What Really Matters...

Over the weekend, my husband and I had to seriously re-evaluate how we've been spending our time.  The truth is, there are things that we both expected to finish by now (the obvious for me being things related to my musical) that we haven't.  "Not enough time in the day" is just not a valid excuse as we've been given the same 24 hours as Bill Gates.  Even worse, without realizing it, (I think) we both have unconsciously been feeling down for not doing what we set out to do a while ago.

For the most part we are clear about our goals, but I think we're a bit all over the place with how to reach them.  Especially now that our recent baby talk (I've been thinking a lot about getting started on our first child within the next two years - seems far but it's a jump from four years) has added a new twist on our short-term goals.  One thing that was really helpful was when we started to talk about what should take priority in our lives right now.  Once we identified those things, it was clear that we had to start letting go of things that didn't quite make the list.

For me, that means letting go of a ministry or two at church (I'm involved in three).  We recently became life group leaders (we'll be hosting small Bible discussions in our home twice a month until the summer) and the preparation (and excitement) are overwhelming enough that there really isn't much room for too many other extra-curricular activities.

An example of things that are important to me/us are get-togethers.  I love to fellowship (but even that I'm going to have to say "no" to a little more than I currently do) because I think getting together with family and friends to celebrate... life, is so vital to our social and emotional health.

But without further ado, blogging did not make the cut.  I enjoy blogging, but any blogger can admit, it's time consuming.  Even as I'm typing this now, I have papers I need to grade (priority), that will probably keep me at work longer than I need to be, which means going home later than I'd like to, and getting less stuff done at home cause I still need to sleep (sigh).

So in an effort to manage my time better, I must bid my readers farewell (indefinitely).  I haven't actually decided what I'm going to do with my site just yet, but I'll leave my blog up until I "find time" to think about it, lol.  Sorry, that was funny to me.  But I will miss you all, though I know you understand.  And to those who continue to blog consistently, hats off to you, you're amazing!  

Be Ready

Yesterday, while meeting with the director of my musical, she hit me with a harsh dose of reality:  Although the New York Musical Theater Festival submissions have opened up for next year, I'm not ready to submit my musical.  Normally, something like that would be fighting words, except I knew she was right.  The expectations of NYMF are so high that mediocrity just wont cut it.  And in no way shape or form are we calling my masterpiece mediocre, it's just that with all the rewrites and revisions, it actually hasn't been audience tested.  The show is so different it even has a new name (to be revealed at a later date, lol).  Although, I can tell you how wonderful my show is, I can't prove it.  And if my hope is to gain attention from Broadway producers I need to remember that people are quicker to invest in a product than an idea.

So after feeling defeated for about 30 seconds, I knew that was 29 seconds too long and it was time to get back to work.  After all, procrastinating is what got me in this mess to begin with.  So next month I will begin a series of readings to test my product because I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still going to try to make that deadline.  But if I miss the deadline, it's my own fault for not being ready.  Which brings me to the point of today's post:  Be ready for anything!

When opportunity knocks, don't let it catch you unprepared.  And that really goes for everything in life.  Let's get our hopes, dreams and aspirations in order! 

If you're looking for a job, be prepared to start right away.
If you're looking for the ideal mate, be the ideal mate.
If we're looking for an investor, have a product.

And most importantly (why I'm not beating myself up) God's timing is perfect.  I don't subscribe to the school of thought that believes opportunity only comes once in a lifetime.  Instead, I know that what's for me is for me, and if things don't work out the way I imagined it's simply because God has something greater in store.  No excuse to slack though, back to work!

Rosh Hashanah

Considering that school just started less than two weeks ago and I already have a day off, I figured the least I could do was find out what we're observing.  Don't get me wrong, I love days off, no matter what day it is, but I still like to know to what holiday I owe my gratitude.  And today, we're observing Rosh Hashanah, which with a little research, I learned is the Jewish New Year!  And right now in my life, it just seems so fitting.

For starters, I just celebrated my 21st 22nd 23rd birthday a few days ago, which gives me the sense of a new year with new goals.  And with the school year also beginning a few days prior to that, I'm charged with new ideas, expectations, and well... goals.  And of course I get this same feeling around Jan 1st with my list of resolutions.  But since those resolutions usually fall along the way side a few months later, it's nice to revamp at various times of the year.

So a quick revamp:

1.  By Jan 1, I do not want "lose weight" to be a resolution.  (Gotta acknowledge the obligatory weight loss first).

2.  Submit (and hopefully get accepted) my musical to the New York Musical Theater Festival (actually submissions open up today).

3.  Plan my 2012 Mission Trip.

I have a lot more, wont bore you with them.  But as you can see, these are major targets that all need to be accomplished before Jan 1.  Then I'll, revamp again !

Any goals for you that need to be revisited before 2013?

Running From Your Nineveh

On Saturday, I had the privilege of seeing Jonah at the Sights and Sounds Theater in Lancaster County, PA and in one word it was AMAZING!  For starters, the set design alone is unlike any I've ever seen even on Broadway.  They really take you where they want you to go, which is everywhere from Nineveh to under the sea.  The music is epic, the costumes are colorful, the show is super kid-friendly (which is always good for adults who want to follow along without thinking too hard), and they even use live animals (donkeys, horse, zebra, llama, camel, skunk...).  Also, they have the largest cast/ensemble... you know what, I'm getting exciting and giving away way too much, you just have to see it for yourself, TOTALLY worth the trip.

But there is a reason I'm mentioning Jonah this morning other than to encourage you to see an amazing show.  In some way, we can all relate to the prophet Jonah.  Simply put, God wanted Jonah to do something, and he didn't want to do it so he ran away.  It sounds funny when we imagine someone trying to run from God, where did he really think he was gonna go?  But when God tells us to forgive someone and we don't, or to help someone and we put it off, or to take on a job/assignment and somehow we "rationalize" our way out of it, we're just as guilty as the prophet Jonah.

I'll take this a step further, if God has put a dream on your heart that you are too afraid to live out (maybe coming up with excuses as to why you can't do it, as though God Himself didn't put that dream there), then like the prophet Jonah you are running from Nineveh.  But really, there is no where you can go where God wont be.  So you can try to get it out of your head, ignore it or whatever, but it will nag at you, some days louder than others, until the nagging starts to sound more like regret, and then the regret sounds like... nothing cause it will haunt you till you die (Sorry for sounding so morbid on this great Monday, but I want you to get the picture.).  We have to stop running from our Nineveh (and we all know what our Nineveh looks like).  Mine looks like a school building.  I'm so ready to get to Broadway and beyond that sometimes most of the time, I'm ready to neglect the other things.  But I'm not running from it anymore, I'm running to it.  Actually, I'm gonna get ready cause I need to run there pretty soon.  Have a great week!