#SmallSuccess Thursday: So Many Steps

Today feels almost like a regular Thursday. Granted, I did miss out on my usual pre-dawn chat with the illustrious radio producer Matt Swaim, but aside from that it’s sort of “business as usual” around here. I woke up this morning for my Women’s Christians in Commerce meeting, folks seem to be back at their desks, and my husband is back to work. I still have both boys home from college for a few more days, but that seems to be the only remnant of the vacation mode that I’ve been living in for the past few weeks.

And that’s ok.

Because I thrive on the wonderfully, crazy-busy nature of my life. I often wish that some of you could come sit at my desk for a day and experience the astounding blessings that happen in my little space of reality. My email inbox, while filled with “to do” items, also puts me in touch with an amazing cavalcade of people who lift me up and inspire me on a daily basis to be a better person. When I feel tired and overwhelmed by the demands of what I do, I go to any number of places online and turn to real friends doing real work for the Kingdom of God.

Today at WCIC we studied Ephesians 5:3-4 which (according to the NIV version) says:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

Our group of “church ladies” had an interesting conversation about what these verses mean for those of us who aren’t super into obscenity or sexual immorality. We keyed in on both the mention of “greed” and all of the other idols which can separate us from a full, beautiful relationship with God. We also discussed the challenge of not completely withdrawing from the world around us and cloistering ourselves. I’m praying about how the call to be “in the world” but less a sinner means that I simply MUST amp up on prayer, scripture and the sacraments to keep me strong and fortified. Something to pray about in the week ahead!

All this being said, my week was scattered with a few Small Successes:

1. Steps, Steps, Steps – Wearing a Fitbit has taught me to value motion. I’ve managed to hit my 10K step goal every day of the past week. In the last seven days, I logged over 92,000 steps, over 40 miles! Granted, not every step was at exercise pace, but movement of any kind for this desk-warrior is a good thing!
2. Savings Culture – For Christmas, we took a family vacation to San Francisco. Since our guys are getting hard to buy for, we figured that an after-Christmas shopping trip would be a good idea. So both received some spending money from Santa. Interestingly, both boys placed the bulk of the funds into their savings accounts rather than going on a spree. I’d say that my husband’s obsessive listening to Dave Ramsey in all of our presence is definitely having an impact upon the boys and I. On at least three occasions this week, I stopped myself from making needless purchases. Baby steps…
3. Inbox progress – I can’t claim “inbox zero” quite yet, but some newly implemented work systems are helping me get closer. More on that another time, but the small success of this week was figuring out some needed behavioral changes.

Now it’s your turn! Go to CatholicMom.com for all of the instructions.