I think is the hardest one for me to bear. I try to look at how my struggles might help me grow, and I wonder what I agreed to in the spirit realm when I said, “Yeah, I will tackle that trial.” 

What was I thinking? 

I’m questioning my strength to endure. But I was reminded today through a song called “King of the World” by Natalie Grant that God is in control. I at least know that he will multiply whatever little effort we can put forth.

And so here I am, slugging along for another day. Whatever I have to give will be enough, because it has to be, because it’s all I have.

Writers' Preparedness

No matter where we live, we’ve been told to prepare for natural disasters whether hurricane, flood, fire, earthquake, blizzard or something else. Most often having a 72 hour kit and with the necessities for 3 days on top of the list. We don’t usually think about being prepared with our writing in mind.

            I’m sure you know the first rule. Backup. Backup. Backup. But do you backup consistently?

My preferred method is using the cloud if you can afford it. It isn’t that expensive. I have several reasons why it works for me. First of all, it’s automatic. Every time I make changes—boom it’s there. Secondly, it’s not in my house. An external hard drive, won’t do you any good if it’s near the computer when disaster strikes and you aren’t home, or don’t have time to take anything but the clothes on your back.

Another method is sending your writing to an out of town/state/country contact. I did this in 2003 when the Cedar Fire hit our area. We self-evacuated because we lived a couple of blocks south and west of the cross roads for the evacuation area. I sent all of my writing to a writing buddy in England who happened to be on-line at the time. This became valuable a few years later when I couldn’t find the most current outline for the semi-autobiography I dabble in between novels. He salvaged it out of his old computer.

You can also use thumb drives, re-writable CD’s & DVD’s. Whatever you do, backup often, and have it somewhere besides in your house.

Also, keep your favorite books on writing with your grab and go items in case you have a few minutes to gather important papers, pictures and such. Especially if they are out of print, marked, or hard to find. Keep a list of the books you have and the authors so you can replace them if needed. This can be on paper with the important books, or on your chosen backup device.

In short, a clear safe backup plan can save you tears and that hollow feeling of losing hours of work. You may attempt to re-write what you have, after all those are your stories, but they will never be the same. I know about that too. In the long ago days BC (before computer) I had several hand written chapters of a speculative fiction novel that was tossed out. I’ve tried to re-write it, and have done some of it, but it isn’t the same. The characters aren’t the same. I may or may not ever finish it. It’s especially true for non-fiction and research.

So my friends protect your work. Have a plan in case Murphy takes his hand at your work. Foil him with preparedness.

Because I’m Happy

by Lisa Rector

When I was a young single adult, I had a friend who constantly told me I wasn’t happy. This shocked me. I couldn’t comprehend, for one, how he could determine this in me, and two, I didn’t see how I wasn’t happy. Maybe, because I was a big flirt, he thought I was seeking for happiness in all the wrong places. The truth was, when I was single, I was living it up and enjoying life. I had so many pressures and stressors while I went through nursing school that on the weekends, I was a hopeless flirtatious bomb.

I didn’t care.

Then I married. Then I had children. I became a hostage to hormones running amuck in my body. I hated my daughter for the first six months of her life. I resented my husband for some unknown reason. All because chemicals told me I was unhappy. Until I experienced seven years in a mix of chemical and postpartum depression, I didn’t know what happiness truly was.

From the darkest abyss and wishing for death, to indescribable, the-only-way-to-understand-would-be-to-plug-your-spirit-into-mine-with-some-sort-of-mind-meld happiness. It’s not something you can express. When you’re happy, you feel it throughout your whole soul.

What’s my secret? I can explain it in a few phrases that will make you want to throw your tablet across the room, because you will say, “Duh. I’ve heard all this, but it’s not working for me.” Well, until the moment when you experience the change from unhappiness to bliss, you won’t really know what it means to be inexplicably happy.

Ready to throw your device?

The Light of Christ

The Atonement

The Plan of Salvation

Effort

Enjoy the moment

Find your purpose

Let it go

Count your blessings

If my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?

