by kathilipp | Aug 9, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Every year, my church is one of the satellite locations for the Willow Creek Association Leadership Conference. This conference is broadcasted to locations all over the world, and for many leaders in the Bay Area, Church on The Hill is where they land to participate in the satellite event.
My hubby is the guy (along with his crew) who makes sure that all the buttons are pushed, microphones are on, and giant jumbo-tron screen is in place. He spends the better part of a week prepping for the conference (this in on top of the other hobby he has – working for HP full time,) and by the time the event arrives, I can be found some muttering some not-so-Christian-leader stuff under my breath. It take Roger away – a lot – the week before.
But then I get there, and I start to hear the speakers, and I take notes and see people from churches in the area that I love, but don’t get to see very often, and then I start to think, “We need to do this more often.” (I know, I know, just try living with me.)
So in case you didn’t get to go this year (and I highly recommend that you check out their website so that you can go next year) , I wanted to share some of the best things I heard.
Bill Hybles, the lead pastor of Willow Creek talked about the need to replenish if we are going to lead. Here are some of the best things I heard from Bill: (The words in italics are my thoughts.)
We lead best when we are filled up.
You need to have a planned negligence strategy. He talked about the need to plan on what you are going to neglect – there are going to be a lot of great things that you can’t participate in – and that’s OK- but you need to plan for it.
Who do I need to be around to be replenished? Who do I need to stay away from? There are some people who fill us up, and some who drain us. Make sure you are scheduling time with the ones who feed you, and limiting time with those who don’t.
Doubling exercise. Limiting eating. Pay attention to vacation. Self-explanatory.
Starting the day gently – with God’s word. No leadership material, no communication material. I am working on this, but I am getting better. I have to remember that it is OK not to get something accomplished, but just to linger with God. I am working diligently on lingering.
The best thing you bring to the table everyday is a filled up bucket and a heart that is attuned to God.
More notes tomorrow.
by kathilipp | Aug 5, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Tomorrow I am going to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (our church is a satellite host,) which I have done for the past four years.
This conference always leaves me so energized and motivate – that is until I get home and have to shovel out my desk to get anything done.
So your project for today is to get rid of 21 items in your “office” area. Whether that is a desk in your home office, or a drawer in the kitchen, get rid of 21 things that are just taking up space.
For those of you who are switching from paper to plastic-incased computers to hold your files, take a look at this great article on getting rid of outdated stuff from your office:
Ten Office Tools to Retire
by kathilipp | Aug 3, 2009 | Uncategorized |
OK – I will be sharing this with the rest of the world later today, but I wanted my BBFF (Best Bloggy Friends Forever)to know first.
I have just signed two new book contracts with Harvest House Publishers. (Yes, I continue to do the happy dance every time I think of it.)
The Next two tentative titles are:
The Me Project – 21 Days to Pursuing Your God-Given Dreams
The Kid Project – 21 Days to Connecting with Your Kids
I have about nine months to finish each of them and I am going to need a lot of help.
In the next few weeks, here on the blog we will be starting the Me Project and I am hoping that many of you will b my cyber guinea pigs and do the projects with me, give me your feedback, and then (with your permission,) I will be using your stories in the book.
See, you can get a writing credit without having to find an agent. Pretty cool.
Keep reading for further announcements – we are going to have a LOT of fun.
by kathilipp | Aug 2, 2009 | Uncategorized |
One More Pass it Along
I was so inspired by your stories of things that you passed along that, in case you don’t read comments on the blog, I wanted to post them here so that you can get your inspiration on and pass along one more thing that someone you love could use. (OK – now you try to write a longer run on sentence. I dare you.)
Here are some of the things that have been passed on. You are gonna love this (but be warned, you are going to start wanting to give stuff away that perhaps it would be wiser to keep. Your husband’s gold clubs, for example…)
Stephanie says:
I certainly have some things in mind; my old microwave we keep just in case the one this house came with breaks down, and a nice TV set someone gave us that collects dust in the garage.
But this reminded me of when a good friend and neighbor of mine went through a divorce and her husband cleaned out their house leaving her AND her kids with nothing but their clothes and beds! I had just bought a new set of pots and pans and hadn’t figured on giving away my good (pampered chef) old set. I was planning on using them for camping or just as a second set if needed. That same day when my friend came over in tears telling me what happened I immediately gave her my entire old set! It felt so good to do it and to go over later and see them using it. It was a double blessing for the both of us! God works in amazing ways!
Kathi Lipp says:
Proud of you girls!
I have to say, I am staying at a friend’s house and I am loving the lack of clutter. She has everything she needs (and a bunch of movies I’ve been wanting to watch,) but there aren’t the “extras” everywhere that make my house feel so cluttered. I am inspired.
Lisa Williams says:
One of my favorite give away moments was when we remodeled our home. My mom’s house was in need of a number of things, so the cabinets and the kitchen sink, that were about to be tossed in the trash by our contractor, were remade to fit her kitchen. To this day I can’t believe the difference it made in her kitchen. Then when we moved, the new carpet I had installed wasn’t the color the new owners wanted, so we pulled it up, pad and all, and put it in her family room. I gave her some dressers, our dining room table, bedroom and a living room set among other things. My boys love going to Grammy’s house because, as my son puts it, “It feels like home with all our old things around us, it’s comfortable.” One of my other favorite moments was when we cleared the house and garage just before moving day, I emailed friends, and then put a add on craigslist that said “Everything free, you’ve got 24 hours, come and get it.” I did it twice. My friends have apart of our home, and I met some great people that could use our stuff, we no longer had room for. Truth be told it was freeing! Kathi, was it you who ended up with the wicker chair? I’m about ready to do it again…need anything! 
