Sat, 26 May 2012 10:44:14 -0800WeeblyWed, 01 Feb 2012 10:31:18 -0800http://www.wisemagazine.org/2/post/2012/02/five-secrets-to-accomplishing-your-2012-goals-by-janet-uszynski-founder-its-orchid.htmlHow many times have you started out with this grand plan and by March or April you have totally forgotten or given up? Or have known others that start off strong and just fizzle out. When goals are accomplished even being the smallest there’s something positive that happens and we feel great. Like when we wake up and say I am going to clean out the garage today or I am going to clean out my drawers today. When we get to the end of our day and it’s done – we feel amazing and good about ourselves. Along with getting us into that cycle of being productive this results in joy. Now for some cleaning out drawers and garages may not be your bag but maybe its writing that book, doing that research, starting that class you have been thinking about for so many years. Whatever it is it will give you the joy that you need of completion and accomplishment.

1. Break your list into categories. Example- Family, Work, Personal. When you separate significant areas in your life you can focus without getting overwhelmed from the beginning.
2. Limit the goals to five or less per category and give a deadline. Example- Lose 15lbs, January –weight down 3lbs, February down 7lbs. If you are not reaching your goal stop and reassess it to see why that is happening. Sometimes adding in another little goal to help the original goal along is perfectly ok. Remember the end result is to have a completed goal and succeed in accomplishing what you want to do.
3. Add more small goals that complement the established ones. Once you fulfill the first goals take time to celebrate your accomplishments. Something positive happens when you complete a goal, you feel a great sense of joy. Move immediately into adding a goal that moves you in the same direction. Example - add walk 3 days a week.
4. Set a realistic goal. Being realistic is always better; the old analogy of setting your goals way beyond your limits is just not obtainable or reasonable for most. Why stress yourself out when the goal is too broad to actually accomplish it. This way you will stay within what is reasonable to continue to set more aggressive goals to reach throughout the years to come.
5. Revisit your list on a regular basis and get an accountability partner. Important to note that while setting your goals is the number one priority – it’s the keeping up on them and constantly looking back at the list that is going to get you to completion. These are milestones and need to be addressed or you will never be effective in completing any goals. Make yourself accountable to your family, friends or co-workers so they can also be a motivating factor. Put your goals in your smart phone as an alarm; add them to day timers, set up a little contest with others so that these will also work as motivating factors to keep you on target. Have a list visible so you can always see where you are at. Set your goals far enough apart throughout the year that they don’t overlap and you are not overwhelmed.
6. Check in regularly with your accountability partner. When you feel as if you are losing steam and know your pattern of giving up might be setting in, consult your accountability partner to get you motivated again. Don’t give up – just reassess, get motivated and move forward. You will be much happier if you don’t give up and accomplish at least one goal than none.

]]>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:23:54 -0800http://www.wisemagazine.org/2/post/2011/12/what-are-you-settling-for.htmlHow many times have you had a dream in your heart and you ended up running with something LESS than the best? How many times have you allowed others to take your faith and you ended up settling in more areas of your life than you care to admit? Well- let's talk about that... sometimes it's not too late! And when I make that last statement- does that mean that sometimes it IS too late? Well, don’t skip this blog because you may not agree- hear me out!
 
I hear from more married people than I can count about the following statement; “Be Sloooooow to get married, wait for as long as you can!!” It often has a warning tone to it- vs. a cautious tone and I often surmise that married
people are generally speaking, NOT Happy! Remember- I’m a single girl, I’m jus sayin; doesn’t it sound that way to you? It’s kinda sad. I mean- did they settle for something less than what they originally wanted? I hope it’s not true especially since I’m waiting on the Lord to hook me up! So, for all of you single people out there, it’s time for you to make a list if you haven’t already. Why a list? Studies show- people who “write down” their goals, wishes,
etc. have a 50% better chance of obtaining those goals and wishes vs. someone who just keeps them in their head. Interesting huh? Also when you write things down I think it gives you a clearer picture of what’s in front of you. It’s like proofreading out loud, vs. to yourself - the mistakes JUMP OUT when you hear yourself read it aloud. 

