LISTENING LEADS TO UNDERSTANDING

Another great minute from MarriageVine Ministries!!!

Excerpt: When two people are talking at the same time, no one is listening. Consequently, there is no communication. FOR CONVERSATIONS TO BE MEANINGFUL IT REQUIRES TALKING AND LISTENING.

WOW!! Is this hard for some of us to DO? Evidently it is because I find myself talking and not listening. Just recently, I discovered that if I had listened to my friend concerns about his aging mother, I would have understood why spending time with his family is so important when he comes home. He left home for college at the age of 18 and has not returned since for an extended period of time. Actually, it has been since 1992 and every time he comes home he says, " I can see that my mom has aged". After he communicated this to me, I had so much sympathy for him because I get to see my mom everyday. Sometimes, we need to put ourselves in the other person shoes to understand.

So, once again, I urge YOU to listen because it can lead to understanding.

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO READ BETWEEN THE CRITICISMS

I love marriage vine ministries. I haven't been reading them as I should. They just offer so much needed information for families. One that has stuck with me since I read it was "READING BETWEEN THE CRITICISMS".

Excerpt from the minute, "If your spouse often criticizes you for not "helping them", they are telling you that acts of service is their love language". PEOPLE TEND TO CRITICIZE THEIR SPOUSE MOST LOUDLY IN THE AREA WHERE THEY THEMSELVES HAVE THE DEEPEST EMOTIONAL NEED.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I find myself criticizing my friends for not spending time with me. "Spending Time" is one of my love languages. I love to spend time with a person that I adore. This is how I get closer and to mention that I LOVE TO TALK!!!

My issue is that my friend from Memphis will not come to Mississippi. I have known him for four years but he makes excuses that it is too far and that he does not like driving. So, we have not been to a movie together in months because I decided to stop driving 30 to 40 minutes to watch a movie with him. I could not seem to understand why I was bothered about this. But, this minute explained it very well. IT'S MY LOVE LANGUAGE.

So, I urge everyone to know the LOVE LANGUAGE OF YOURSELF and OTHERS IN YOUR LIFE. FOR MY MOM, IT IS DEFINITELY "ACTS OF SERVICE".

CLUTTER RESCUE!!!!!

648 P485C c.1

Foreword: This book is for anyone who has spent 20 minutes looking for the remote, moved homework to put dinner on the table, searched high and low for that favorite sweater-only to find it crumpled under a stack of dirty clothes-or missed paying a bill on time because it was stuffed in a junk drawer.

I have an issue with clutter. I have never been an organized person. I know this is not a good system. However, I did attempt to organize my closet after an assignment in my "organization of information" class. It did not last very long... me applying these principles. So when I saw this book a couple of weeks ago, I took it home but it took some days before I looked through the pages of it. Chapter 2 was a major interest for me because my bedroom is where I live. It is too small for what I do. I have a computer and computer desk in my bedroom. This takes up a lot of space. And, there are tons of written papers, past assignments, and articles that I am holding on to until I take my "proficiency exam" next summer. So, I definitely needed some advice on how to de-clutter my bedroom.

TIPS THAT I AM USING:

• STORAGE IN STYLE: I AM USING MY LUGGAGE TO STORE SEASONAL CLOTHES. PERHAPS, I CAN FORGO MY MONTHLY STORAGE BILL WHICH IS MAINLY BECAUSE OF CLOTHES.
• THE CLOTHES QUESTION: I HAVE MORE THAN I CARE TO MENTION. MOST OF THEM ARE TOO SMALL THAT ARE HANGING IN MY CLOSET AND IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN A YEAR SINCE I HAVE WORN THEM.
• THE CLOSET RULES: I AM TRYING TO HANG LESS CLOTHES AND USE SOME OF MY AVAILABLE DRAWERS. ALSO, I AM TRYING TO KEEP MY SHIRTS, JEANS, AND SKIRTS TOGETHER. HOPEFULLY, THIS WILL ELIMINATE SOME OF MY GET READY FOR WORK STRESS.
• SIMPLE UNDER BED BOXES: GREAT FOR MY PILES OF PAPERS ON MY COMPUTER DESK.

GOOD NEWS

I was excited to hear TODAY that funding has come through for LAMP SCHOLARS. THANKS LAURA BUSH!!!

IT'S OK IF YOU'RE CLUELESS

Last week, as I was searching for a book in the stacks, I gravitated toward the most wonderful book. It is a must read for parents and students. Terry McMillan is hilarious with 23 commonsense tips for the college bound. If you are interested in reading something with humor along with gaining some insight about college life, I ask you to read this book. It is only 64 pages. Some of the little chapters that I enjoyed are the following:

Chapter 4: Read Anything and Everything

Chapter 6: Let The Insides Match Your Outsides

Chapter 9: Success Should Not Be Based On Fame or How Much Money You Make

You Are What You Eat

I was amazed at the information that this book contained. We need to be more aware of what we put into our bodies. For years, I have been wondering WHY I feel a certain way after I eat something or perhaps WHAT I could eat to help a health issue that I was having. I promise that this book will answer many common questions that we go to the doctor for. This book is written by an internationally acclaimed nutritionist and it contains information on food that stress and de-stress, top energy foods, pms & hormonal issues, supplement for weight loss, skin care, naughty foods, good and bad sweets, recipes, etc.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

10th Anniversary Scholarship Bash

In photo: ProQuest CEO Marty Kahn and scholarship recipents

(IF YOU LOOK CLOSE, YOU WILL SEE ME).

I had a blast at the Art Institute of Chicago this summer!!! I made alot of new friends!!!

GOOD NEWS

I was awarded an additional $500 scholarship through UWM for the fall term.