30 degrees, but not melting

J U L Y 5th 

I'm blogging everyday for the month of July, sharing what I learn about what it means to be a steward of time. Time is so precious. This series is a personal experiment where I hope to get a better look into where I invest my time, and how I can better shape my life to serve God through my actions, words, and priorities. Look up the tag "July series" to view each post. 

Productivity:

Working on a math assignment and persevering when all I felt like doing was lying outside and not moving (it's so hot!)

A meeting at church to prepare for the upcoming week of kid's camp

Rest & Enjoyment:

A morning at church with my family 

Going for brunch with a dear friend to celebrate her 21st birthday

Having a relaxed evening walk with my mom and brother, and watching the sun turn a beautiful bold orange 

Take aways:

1. How do we be good stewards of our time when any movement is accompanied by streams of perspiration and red cheeks? When it's over 30 degrees outside and my legs stick to my desk chair, I don't reeeeally feel like doing homework, especially when the beach offers the temptation of a cool breeze and ice cream. What I learned today is this: perseverance may not be easy (or comfortable), but no matter what I do, I want to do it with a good attitude. I may have felt like a boiled potato as I sat and worked through my assignment, but hey, I like potatoes. Okay, eating them is much better than feeling like one, but my point is this: I never want to let something like the weather steal my joy! Do you know how many things have to go right in your body for you to feel heat? There are hundreds of chemical reactions that have to occur in the correct sequence for you to perceive heat, and that is indeed worthy of a celebration.

2. Being a good steward of time means making time for others. I've heard people say before that if you want to be successful you have to be selfish. I really struggled with believing this statement. Do I really have to put myself above others to get accepted into medical school and ultimately be a good doctor? I don't think so. The more I live and learn, the more I see that fulfillment comes from being unselfish. The more I invest into others, the happier I become. I believe that God has medicine in my future, and he calls us to be loving, giving, and to take care of our own needs, but certainly not to be self centered.

Oh, fifth day of July, you were a good one. You were challenging, with your out of my comfort zone temperatures and math assignment that stretched my brain cells, yet you, like the first four days of July, were not without worthwhile lessons about being a steward of time. Thank you for teaching me that it's up to me what attitude I bring to the activities I spend my time doing, no matter what temperature it is. 

Much love, Vivi   

Thankfulness & Brain Workouts

J U LY 4

I'm blogging everyday for the month of July, sharing what I learn about what it means to be a steward of time. Time is so precious. This series is a personal experiment where I hope to get a better look into where I invest my time, and how I can better shape my life to serve God through my actions, words, and priorities. Look up the tag "July series" to view each post. 

Productivity: 

Submitting a Physics assignment 

Getting my passport photos taken, and of course practicing my "non-smile" face beforehand. All of the no smiling called for an extra smiley picture. ;)  

Costco grocery shopping and the full on lunch of samples that accompany it.

Working on some very challenging Calculus questions 

Completing a "things to know" sheet. Essentially, it is a bunch of definitions that I find myself often wondering "hmmm, what is that?" A few of the items on my list were LDL and HDL cholesterol, communism vs. capitalism, and soluble vs. insoluble fibre. Am I the only one who does this..? Haha :) 

Chores chores chores. Today was a cleaning day!

Rest & Enjoyment:

A very healing conversation with my mom about forgiveness & friendship, and in the middle seeing the most beautiful butterfly. It stayed perfectly still while I moved closer and closer to take the picture above.  

A delicious berry sundae.. Omnomnom. 

Watching an episode of Father Brown with my family. If it's British and has some sort of mystery, we've probably seen it. 

Reading Monday Mornings in the evening 

Take aways:

1. The only way to spend our time is by being thankful. In addition to other things, my mom and I talked about blessings this morning. It's easy to focus on the negative and quickly over look the beautiful things happening in life. My mom called me out on it this morning. I was feeling a little down, and a good dose of my mom and her honest, to the point, genuine love was more effective than the biggest mug of tea (and a mug of tea is pretty effective). 

2. Time spent working out your brain is time well spent. Have you ever mastered a tricky math problem, written an excellent paragraph, or read a great chapter of a book? My brain loves me for it. The more "intellectual workouts" I do, the more I can feel my brain laying down healthy neural circuits (that's a good thing.. :) 

Thank you, July 4th, for teaching me that there really is no time to live negatively or with any unthankfulness. There is so much goodness right here under our noses. Thank you for showing me how important it is to spend some time each day giving our brains a good workout; to read, to inquire, to ask questions, to take the time to find answers.

