Making Your Quiet Times Happen this Year – Even When You Can’t Get Up in the Morning by Jennifer Schwilling

Reading the Bible and praying more is right at the top of Christian womens’ goals and resolutions lists, up there with getting organized and losing weight.  Unfortunately, just like organizing and weight loss aspirations, our best plans and intentions to have daily devotions or quiet times tend to fizzle a few weeks into the year.  What happens?  We’re convinced of the value of spending time getting to know our God through His word.  We’re convinced of the power of prayer in our lives and others’.  How does something this important and desirable keep slipping through the cracks in our days?

One of the ways we unintentionally keep something from happening is making it too difficult or complicated.  Do you admire a friend who is able to read her Bible an hour or two a day?  Or a friend who studies Greek daily?  A favorite author who writes about watching the sun rise as she prays over her day?  All of these things may be good, but do they work for you at this point of your life?  Maybe you have three small children running around and 1 – 2 hours of uninterrupted reading time just isn’t going to happen.  Maybe you are anything but a morning person.  In your mind is anything less than your “ideal” quiet time not worth doing?  In other words, are you making it more difficult than it needs to be?

All you really need to have your quiet time are three things:  A time, a place, and your “stuff” Read more

The Dream Comes to Pass…

Join Cindy Rushton for a few minutes mom-to-mom as she shares her heart. Want to know how to reach for that impossible dream? Want to reach toward those resolutions that are on your list year-after-year-after-year? Don’t miss this quick word heart-to-heart!

Sleep to Succeed: A Lesson in Productivity

Ever feel that there are not enough hours in the day? Oh! I do! There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes. With your schedule, something always gets put off until tomorrow. In order to catch up, you might be tempted to work longer but that will have the opposite effect.

When your schedule runs long or you have a pressing project at work, the first thing that enters your mind is that you can come in early or stay late to get it done. The problem with that idea is that the rest of your routine will suffer. There will be less, if any, time for your family. From the point that you steal time from one area to benefit another, you will be playing catch up. Read more

It Might Only Take a Notebook… by Cindy Rushton

It was a normal day, just like so many others, but my life was changed. In fact, it was a conversation similar to so many throughout my life…just girl talk in the kitchen over meal preparation. Who would imagine that it would change my life and lead me toward my life call? Who would imagine that it would put together all of the pieces to my jumbled-up life?

Mamaw Alma Lee Rushton was my husband’s grandmother. I remember the first day I met her. We had an instant bond. It was amazing. Not long after Harold and I became officially “connected at the hip” as my dad called it, I remember one conversation with her where she shared that I was everything that she had prayed Harold would marry. Those words of vision touched me to the depths of my soul. Oh! He was everything that I had prayed to marry. He was my Prince Charming. He was my Knight in Shining Armor…or Izod, who is particular about those details in HOT Mississippi? ha!

When Mamaw spoke, she spoke vision…instruction…inspiration…and a deep passion for Godly womanhood. Her opinions meant so much to me. Her insight was always biblical. Her instruction was patient and kind. I clung to her words. They were steeped in a love for God, a love for family, and a deep love for me. Read more

Take Time to Write EVERYTHING Down!

What do you want for this year? Think for a moment with me… Next year, this time, what do you want to see different in your life? What would you like to see finished? What would you like to see accomplished this year?

Dear friend, this year is the year of fullness. I have committed to make this year a year of commitment, accomplishment, and productivity. Want to make this year the very best ever too? Let’s find some keys to productivity. Let’s dig in and get moving strong. Ready? Well, today let’s look at one of my biggest keys to productivity…

Take time to write EVERYTHING down!

Talk about a key to productivity! If there were one thing that I really believe makes the difference in my own productivity, it is this one discipline. I know, I know what you may be thinking… Read more

This Year Start Little, See Big Results

House cleaning. Let’s face it. It’s a necessary evil if you want your home to be liveable and pleasant to be in.  You want to be able to have guests and that may not be possible if your house is always a mess.  When it comes to cleaning, you don’t have to deep clean every day.  You can start little and see big results in no time.

One of the easiest ways to start small and get something accomplished is to work while you’re watching television.  Commercials take two to five minutes every fifteen minutes of a television show.  Why not take that time and go through stacks of mail, fold a load of laundry, clean out a desk drawer, or wash a few dishes.  If you do this during each commercial break, you can see big results in just one evening of watching your favorite television shows. Read more

Actually Reaching Your New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are made every year by millions of people.  Unfortunately, many if not most of them are never completed.  If you plan to make a resolution, you may want to set a New Year goal that is not beyond your reach.

Your ultimate New Year’s resolution may be to learn a new language or how to dance all forms of ballroom dance.  However, an unreasonable goal is to assume you could do either of those in a short period of time.  Some goals are possible within a month, such as losing five pounds, but learning how to speak fluent Chinese in that amount of time absolutely is not.

It is important for us to plan for the future so we’re not aimlessly wandering through life.  Sometimes setting long-range goals can be overwhelming because they’re so far out in the future that we doubt if we’ll ever meet them.  If there aren’t intermediate goals along the way to your ultimate goal, it will be too easy for you to lose focus and give up. Read more

Secrets to Help You Stay Focused in 2009 by Cindy Rushton

Anybody else battle with distractions and interruptions? Do you want to stick to the things that are on your heart, yet realistically battle with staying focused?

Oh! I TOTALLY relate! In fact, the past few months, my heart-cry has been to stay focused. Everywhere I have turned, I have heard messages on staying focused…saw articles on being focused…and talked with my friends about being focused. As a result, I have found a few great secrets that have really helped me to stay focused on the most important things in my life and get more done at the same time. Want to know those secrets? Well, let’s dig in…

BEGIN EACH DAY WITH A QUIET TIME…

I know what you just thought…”BUT! Cindy, that gets me off track for the day!”  Read more

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Christmas! Yes! It is here. Been caught off guard without a gift yet? I HAVE! If you find yourself scrambling for some last minute gift ideas, don’t panic. The following suggestions will help you find something that is just right:

Yummy Treats: Food makes a great holiday gift. Everyone eats, so everyone can use it! If you like to bake, make some cookies or candies and put them in a decorative box or tin. Another option is to buy the food already made. Some items, like a cake, will only need a bow.

Say Cheese: If you have a photo of the person you are giving the gift to (or a picture of their child, spouse, dog, etc) you can create a personalized gift in seconds. All you need to do is print out the picture and stick it into a frame. If you don’t have a photo, a picture frame still makes a great gift.

Read more

What to Pack for Your Long Trip Home

Packing for a long trip can be stressful.  You know you want to have everything you’ll need, but will you be able to lift your luggage when you get it packed?  Then you also have to consider what to pack for your return trip.  Is there some way to pack for the entire trip that will make packing for your return home easier?

Think of where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone before you start packing.  If it’s winter and you’ll need warm clothes, consider carrying lighter weight items that can be layered.  This way, if you get too warm, you can take a layer off.  It’s easier to start out warm and get cool than to start out cold and get warm. Read more

Next Page »