New Neighbors

A few weeks ago, the family living across the street from me moved out. For a period of time, their old house was empty, starting a couple of days ago, we started seeing people go in and including carpet people and service men. Upon arriving home from a rolfing session with my grandfather, I saw that there was a Uhaul truck in the driveway and people carrying things into the house. Right away I had a prompting to go over and ask if they needed help. Being a quiet and somewhat reserved person, this was out of my comfort zone. I wanted to help, but I was afraid of going over there and asking (pretty silly isn't it?). But I decided I wouldn't let myself think about how it would be uncomfortable so I almost ran inside to my room, changed my shoes and emptied my pockets, and then hurried over across the street. I nearly chickened out but I forced myself to follw through and approached someone working over there, introduced myself, and asked if they could use some help. They said yes and I spent about the next three hours working with them. During which time I was able to find out where they were moving from and to tell them about my family. They thanked me for my work and wanted to pay me when I had to go. I am very glad that I followed through with my SayGoBeDo moment. It started a good relationship with my new nieghbors and brought me out of my comfort zone.

A SayGoBeDo Surpise

Hold onto your chairs, hats and anything else that may go flying... I just may have stumbled across the secret to staying young and having lots of energy! Do you want to know this secret? (Those of you on this blog probably have already figured it out) Yes! The secret is to follow your SayGoBeDos! Here's my experience from this morning:

I haven't signed up before now because I feel so overwhelmed with what is already going on in my life, but after reading the other posts and having a sgbd this morning, I feel like I need (uh-oh, is the reactive or proactive language?) to get on board!

My SayGoBeDo - I have been feeling like we need to meet our neighbors that we haven't met yet, but my family is not as excited as I am to do this. So I have decided to just go on over there without them. But of course I want to take them some homecooked goodies. This morning as I was starting banana nut bread for breakfast, I had the thought I should make a full batch and save a loaf by putting it in the freezer or for giving it to my neighbor. We ususally don't even finish half a batch and since I get tired of wasting good food, I ignored the thought at first. I was feeling kind of whiny about the day ahead. When I finally decided to go ahead and make a full batch and follow my sgbd, I felt more energized and lighter (that sounds funny but since I went jogging this morning, could I really be possibly lighter? :) ). So I added more ingredients to what I started (any time I bake it is a loooong process). But then the worries came in, what if I don't cook it long enough, what if the baking soda clumps and they get a nasty tasting clump (and this is even after I sift and stir it in with some flour and it still clumps!), what if there aren't enough bananas in it to call it banana bread? Well, I tried to be very careful while watching for clumps and mushed the one I found. I then rummaged through my freezer and found more bananas to thaw. And I'll just have to be careful to make sure the loaves are all the way cooked. It's okay if it's not a perfect loaf! (I had almost talked myself out of planning to take a loaf over.)

I cannot believe the energy I feel! Wow! Does this mean when I am tired that it's because I haven't been following my sgbd? Hmmm... and Wow! Who needs sleep when all you need to do is follow your sgbds?My bread is baked and it looked and tested done :)!

Stay tuned for when I actually make it across the street to meet my neighbor!

(Sorry about posting this as a comment, OOPS! I'm learning) Now I'm blogging! :)

Career Possibility

For the past year or so, I have been having slight back problems, especially during wrestling season. The pain has never been very bad, but has sometimes bothered me along with other aches and pains. About a week ago I was over at my grandparent's house with my family to watch general conference and I have a SayGoBeDo moment. I felt like I should mention my pains to my grandparents. I already knew that my grandpa was a rolfer, trained by Ida Rolf herself, and that my grandma did feldenkrais work, but I had never thought to mention it to them. (For those who don't know, rolfing and feldenkraising help your body return to it's perfect blueprint of movement and structure. They take care of many problems that chiropractors seek to fix, but at a deeper level with permanent results.) After mentioning my back pain, my grandma worked on my back for a little on the same day and I scheduled days with my grandpa when I would come over for rolfing sessions. (I just finished with my fourth session today and I will be going in for my fifth tomorrow. The results are amazing! But I won't go into that here.) During one of my rolfing sessions last week, I began wondering how someone is trained to become a rolfer and I thought it would be interesting to find out. I decided that I would ask my Grandpa. I forgot to ask on that day, but I did remember today and I am glad that I did. I am not sure if rolfing will ever be part of my career; I am not sure I even have what it takes to become a rolfer. But I am glad that I followed the SayGoBeDo moment I had and talked to my grandpa about rolfing.