Much love, Vivi  

Spontaneity in between Structure

I'm blogging everyday for the month of July, sharing what I learn about what it means to be a steward of time. Time is so precious. This series is a personal experiment where I hope to get a better look into where I invest my time, and how I can better shape my life to serve God through my actions, words, and priorities. Look up the tag "July series" to view each post. 

Productivity: 

Volunteering at the orientation for new volunteers at the hospital

Working a full shift at my work 

Completing a physics assignment 

Updating my calculus formula sheets 

Rest & Enjoyment: 

Reading Romans 12 and meditating on it's truth. It's one of my favorite passages, so full of encouragement and how we can practically live out our faith each day 

Enjoying a huge mug of chai tea after my shift with piano jazz playing. And maybe a little Clean Bandit in there too... :) 

Working on a new song on the guitar 

Hanging out on the deck with it's glorious flowers (thanks to my mom's green thumb) and my family 

Take aways:

1. Yesterday I woke up at 7 am and suddenly I was all about getting up early. Well, TODAY I got up at 9 am.. Haha! I had had a very late night, and sleep was wonderful, and much more needed than the productivity of an early morning. Lesson learned? If I want to make the most of my time, I can't "burn the candle at both ends" as my mom says. In other words, I want to wake up early? I've got to get to bed early. Simple, common  sense, but something that requires effort to put into practice. 

2. Sometimes changes happen to our time that we can't foresee. I had no idea that I was going to get called in to work tonight. I quickly whipped up a dinner, threw my name tag on and drove to work. And you know what? It was such a blessing. I've always been a hard-core planner (think colored coded schedules and lots of lists), but the spontaneity of doing something completely unexpected (even something just like work!) was honestly, refreshing! I love my colored coded schedules, but a little spontaneity isn't so bad.. :)  

Dear July 3rd, thank you for teaching me that sleeping in isn't always a bad thing, and that spontaneity and being flexible not only can bless me, but also bless others by being willing to fill a need. Thank you for showing me yet again the immense importance of starting my day in God's word, and for not just reading, but thinking on how I can practically apply biblical lessons to my own life.  

Much love, Vivi 

People over Profiles

J U L Y 2nd 

I'm blogging everyday for the month of July, sharing what I learn about what it means to be a steward of time. Time is so precious. This series is a personal experiment where I hope to get a better look into where I invest my time, and how I can better shape my life to serve God through my actions, words, and priorities. Look up the tag "July series" to view each post. 

Productivity: 
Making healthy meals (quinoa salad, oh my taste buds sing). 
Completing a math assignment & doing what I call "computery things" (emails, scanning documents etc.) 
A beautiful drive to school for class 
Reading Texas by James Michener, an absolute beast of a book!


Rest & enjoyment:
Spending time with family outside, watering plants, reading, drinking iced tea
Writing a new song on the guitar. Music is so healing. I usually start by humming a tune, then add words, and finally fit it in chords on the guitar and the rest of the lyrics 

Take aways: 
1) It's difficult to restrict time on social media. I would flip open instagram, and the next thing I knew I was looking through pictures for ten minutes. I never realized how distracting this was before! I love catching up with friends over instagram and vsco cam, but WOW, can it suck me in and time starts to fly. 

2) Talking to someone new is never a waste of time. As I was walking into school this morning, I passed a girl I recognized from my class. I said hello and we started chatting as we walked through the hallways. It turns out she was sitting in the back by herself really struggling with the material. I'm a huge advocate for talking to people in spite of the fear of rejection. Everyone wants to be talked to, but it takes guts to do it first! This was something I learned in my first year of University, and I've never looked back. 

So, July 2nd, thank you for teaching me that you really mean business when it comes to hot weather. But more importantly, thank you for teaching me that social media can never replace face-to-face relationships and that my time should be more invested in people, not their profiles. 

A New Goal...