Kathi Lipp says:
Lisa –
I DID get your wicker chair!!! I was just thinking about that!!! It is on our patio and is greatly loved.
Shelly says:
What a great story!! We just recently got rid of our bedroom furniture b/c we needed to downsize. We gave it to our cousin, who had just given theirs to their mother-in-law.
Heidi Holm says:
We have been on a roll sorting, tossing, donating and even putting things on the street with free signs on them and it feels good. Today we put our microwave/oven that we pulled out to upgrade on the street with a free sign and it left for a new home before the day ended. Now we have plans for tomorrow and this is going to take place until we feel free of clutter. Amen!
Stacy says:
I’ve been putting out box after box of stuff in front of our house labeled “free”. It’s amazing how fast it all goes. And I find that I prefer giving it away instead of having a garage sale.
Jessica says:
Love all the comments! I once heard that keeping things you don’t need/love/use is keeping a blessing from someone else. Isn’t it easier to get rid of stuff when you’re thinking that way?! I love that God works through us and in us, even in the mundane acts of housework!
by kathilipp | Jul 28, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Get Rid of It Project #18
OK – it is a 21 item project today. You can do it!
I want you to go through your house and get rid of 21 things that you no longer love.
I was looking at my red hutch (which looks so cool in my golden yellow kitchen,) and realized that it has become a junk collection site.
There are some things on it I love. My mom’s old coffee grinder (that my brother and I decided to grind dog food in – and my mom promptly retired from the coffee grinding business,) the three fat chickens Roger and I bought on a B&B tour of Northern California, and some very cute Disney Coffee Canisters (yes, we are Disney freaks.) I love all of those things but totally forgot that they were there, because there was so much other stuff to contend with – little trinkets that had accumulated and I didn’t deal with, didn’t love, but didn’t do a darn thing about.
So today (or I should say Saturday, when I get back from Nashville,) I will go through my house with a box and get rid of 21 things that I no longer love.
Will you be my inspiration? The Wind Beneath My Wings? Tell me some of the stuff that you are getting rid of so that I will be reminded – and inspirited – to get rid of my stuff.
by kathilipp | Jul 23, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Get Rid of It Project #17 or Trusting God and the Case of the Mysterious Boomerang Basket-And a Great Giveaway
Today’s Get Rid of It Project: Get rid of something you could possibly one day use, or has some value, but you know would bless someone else.
Several years ago, as my first husband and I were cleaning out the house we were going to have to put up for sale, we were both in positions where we had to get rid of a lot of stuff.
He was going one way, and my kids and I were going to go live with my parents in Sacramento, two hours away from where we had been living in San Jose, CA.
While my parents house was big, we were going to be doubling the population of the residence. I needed to drastically par down.
The problem was that so much of the stuff that I had could be useful again. Someday.
There were books that I loved, dishes that I could use when I had a house of my own, linens and wedding gifts and fondue pots and so much stuff. And it broke my heart to give it all away. It felt like an admission that I had failed at not only marriage, but at grown up life.
So I did something different than a garage sale or just taking it all to Goodwill. I had what I called on the invitation a Buddy Blessing.
I invited all my best girlfriends over and had them clean house. I put every book, candle, knick-knack, cup and table cloth in my living room and told my friends to go shopping. I probably gave away hundreds of things.
Was it hard to see some stuff go – absolutely. There were a lot of memories tied to some of those items.
But here is the cool thing. When I would go to visit friends, I would see the book I gave them on their coffee table, or see the tea cup that used to be in my picture window being used as a tiny vase in their breakfast nook. It sure was a lot better than paying storage on things I wouldn’t see month after month.
And then, a few years later when it was time to set up house with Roger, I unpacked the boxes that I had kept, and tried to remember what all I had given away and what I needed to replace. And what did I come up with? One thing.
The only thing I missed out of all the things I had given away was this cute little basket that had four slots in it – one for knives, one for forks, one for spoons, one for napkins. That was it.
Now the funny thing about that little basket was this. I couldn’t remember who I gave it to – it didn’t matter, I wasn’t going to ask for it back. It wasn’t that I regretted giving it away, it was just that it was the only thing I missed.
A week after Roger and I got married, my friends Chris and Vikki were packing up their house to move to Arkansas. As we were painting and cleaning and sorting to get them ready to move, I saw the magic basket. Vikki saw it at the same time I did and asked “Do you want that back? We aren’t going to be able to take it with us.”
It was like God arranged free storage of our basket for a couple of years.
That was a very long story to say this: I don’t know how much God cares about a silverware basket, but I do know that the stuff I hang onto out of the fear that I will need it “someday” is much better off in someone else’s hands than mine.
And here is where I can help you pass on something to someone you love. In the next week (that is, by next Friday,) if you post a comment here telling me about something that you passed on to a friend that you knew they could use, I will put you in a drawing for a copy of The Husband Project to be sent to the friend of your choice – on me from you.
So in case you didn’t get to go this year (and I highly recommend that you check out their website so that you can go next year) , I wanted to share some of the best things I heard.
