Delegate

I was once told that a good leader is a good delegator.  I’ve always remembered that.  Someone who has good management skills is good at giving people jobs according to their abilities. 

In the past few years I have had the opportunity to coordinate fairly large functions.  From PTO events at school to large meals at church….yea that was me; serving soup to 900.  It’s all in the delegation.

This morning I woke up with a massive panic attack.  If I didn’t know myself (living in chronic anxiety) I would have thought it was a heart attack.  My chest hurt, my left arm hurt, I was short of breath.  You get the idea.

I was able to get myself under control; thinking of reasons why I would be in a panic. 

I’m not going to list them here, but they should be fairly obvious if you follow my blog.  I do need to realize I have quite a bit on my shoulders. 

After taking the children to school and sitting down to read the Bible with a cup of coffee, hoping to relieve the anxiety, I realized reading wasn’t helping.  I needed to pray.  I needed a nice, long chat with Jesus.

I ran upstairs and knelt by my bed.  I closed my eyes and went to the place in my mind where I always meet Jesus.  Flopping my head into His lap and crying, He patted my back, smiling down at me.  As I was talking to Him, I decided to start naming everything I was stressing about.

As I was listing everything off I realized that I was doing what I do when I have a lot going on.  I make a list.  I figure what is most important and get it done.  I also delegate to my children what I can to ease the stress of my list.

During my talk with Jesus, I realized that everything I was naming off were things I had no control over.  (I realize that technically we don’t have control over anything…but for example: a messy house is stressing me out….that I can fix: I clean it up) 

In listing my problems and asking for a solution I realized that I need to just delegate them all to the only one who can do these tasks anyhow.

As I handed over everything to Jesus the tightness in my chest slowly faded away.  My arm doesn’t hurt, I can freely breathe, and my heart doesn’t feel like there is a knife through the center of it. 

I’m sure you can tell that I am entirely too Type ‘A’ personality, which most likely is the etiology of the majority of my anxiety.  I need to let go and let God handle it.  Or in my terms: Delegate it to the One who is best suited for the job: Christ.      

Finding a Lawyer that I Trust

I am in the process of filing some legal documents for more protection for my children.  In doing this I am using the best family law attorney I know.  I want the best.  I want the one that I know I can put full trust in knowing that my children and I will be protected. 

Once before I had to stand before a judge while filing legal documents to gain legal protection from the children’s father.  As I walked into the courtroom I was terrified.  But then I remembered the strength and wisdom of my attorney.  I no longer was afraid.  I knew I was safe.

Once again as these legal proceedings will begin, the thought came to mind:  One day we are all going to have to stand before a different kind of judge.  God is going to judge each one of us for our deeds; good and bad.  The thought of standing in front of God while He reviews my life is scary to put it mildly. 

Then I thought of Christ.  Christ will be sitting down at the table with me.  He will speak for me.  He will defend me.  He knows the judge well.  A good attorney will know the judge and their reactions.  Christ knows the Judge well.  Jesus knows how God will react; He knows how He feels about sin and unrighteousness.

I thought about the money I am going to have to give my lawyer as a retainer.  And it made me thankful that salvation is free.  But as I thought more about it, I realized that Christ requires a different kind of payment than money.  He requires we repent for our sins, He requires we be converted into a new person, He requires that we lead a life glorifying Him, He requires us to love one another. 

I also thought of the time I spend communicating with my lawyer.  He needs to know details.  He needs to have documentation.  He needs to have as much information to be able to fully represent me.  Christ also wants constant communication.  He wants to know details of our day.  He wants us to study His Word.  He wants us to have as much information as possible to be able to make it to our heavenly home. 

Standing in front of a judge is scary.  Thankfully, I have never had to stand in front of a judge because of a crime. But the feeling of standing in front of a judge knowing that the fate rests in his power is scary enough. 

I am fearful to stand in front of God.  But to think that Jesus will come along side me and say “You are mine.  I will do the speaking for you; the representing.”  I can’t imagine walking into that courtroom and having Jesus look at me and say “I don’t know you” and to walk to that table, sit down and stare up at the Judge; knowing I have nothing to defend myself; that the Judge will convict me of all my sins and condemn me to eternal hell.

Through the next weeks I will be preparing and spending time with my attorney to best make my case.  We need to all be spending time each day talking to our heavenly attorney to learn how to better our lives and cleanse us so when the day comes when we stand in front of the Judge we are prepared.   

    

Chopped Salad



Chopped Salad.  My new favorite food. 

I found the basic idea for this on a blog and adapted it to my liking. 

There are many variations to this depending on the personality of the chef.

This is my favorite:

When I am starved and need a protein boost I add seasoned chicken tenders.  Typically I only use veggies.

When I grill my chicken I use olive oil to make it a tad healthier; patting dry when they are fully cooked.   


Throw greens into a large bowl.  I like baby spinach added to a spring salad mix.  The darker  the greens the better.  



 Toss in whatever veggies you prefer.  I always throw in a rainbow of peppers, cucumbers, red onions, broccoli, and cauliflower.





Drizzle dressing of choice on top of loaded salad bowl.  I start with a small amount, gradually adding as I chop.

Make sure you use a large bowl. Once the chopping begins, veggies start flying.

I chop the mixture until partially chopped; then I add a crunchy topper such as croutons, pita chips, or blue corn tortilla chips (shown). 

I love the bits of crunchy tossed throughout the salad. 

Finished!

I love this salad because each bite has a mesh of tastes. 

I'm not sure if I could ever go back to a regular salad!



PhD in Patience

Tuesday morning the realtor called. 

"I have an offer coming in on your home.  Can you be in my office today at one?"

My heart pounded all day.  I couldn't believe that this might actually be happening.
I also realized that a million things could happen and that this might not go through.

But one has to hope, right?

To make a long story short, after 3 days of negotiating, they rejected my final offer.

I gave in on a ton of things.

But they would not bend on the one thing I simply could not bend on.  It wasn't a matter of not wanting to, its a matter of not being able to. 

Their realtor actually admitted to mine that she was not sure what this couple was thinking.  They should have taken the offer and will regret it.

From what I understand they have looked at 15 homes, only liked mine, and yet will not budge on this tiny detail. 

My thoughts immediately went to what would have happened if they signed the contract, we started inspections, etc.  Then a day before closing they decide to back out.  How much more aggravating would that be?? 

Maybe God protected me from a worse situation.  Don't know for sure and will most likely never know.

I do know that I need to keep pressing forward. 

Just keep praying.

'K?