Is It Flu Season Already, Cuz I Got the Family History Bug....Bad!!!

Yup, I  am off on yet another venture...

It started out so innocently....

I was trying to make my "down time" have a bit more purpose and meaning, so decided to download the LDS Church's Indexing Program on Family Search.org. Indexing is taking a copy of an original document and transcribing the info on it into a digital format. It is very easy to do and anyone can sign up to do it, whether you are a member of our church or not. They send you little batches and give you detailed instructions on how to enter the information. This info is then added to the free online family search website and available for the public to enable them to research their genealogy. Most batches can be completed in under an hour.

As always with me, one thing leads to another. I found myself entering index info while listening to inspirational talks and music in the background, even while listening to some of my home business training webinars and such. I found out there is a huge need for people with knowledge of languages other then English to index documents from other countries, so I have been doing batches in Spanish from places like Mexico and Argentina.

Then my mom informed me the other day, when I asked her a question about a relative, that I have all of the handwritten family group sheets of our ancestors and there are no other copies of that info. The same week, someone at church mentioned that we have all been asked to make sure our genealogy is completed for four generations back. It is now my goal to have that finished by the end of the month. Most of it has already been compiled, my arduous task is to sift through it and correct data and combine duplicate records on the new family search website and make sure that all the church ordinances and records are in order.

Our hard drive crashed last year and the family history records I had saved on it have not yet been retrieved. (Of course I had neglected to have a backup disc)! I decided to try out a different program called RootsMagic and found it to be fairly easy to use and it is directly linked up to the family search website so I can share and match info at the touch of a button to and from the familysearch website, which is way cool.

So, I dragged out all the boxes full of family history and like a kid in a candy store have literally spent days just entering info into my RootsMagic program. I am not sure how well staying in my bathrobe until noon fits into my "more productive" endeavor, but it is what it is. I wonder if I might have a wee bit of an addictive personality in my makeup? You make the call....

Sonia

The Seven Wonders

I began this post several weeks ago and then got side-tracked. I just noticed it was still in my drafts section. Can you say ADD?!!! It is an introduction to where I think I may be heading in this blog in the near future. (That is, if I do not get distracted and go off on some other tangent).


Recently, I read a book that was co-authored by Glenn Beck and a world-renowned psychiatrist Keith Ablow called: "The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life" that is all about taking notice of what they call "bread crumbs" that God places in our path to guide us in the direction He would have us go.{For those of you who do not know, Glenn Beck is a political pundit who does a daily radio talk show and tv show. But this book is not about politics, nor is it about a specific brand of religion. These are universal truths for anyone of any walk of life}.


Albeit, Glenn is indeed a convert to the LDS Church and he touches on his conversion story in the book describing how he managed to go from being a self-destructive alcoholic to a practicing Mormon, Dr. Ablow does not disclose what his religious persuasion is and the book pulls from many sources of truth. This book is about developing 7 areas in our lives that will bring us in sync with God's will and help us to become who Heavenly Father meant for us to be.{Hmmmm... reminiscent of the seven virtues in the  Personal Progress manual for LDS young women}. 


The Seven Wonders are: Courage, Faith, Truth, Compassion, Friendship, Family, and Common Sense. There is a 7 Wonders website, which I conveniently list here  http://theseven.glennbeck.com/  and in my pages section on this blog. When you visit the 7 Wonders blog, you can preview the book and post comments on how you are incorporating those seven character strengths into your life.  Recently, they added a weekly session with Dr. Ablow to the format, which you can watch live every Weds at 2 pm EST, with an archive option as well.


I plan to focus some of my posts on these areas as I continue my quest of self-improvement and progress in my spiritual walk with God.


So, dear reader, what are you doing in your life that is bringing you closer to your Higher Power and putting you on the pathway to  becoming the unique, healthy and successful person you are meant to be? I welcome your feedback.


BE WELL,

Sonia

Happy New Month!

I recently read Barbara Johnson's book title "Where Does A Mother Go To Resign"? In it she describes a tradition in her family where they celebrate the first day of every month with a special treat, sometimes cards to loved ones, a fun activity, etc...she says that doing this helps her to remain grateful for God's blessings in her life and also it is a way to put down the burdens she has gone through that month and not drag that baggage along with her. A fresh start, every month. I like that. So, Happy New Month Everyone! What will you do to celebrate a new month today? Who will you reach out to? What burden will you let go and let God handle?

This past Saturday, I was at the very first ever Ambit Energy simulcast and the keynote speaker was Todd Smith who is a very successful entrepreneur and the author of the book "Little Things Matter".  He said that the most important thing we need to have to be successful at anything is.....drum roll, please...... DISCIPLINE. He stressed consistent discipline. Striving to be excellent in doing the little things that matter will help us improve in all areas of our lives, especially in our relationships, both personal and professional.

Here are six ways to create discipline in our lives:

1)   Make a commitment to be more disciplined.
2)   Focus on goals - review dreams, Make A Vision Board!
3)   Do the things that you know are necessary, but do not want to do FIRST.
4)   Figure out what your little things that matter most are and strive for excellence in those areas.
5)   Make decisions in advance. For example, for myself working part-time at home I could decide how many
business related calls I will make each day. If I am dieting, what will I eat or not eat and how many servings.
The Youth in our church are counseled to make the decision regarding church standards BEFORE they are in a situation where they are tested.
6)   Get an accountability partner. This step is SOOO important! I am in a weight loss program right now and also doing a 21 day Daniel Fast some very ill friends. I post my weight and progress on the fridge where my husband can see it. He is trying to lose weight also, so my success becomes his success as it inspires him to continue. This all helps me to not cheat and to keep to my commitments.

Other choice tidbits from Todd Smith's talk were:
* Ask - who do I need to become to achieve my goals?
* As our value to others grows, so do our relationships and in the business world that can also mean financial    
   success as well.  In our personal life, it means more fulfilling relationships.
* Step up every part of my life. Look for the little things I am doing or am not doing that are impeding my
  progress.

And if you are struggling to come up with just what are the little things that matter, we just had a wonderful General Conference talk by Elder Uchtdorf, "Of Things That Matter Most". http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng


On This First Day of Februrary, I am nowhere near attaining perfection in any area of my life, yet I do see progress. I have been applying what I learned on Saturday and have been doing at least one thing I would rather not do before I do something I would rather be doing. It is amazing how much you can get done when you do that! My most troubling areas are exercise, cleaning up the dishes, making business calls, and planning a menu so that I am not always standing in the kitchen at 3;45 wondering what I am going to feed my family for dinner. One thing that I am going to incorporate into my life again is something I learned from the FlyLady website: having a weekly anti-procrastination day where I do at least one thing I have procrastinated beyond the acceptable time limit. Like the ironing.

Well, this is enough for now, because those dishes are going to get up and walk out in protest if I do not go do them immediately. I wish you all well with whatever your endeavors are.

God Bless,

Sonia