The formula is different for every single soul. But I will tell you. Because of the atonement, I conquered chemical depression. Because of my testimony in the Savior, I live each day with hope and peace. Because of the atonement, I am clean and light and free. Because I work my butt off every day to be still and let peace and beauty soak through me, I can breathe. I don’t fear evil. I rejoice in all that is good in life. I have purpose, even if it is only to get up every morning and hug my daughters. Even if it is just to lay beside my snoring husband and listen to his heartbeat.

My soul—my heart and spirit—want to rupture on occasion. The feeling is so hard to contain.

My daughters scream in embarrassment when I crank the music loud and dance in my kitchen, when I roll the window down and wave at everyone who drives by. When I make silly faces or when I start in on a lecture about how amazing the sunrise looks or how the rain makes everything look like a fairyland. Or how the squirrels and the rabbits bounce through the yard. I tell them to look at every good thing, look at every small moment, SEE what God has given us.

My only regret is that not everyone sees and not everyone feels this happiness.

The world would be so different if they did.

“Men are that they might have joy.” Be in that joy.

Now watch this.

A Well Worth Read...

Valerie Steimle

I don't normally put book reviews here but I have had the pleasure of reviewing a book from a friend that I absolutely adore!  The name of this marvelous book is: 

The Efficiency Playbook: Your tactical Game Plan to Getting More for Less

This book is a phenomenon in of itself.  With over 25 years of experience, Michael Andrew has pinpointed a plan for anyone wanting to improve their personal life as well as their employed life by leaps and bounds. I was blown away at how much information was packed into this book. A jewel of a find if you are interested in how to make accurate decisions in seconds, measuring your own personal time value, cutting through clutter and even measuring your own thought processes and much more. There are written assignments after many of the chapters where we can write our own thoughts about the ideas presented in the book which gives this book an air of classroom learning.

With a football playbook set up, there are countless great quotes and ideas to help everyone improve their life exponentially. One of my favorite lessons taught is the idea of consolidating two or more problems into a single course of action called using the double-edged sword in solving our problems.

This should be required reading for every business manager as there are so many great ideas and opportunities to create more efficient experiences for ourselves through the experiences and thoughts in this book from running our own companies to improving our own habits. Well worth the time to read a great gift for any CEO or business manager.

God's Hand: The Nonflat Tire

by Lisa Rector

Let me see if I can sum up this highly emotional day. While on 15 north, heading toward Gettysburg, my low tire-pressure light comes on. I’m not driving bumpy so I proceed to the next exit and get off. There’s no gas station so I pull into an RV place to check my tires.

Right away I see a screw in my rear tire. It doesn’t even look low so I am baffled as to why my tire light came on. I consider driving on or using the can of air in the back (but the tire wasn’t really flat), but decide to call AAA, feeling slightly stupid.

The AAA lady sends someone anyway, which was fine. Better safe than sorry. Guy comes, changes the tire, and tells me how to get to a tire place so they can patch my tire so I don’t have to drive like a turtle on a donut. Great.

Get to car place. Dude removes screw. Tire is not flat. Screw didn’t go all the way through.

What? What the heck?

I’m beyond tired, so I’m like, whatever. They put the tire back on, check the air in all the tires and send me on my way.

I have no idea why the strange detour in my life today happened. I do know that after being away from home for a week, traveling, and having jet lag that I was beyond my limits emotionally and physically. I probably shouldn’t have undertaken the short 40-minute trip I had planned today. I do know that in our family prayers this morning, my daughter asked that we be safe in all our travels today. So even though I have no idea why things played out the way they did, I know God was watching over me. I had an hour less to spend with my cousin, but as I reflected on things on my way home, I’m just so grateful that, once again, Heavenly Father was mindful of me. He kept me safe as I followed the promptings to exit where I did. Everyone was super helpful and efficient. Even though I was a mess and cried, everything was okay.

The mysterious nonflat tire could have been a way of avoiding further calamity up the road or it could have been to remind me of God’s hand in my life. Either way, I know He’s there.

