Sandy attacks the “To-Do-List” - Part 1 of 3

Pam’s Page 9 – “Finances”
Hi sweet blogging friends-

As you know, this Blog is NOT about me! This Blog is a kaleidoscope of Inspiring Women. Today’s post was written by a dear friend and business partner of mine – Sandy Teig. The following is the first of a series of three articles offered by Sandy, on "Time and Life Management".

SANDY WRITES-Her name was Nova. She was my mother’s mom. In her youth, she was a feisty red head. She got mad at the boys one day for dipping her long red braid in the ink well at school. In defiance, she rode her horse at a full gallop home and proceeded to cut the entire 10” braid off at the base of her neck. “That’ll teach ‘em.” I would often get the shoe box down from the shelf in her spare bedroom just to touch that braid she had kept and ask to hear the story again.

As a young mother in the 1930’s she helped my grandfather with the farming duties, raised two children and operated her own home-based business. She had an egg route and would deliver dozens of eggs to clients in the neighboring communities each week.
Sprinkled throughout my childhood are memories of the things I learned from Nova. She was taking vitamins before vitamins were cool. She offered free advice like, “keep your colon clean!” She demonstrated to me that chickens really do run around when their heads are cut off – just one of the many steps it took to get to mom’s delicious chicken and noodles. She introduced me to yogurt and showed me how to find juicy strawberries hidden under the leaves of the plant.

When I was a young college woman, she taught me perhaps one of the most important of life’s lessons. She was in her 80’s then and living in a low income housing apartment. I stopped by during one of my trips home for a visit. She didn’t walk much anymore, but could maneuver in her small apartment on a motorized cart. We chatted for awhile about the scandalous things they were talking about on the Phil Donahue show these days. Then, I asked, “what ya got planned for tomorrow?” I’m not sure what I was expecting to hear. I just didn’t expect that the next words to come out of her mouth would echo in my mind for nearly 30 years...”I’m going to clean the refrigerator”, she said.

In my youthful ignorance I laughed sarcastically to myself, “You can do that? You can take a whole day to clean a refrigerator?” It wasn’t just one day. She had already arranged things on the counter – pans, cleaning supplies, etc. for the next day’s event. There wasn’t even much in her refrigerator – certainly not any of those sticky spilled juice runs down the back side that take forever to wash off. I am sure I giggled about the “refrigerator task” for days – perhaps years – until life began to chip away those rough edges on my shoulders. Then I began to see the value of what she unknowingly taught me that day:

There may come a day in my life when it will take me a whole day to clean the refrigerator – but it isn’t today.

Today, by God’s grace, I am strong. I am healthy. My mind is sharp and my heart is joyful. In just one day I can load and unload the dishwasher, scoop hundreds of bushels of soybeans out of an overhead bin, take and place a client’s order, pick out worship songs for Sunday morning’s service, wash 3-6 loads of laundry and fold them, practice Fur Elise on the piano, fill the cat feeder, put the dog away, sort the mail, fix supper and tenderly rub the backs of my two children when they go to bed. Some times I look at my “to do” lists and sit back in amazement at the diligence, coordination, determination and endurance required. Then I think of Nova.

What did her “To-Do-List" look like when she was in her mid 40’s? I am confident they required high levels of stamina and time management skill. Who knows, if we could turn the time line around, what would she say about my lists? Would she chuckle to herself and say, “really, Sandy, is it going to take you a whole day to do that?”

Whatever stage of life you are at - whether your “To-Do-List" has 20 things on it for today or one, attack the list with 100% dogged determination. Then check off today’s tasks and get ready for tomorrow. Take a brief moment to enjoy the satisfaction that comes from completing a task and give your Maker the thanks He deserves for helping, guiding and protecting you.

Sandy’s Tip #1: When the lists get shorter, the tasks will still require 100%.

TAKING ACTION“Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.” (James 1:22)
Choose at least one action you can take to be more effective with your “To-Do-List” and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from completing it, with Gods help.

Write it down, commit to it, and start today!