Making Plans

I am a part of a wonderful Bible study group that meets once a week. We are reading Karol Ladd's book, The Power of a Positive Woman.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I heard the title. It sounded kind of new-age-ish. That whole "think -positive -thoughts -and -you'll-always- feel -happy" thing just doesn't jive with me. I was a little concerned that was the territory I was headed toward. Was I wrong.

Never should I have questioned the study, really. Our leader is a phenomenol lady who has (probably unbeknownst to her) been a mentor to me for years. I have often found myself imagining how she might handle situations when I have been faced with them. I should have known this book would rock.

Last week's topic has stuck with me since we discussed it. Planning.

Now, I am a dork. I plan everything. EVERYTHING. We don't do things that I didn't plan. We'll not do things I didn't plan.

So I thought.

Mrs. Ladd's book talks about what we should be planning. There are four main areas: Mental, Physical, Spiritual and Social.

(Note it did not include groceries, vacations, closet arrangement or my husband's life.)

Mental planning refers to having a game plan for what you are going to do to keep your mind sharp. I am hoping Sudoku fills that spot.

Physical planning...you guessed it...what are you going to do to, you know, be healthy. Whatever. She can't mean the week after the week of Halloween.

Spiritual planning caught me off guard a bit. We are faithful members of our church. Hello...I'm in a Bible study once a week...doesn't that count? It is more than that. What am I doing to intensify my personal relationship with God? Our sweet leader spoke about reading a chapter of Proverbs each day. Hiding God's word in our hearts by memorizing scripture. Imagine having an actual plan for this. Not just squeezing in a quick prayer time and verse between the things on my to-do list. I've got a little work to do in this area.

Social planning seemed kind of nutty to me at first. (Not because it is my weakest area or anything.) We must purposefully engage in activities with other people for pleasure. What? You mean Homeroom Mom meetings don't count? What about that Bible study thing? All well and good, but we should focus on doing more. Have a couple over for dessert once a month. A different couple. Not the same couple you always have over. (A couple for whom you have to pick up your house a bit. ) Have lunch with a different friend each week. Now we're talking....

These are not easy things to just throw in our daily mix. As with anything new, it starts with small things.

I still kind of think a cool fifth category could be grocery planning.