Seventeen is Just the Beginning

Valerie J. Steimle

Six years ago, I wrote this little piece for what is no longer online.  It was an early form of a blog and there were many contributors.  My youngest and also a son is now 17 so these thoughts could be helpful but for a boy it's different. Nevertheless, here is what I thought six years ago. It seems like a life time because so much has happened but it's only been 6 years.

Seventeen is Just the Beginning:

            My youngest daughter turned seventeen this week and I thought it would be advantageous for her and fun for me to listen to the song sung by Janis Ian: At Seventeen. As we listened, I was teleported back to when the song first played on the radio. I was sixteen at the time and thought it described my life so completely.

I learned the truth at seventeen

That love was meant for beauty queens

And high school girls with clear skinned smiles

Who married young and then retired….

But after listening, I realized the whole song was a pity party for anyone thinking they fit those words.  I could just imagine teen girls thinking: “there is no use trying to be better, it’s all over at seventeen”.

And those of us with ravaged faces

Lacking in the social graces

Desperately remained at home

Inventing lovers on the phone….

 There were comments posted by other listeners and the remarks opened with “woe is me... my life is terrible” like the song and ended with “these words don’t mean anything in the real life, it’s so much better.”  Those who agreed with the song didn’t really have a clue to what was in store for them. Those who didn’t agree with the song knew there was more to life than a pity party and encouraged all teen girls that they will enjoy a wonderful life ahead of them regardless of what they looked like.

It was long ago and far away

The world was younger than today

When dreams were all they gave for free

To ugly duckling girls like me…..

Lives filled with abuse, poverty, racism or crime can climb out of the hole they find themselves and be successful.  It is difficult but with determination, anyone can do it.  I didn’t live through most of those social ills, although I considered myself an ugly duckling, I didn’t have the confidence to do some of those goals I set out to accomplish.  Since those folly days of youth, I have become more determined to follow my dream and keep plugging away.

So what happened to all those “beauty queens” and “high school girls with clear skinned smiles” as Janis Ian assumed to be so successful? Thirty years later, they are ordinary people living their ordinary lives. That’s just great if you want ordinary, but for those who want more, like me, you can have more.

At the age of 20, 30, 40, 50, and beyond, we can still pick up a goal and work towards success. We don’t have to have the perfect body, the perfect face, or the perfect lifestyle to accomplish great feats. We can do this with our own inner strength and determination.

I have given birth to nine children and home schooled them all, suffered through an early death of my husband at 46, written and published four books, I’m writing my own newspaper column and now tackling the remodel of a 6,000 square foot 1920 hotel.  We can do anything.

So the next time I hear Janis Ian’s song, I will listen to those words with a grain of salt.  At seventeen or fifty, we can work towards whatever life we want and be happy that we accomplished so much.

Writing Through the Pain

by Lisa Rector

Last night my restless leg syndrome was so bad that my left arm was also antsy. Anyone who suffers from RLS knows that the unstoppable desire to move your legs and arms is neither pleasant nor to be ignored. My legs thrashed on my sheets, and my arm ached with ferocity so much so that I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night and started dancing around my bedroom, trying to give my legs and arm the relief they sought.

I felt as if I had ants marching one-by-one, up and down, inside my veins. The feeling was more unpleasant than you could imagine. I also wondered what I had done wrong with my day that resulted in such an attack. Did I sit too long because of the epic board game I played with my children, or did I eat too much sugar because my daughters insisted on eating s’mores before bedtime and I had already indulged in sweets earlier in the day?

I eventually exhausted my spastic limbs enough so that I could sleep, but vowed, as I drifted off, to take better care of my body. Starting with exercise the next day.

The following morning, after being prompted by the Spirit to rise early, after breakfast and an hour of scripture study, I put in a 10 minute DVD of body sculpting. I became so weary and my hips throbbed so horribly after my work out that I crumbled in tears. (This after I learned my daughter left my flexible, rice ice pack out of the freezer last night, so I didn’t have it to apply to my hips.) I choked down a protein bar while pulling out my church magazine; I could think of nothing else to do in my run-down state.