Do you ever have moments of being completely inspired, fired up with passion about a goal, or strong feelings of motivation all of a sudden? When I have these moments (which often happen after a mug of coffee or tea, so maybe caffeine has to do with it.. ;) I feel creative and it's the time when I have ideas pop into my head. For the month of July I'll be conducting a personal experiment. My goal is to take photos of what I'm doing throughout the day at random times. By doing this, I hope to get a clearer idea of what I spend most of my time on, and ultimately, how I can be a better steward of my time. In the summer I have more spare time, but time is still precious and I never want to waste it. At the end of each day, I will make a collage of the day and post it here. Yes, I will be posting everyday! It's quite the challenge, but I feel inspired and am determined to see this goal to completion! July is a very full month for me. I'm doing math and physics classes, turning 20, volunteering, and having surgery at the end of July. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me, and I trust Him to give me wisdom into what it looks like to be a wise steward of my time. Of course, I won't be able to include everything from each day, but hopefully what I learn throughout this journey will teach me more about spending time wisely, with a healthy balance of productivity (work, chores, required activities), and rest & enjoyment. 

So, without further ado,

J U L Y 1st 

Productivity: 
Waking up at 7am (a big deal for me in the summer!)
Baking cookies for a neighbor 
A few hours of Physics homework
Practice MCAT questions (I'm writing it next summer, but I do these for fun... Yes, for fun.) 

Rest & Enjoyment:
Reading a new novel with lunch in the sunshine
Painting my nails & having a few chocolate peanuts 
Having lunch with my family on the deck and discussing the Game Theory. Haha, family conversations in my house and very interesting. 
Having a mini picnic with iced peach tea and more books outside 

Take aways:
1) Waking up at 7 am was amazing. I was able to spend time in my Bible before my day started and begin the day in peace and focus on God's word. The soft light through my blinds was an added bonus. Seriously, waking up early is a new priority in my life! Thank you, July 1st, for teaching me a lesson about spending my time wisely already by starting early and starting right. 

2) I spend a lot of time eating or making food. What resonates in me with this is how important it is to eat well. I'm going to spend time eating anyways, so it may as well be food that makes my organs sing "thank youuuuuu!" 

3) It's okay to rest. Actually, it's WAY more than okay to rest. It's so needed, and so healthy. Reading in the backyard with iced peach tea was rejuvenating. Everyone rests in different ways, but there is one common and uniting theme: resting enables us to be productive when accomplishing our goals, and it gives us strength to do them WELL. 

I have learned more from one day of life than I had expected to, and I'm looking forward to continuing this challenge. Time is a blessing. Time is one of the greatest gifts we have. July 2nd, I'm ready for you.    


Much love, Vivi 

on being... S T E A D F A S T

This past week was a challenge. Every day little things started to add up that were together forming into a big mountain. My cat threw up five times in my room. On my clothes. I split tea freshly off the boil all over my hand and my leg. I showed up to the wrong shift after cancelling other plans. 

But you know the best part? 

I was okay. I laughed. I got over it. I'm still alive. I'm healthy. 

After having so many little things try to get to me, I realized just how important it is in NOT letting them get to me. Life happens. Cats barf. Tea spills. Schedules get mixed up. In the moment each little thing felt like the end of the world, but looking back I realize just how important it is to remain steadfast in peacefulness, gentleness, and immense gratefulness. 

My goal is this: to continue in being steadfast, refusing to let little things steal my joy or peace.

Much love, Vivi   

What Would Wendell Berry Say

I love Wendell Berry's writing. I read "Hannah Coulter" last summer and it made me want to buy a large farm and raise some chickens. His writing is very nostalgic, and oh so beautiful. I'm reading a collection of his short stories called "That Distant Land" and I sometimes find myself thinking in what I like to call "Wendell Berry sentences." They go something like this:

Good things right now. Oh, there are many. 
There is the 6 foot magnolia tree in the garden, blooming in its full pre-summer beauty, beckoning for the sun's rays to shine upon it and give it the strength to grow.
There is the ocean. The time to go to the ocean. The kindred spirit friend to join me at the ocean.
There is the word. The word of God, the word of encouragement, the spoken, written, unwritten word.
There is the ticking of the clock. An unwelcome, unsettling sound to many, but an ever-present reminder that as long as you are able to hear that ticking, you have a purpose and a future.
There is the sky with its indecision between rain and shine. The clouds and rain drops adhering to the many moods of the day. 
There is the knowledge, built up by ancient dreamers and creative thinkers, pushing aside traditional thinking and making DISCOVERIES. 
There is the endurance that is only fully recognized for its substance once it has been accomplished. 
And yes, there are the people. Where do I begin with the people? The new, the long-time, the young, the old, the laughers, the planners, the story-tellers, the listeners, the deep-thinkers, the forward thinkers, the contemplative ones. Oh, the people. 
Yes, there are good things right now.


Much Love, Vivi