First and foremost you must keep in mind who YOU are. If you don’t know who you are- you can’t begin to make a list. Not only will your list be unrealistic, if you don’t know who you are neither will the person you capture
from that list. They’ll end up being everything you’re not- and it won’t last- and need I go any further? You’ll end up being one of those married people telling single people to WAIT with a major warning tone in your voice. Or – the goals that you’ve captured for yourself might end up being extremely unrealistic when you don’t consider the little fact that you hate working out, after your goal has you losing 50lbs in six months. If you are a Christian-then your list of wishes needs to be about someone who is like-minded. Yes? Can you imagine marrying a man who refuses to go to church and Sunday mornings are spent with loud arguments and frustration between you, him, and the children? Seriously- do not be unequally yoked. You have to realize that you shouldn’t be asking
anything of someone that you yourself aren’t trying to obtain or have already obtained. Let’s face it- opposites attract, but they typically don’t stay together…you may want someone to balance you out- but you don’t want someone who’s going to annoy you! So be conservative with your wish list. Then pray over it, ask God to help you – because He knows better than you what’s good for you- then believe that you’ll get what you asked for and more. You see- my Pastor’s wife said once, if you have a list of 20 things and you get 17 of those- you
have to be willing to say about those other 3 things… “I can live with that”. Stop settling for less than God’s best. If you want something believe God for it and wait…God is faithful to His word, we’re the ones who stop
trusting and begin to take the cheap version of what we asked for.

For Married Couples: If  you didn’t make a list before you said “I Do” but you have some demands now and you want what you want- then sit down with your mate and talk about it. See if the two of you can get on
the same page and believe God together!

 And Singles: Stop settling in your dating life…practicing settling now will encourage you to
settle later. Make your list and stick to it. Keep it real, keep it realistic, and keep it simple!


Loving you with God’s Love,

Angela Hunter


  ]]>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:56:11 -0800http://www.wisemagazine.org/2/post/2011/10/taking-ownership-of-our-christianity.htmlIntegrity- what does that word really mean? Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

It’s being TRUE- HONEST- PURE not only with ourselves, but with others. So when we CLAIM to be a Christian- it usually means we are claiming Jesus is the Lord of our lives and we live and conduct ourselves a certain way, right? When someone tells you they’re a Christian you automatically have a picture in your mind of the standard they should carry out. You have a perception of what they’ll be like and how they will act- am I right? So when those people shatter that perception and end up being liars, cheaters, back stabbers, and maybe promiscuous- what conclusion do you draw?

Can you see how our actions can affect the perceptions of others? Especially when we claim to be a Christian? There have been times when we’ve said we were going to do something but ended up not keeping that word for whatever reason. Do you believe people expect Christians to live by a different set of values? Their values and standards should be higher? So don’t you think it’s important for us to OWN our words and watch over them to make certain we do what we say we will do? Why? Because others are watching, judging, and learning from our actions. For some people the only Bible they’ll ever read is YOUR LIFE. What could they learn about Jesus from watching YOUR LIFE? Are you living a life that is reflective of the son of God? In the Bible Jesus said if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the father- he meant that his attributes were like God in such a way that when you come in contact with Him it would be just like coming in contact with His father.

What do I really mean about taking ownership of our Christianity? Watch your mouth, keep your word, walk upright, be a giver, love people in spite of, forgive one another, have patience, faith, give of your time, gifts, and talents, honor the word of God, and BE a blessing. Does that sum it up? It’s about walking the walk and not just talking the talk. It’s not about LIP service- but it’s more about HEART service. Putting your faith where your mouth is so to speak. No one wants to be disappointed by your actions because they expected some integrity from you and instead received heartache. God needs you to represent Him properly so he can be glorified in the earth, not mocked!

Now please don’t go away from this blog thinking you must live a perfect life. I’m only asking you to “consider your ways.” When we make a profession of Christ we are saying a lot of things. 1. We’re saying that I’m not perfect and I need HELP- that’s the reason I NEED a Savior. Secondly, we’re saying “I honor God and have a deep desire to keep His ways.” Does that paint a better picture for you?