As I read I prayed. I couldn’t deal with my hip pain anymore. I couldn’t deal with the weakness in my body anymore. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I poured out my sorrows to my Father in Heaven.

And of course, the words from one of God’s chosen spoke to me and comforted me.

Even the Savior asked for relief as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

It is okay to ask for relief (even if the relief doesn’t come) and then submit to God’s will (whether we are healed).

The Spirit also whispered that though I ask for relief, I must do all in my power to take care of myself. Which I had vowed to do the night before, which I had vowed in the past. But I needed to revamp my efforts because I was failing.

I also learned that I could still receive spiritual refinement despite my suffering, and because of my suffering—because it will humble me and draw me closer to the Lord.

I even had a crazy thought that I would still carry on through my suffering. An image of me crawling to the dishwasher to unload the dishes came to my mind. As odd as that seemed, it gave me comfort to know that I wouldn’t give up, and I knew that God would help me do the seemingly impossible.

And I could ask for help as I needed; I don’t have to struggle on my own.

I haven’t been able to write steadily because of my declining health, but I haven’t completely given up. I do what I can. I know God knows me and my struggles. He doesn’t have to prove these things, but He shows me daily as He answers my prayers and sends peace to my heart.

A New Life: Discovering My New Life Path

Valerie J. Steimle

My life has changed drastically over the last nine months and I am happy to say that I am doing well.  I haven’t written any kind of blog post since September but I am working on discovering my new life path. 

I live on the opposite side of the country now in the Phoenix area, working a new job and I am with my last child living in an apartment.  Quite the change from the last 24 years where I lived in my own home on half an acre of green grass and trees in Alabama. 

Now I look out the window to the desert of Arizona with cactus and palm trees. It's really a good life and I'm happy to be closer to my first born with her family close by. My new ward opened their life to me and I can visit more of my children, my brother and his family and my 91 year old Dad on this side of the country. 

Major life changes causes one to ponder their life path and what accomplishments are most important.  I have been doing this for the past six months and have come to the conclusion that I should finish something I started a long time ago: my bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University. 

I graduated from Ricks College (Now Brigham Young University Idaho Campus) with an Associated Degree in 1979, intending to finish in Communicative Disorders and Special Education at Brigham Young University Provo campus, but I got the worst case of "senioritis" in my 4th year of classes, was engaged to be married and just didn't have the drive to accomplish what I set out to do.  My mother was livid and I don't blame her. I should have finished but hind sight is everything and now as I am helping my youngest get on his mission and I will have the time and the funds to finish what I started.  It's exciting to think about. What's more, I am switching gears from educating children to writing for a living.  

My goal is to finish my degree in English/Journalism online since I have enough "on campus" credit to do the work without having to travel back to Provo. I will then start searching for a writing job so I can write until I cannot use my hands to type any longer.  This will be what I do for the rest of my life and that is so very thrilling for me.  It's what I love to do.

I have been writing journal entries since I was 12 years old, the idea coming from a lesson I learned at church and I now have 10 volumes of journals plus other notebooks filled with my thoughts and dreams. Writing is so therapeutic; not typing in a computer but actual writing by hand. There is something to be said about hand writing in a journal that helps sooth the soul.

From the website, Self Growth it states that we can improve ourselves in confidence by just practicing our handwriting. This really makes a difference and I know from reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, writing in a journal by hand every day helps clear the mind of junk from the day before. It's really amazing. Julia Cameron calls it her "Morning Pages" and for several years I wrote at least 4 times a week in my morning pages journal which now are close to twenty notebooks.

My life goal is developing into something I am really excited about and this will help me become a better person in expressing myself to the world. I see more published books on the horizon as well and time to travel. Life is really great for me now with new perspectives and choices to make. Of course more grandchildren adding to the adorable ones I have already which makes me very happy. 

God is good.