The Bible tells us to avoid the appearance of evil- that means to avoid what LOOKS bad. Because perception is REALITY right? Some of us need to separate ourselves from some things. Just something to chew on as we grow in the things of God.

OWN your Christianity and protect it. It’s up to YOU- Christ is depending on you to make His name good. Now GO and BE A BLESSING!

]]>Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:25:13 -0800http://www.wisemagazine.org/2/post/2011/09/coming-soon.htmlLook forward to weekly blogging by Angela Hunter starting October 1, 2011. You will not want to miss what she has to say to inspire you. ]]>Fri, 12 Aug 2011 07:58:06 -0800http://www.wisemagazine.org/2/post/2011/08/first-post.htmlSay these words out loud; Resilient, pliable, able to bounce back, adaptable, flexible, the ability to recover. We all mess up, but if you will allow yourself to BE these things- then you’ll NEVER lose! Something to chew on huh? I mean, what you really have to understand about life- and this is ANYONE, no matter who you are, where you came from, or what happened to you… you have to understand that the only time you fail, is when you fail to get back up. We ALL fall- or as the Bible puts it, all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. So we all have regret about one thing or another, but you have to know that getting back up entitles you to make a fresh start. Pick up from where you left off so to speak. Staying on the ground or crying that the sky is falling, or being negative that “nothing ever works for you” is failure. Failure to see the

obstacle for what it is…an obstacle.

I remember a family member of mine wanted to pull her child out of a certain teacher’s class because the teacher was too hard and she was known as an impossible teacher to deal with. Her child was getting disciplined in a way that she never had before and quite frankly in my opinion, she was being challenged in a good way. But the first thing her mother wanted to do

when the child complained was pull her out of the class. I jumped into the conversation that she was having with my mother at this point and urged her NOT to do that. Pulling her child out because of rumors or minor complaints teaches them that as soon as something is challenging or too hard then it’s okay to quit or pull out. And you wonder why we become weak adults who

can’t take a punch. We cry when our boss crosses us and we want to quit our jobs or we end up falling out with a friend because the relationship is not going our way.

The advice I gave her was to make her child dig her heels in and do the tasks that were given her so that she could “learn” how to deal with seemingly challenging and hard to get along with people at an early age and still succeed. Not every teacher is going to be easy, not every boss is going to recognize your contributions. THIS quite honestly would be a great test for her to develop a thick skin in a way that could only mature her.

Let’s look at the benefits of this potential lesson; she could begin to pray for this teacher

and believe God to see her through. This is also a great way for her to begin to use her faith and witness a move of God on her behalf while perhaps seeing how God can make a difficult situation manageable. Sometimes God doesn’t deliver us FROM a situation, He delivers us THROUGH a situation. Same stance we should take with our children. Instead of taking them OUT of a difficult situation, support them THROUGH a difficult situation. You’ll see

some amazing fruit begin to form in their lives; they’ll develop character and will begin to trust God instead of always depending on YOU to “save them.” You can’t always be there for them- but God will.

Let’s help our children be resilient. Let us also take this advice for ourselves. I encourage you to TRY to take on new challenges that you perhaps would not have taken on in the past. Ask God to help you to recover when you’ve fumbled, because your children, like you- WILL fumble. It’s okay, rub some dirt on it and get back into the game! Remember, you’ve got one up on the world. God is on YOUR side!

Be inspired to create the adult in your children that you’d like to work with, partner with, be friends with, be employed by, and see how that changes your outlook and your

Behavior when it comes to supporting them.

Things to consider:

I’m not asking you to allow your child to have one challenge after another that’s enough to discourage even YOU. But make sure that if one challenge does come along that you don’t run and deliver them out of it so quickly. Let them take a hit or two but TEACH them through it, support them in it, encourage them and then help them to see the lesson behind it. They will become stronger emotionally and begin to want to make their own decisions about things as you guide them. Let’s all BE RESILIENT, we can bounce back after a set back and STILL WIN!

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