Friends, problems, cleaning up...by Kathy

Haven't been too good about posting, life is crazy but quite honestly I think I must like it that way :)  I've had a few sgbd's lately that I'm really glad that I followed.  One was to call a friend, led to some meaningful things.  Another was to ponder a really big problem in my life and I feel some direction on it.  Like Brent, I feel way too many sgbd's about cleaning to mention but I'm trying to follow them even when it isn't convenient or it's "somebody else's job" or "somebody else's mess."  One that kind of falls in the category of cleaning but didn't happen at my house may be worth telling.  I was on the Cuyamaca campus where I work out (o0o now you know why I'm in such fabulous shape...jk (unfortunately)) and I'm walking along during a pretty busy time of day.  Lot's of people everywhere.  I saw up ahead on the sidewalk that someone had dropped something embarassing and right after I wondered how embarassed the person would have been if only they'd known, the thought went through my head "I wonder how many people have walked by that and kept on going" and the next thought was "Are you going to be the next to do the same thing?"  So then I picked it up and threw it away.  The funny thing is that the trash can was probably 100 feet away and it was no big deal but it was like the natural inclination was to "see nothing, do nothing."  Amazing how many things we let fall into a category called "Someone Else Will Take Care of This"  Too bad that would make a terrible acronym.

What is important

For the past month or so my grandfather's health has been failing dramatically. He has had medical problems for several years now, but it hasn't been very bad until recently. At this point, he could die anytime now. For the past several weeks my family, especially my mom, have taken trips up to Riverside to spend time with him while we can. During most of the trips, I have had other things going on and haven't been able to go. I knew it would be a good thing for me to visit him, but I wasn't to concerned about it because I felt like I would have much meaningful time with him if I did, especially since my grandpa wasn't up to talking several of the times my family went up. But then one night after my mom came back from visiting him, she started telling us about the conversasions that she had had with him and about how she was able to find out about his past and other information that she never knew. During that time I had a SayGoBeDo moment telling me that I should go up and visit him. I told my mother about my desire and we arrainged for my sister and me to go up the following Saturday. We had a great visit with him. I was able to talk with my grandpa quite a bit about important things. I am very glad that I followed that SayGoBeDo. I am glad that I decided that it was important to go visit my grandpa.

My next one isn't quite as big, but it is a SayGoBeDo nonetheless. Last night I brought several CDs to mutual with me so that I could give them back to my friend who lent them to me. During mutal someone from my family came to the church and took the car that we had brought, leaving us the van in it's place. I discovered this when I went out to get the CDs. The van was locked and I could not see the CDs inside of it. I told my friend that the CDs were in the other car and that I would have to give them to her another time. AfterI said this, I felt like I should check anyways. So I found my dad and got the keys from him. Sure enough, the CDs were in the van and I was able to give them to my friend. Maybe the person who switched the cars had a SayGoBeDo to put the CDs in the van.

Yesterday...by Emily

Well, I can't really think of any SGBD's I had today but I do have one from yesterday that I thought was pretty funny.

I was driving (to Kathy's house, actually, which is a little ironic) and I accidently got on the wrong freeway. Thankfully I noticed right away and I was able to get off pretty much right after I got on. I exited on a road that I knew sort of well but I didn't really know any way to get back to the freeway except basically going all the way back to my house, and I didn't want to do that but I didn't know what other choice I had. As I came up to the first light I felt like I should turn right, even though I didn't know that road. So I turned right, thinking that I could always turn around and go back. Amazingly, it led right to the freeway and I could get back on heading the right way!

So I was driving along, happy that I had followed my SGBD and I was now heading the right direction, and I would only be a little late. Then I looked on the seat next to me and realized, oh no!! I had forgotten my purse and consequently, my driver's license! If a cop pulled me over, that would be BAD news for me. I noticed this just as I was coming up to the exit for my house (which I was now passing since I had gone the wrong way and then turned around), and was thankful that I had actually gotten turned around since now it would be easier to get home. But I was hitting myself because I knew that now I would be REALLY late...and I looked at the clock to see just how late I would be...and I realized that I had gotten mixed up about the time I was supposed to be at Kathy's house and had left half an hour early, so I had plenty of time to go back home and get my license. It was a wondrous circle of SGBDs! Ha ha. Glad I followed them all--and ended up at Kathy's house just about right on time! :D

Paradigm shift!!!...by Emily

I'm taking a youth leadership class this semester and we're reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In addition, we have a journal type thing to fill out where you answer questions like, "What is the definition of 'consequences'?" and, "What are principles I need to stay true to?" and stuff like that.

Well, as I was looking through it at the beginning of the class, I was drawn back to another time...another time in which I was brutally FORCED (okay, so I exaggerate--I take my cues from Kathy!) to fill out just such papers and turn them in, and if you didn't write the kinds of things the teacher expected you to write, you didn't get such a good grade. In fact, in this other time, I found out how to put my brain in the right mindset where I would write all the kinds of things the teachers would absolutely love, and hardly have to think about it at all! Thankfully, since this other time, I've learned that that sort of thing really doesn't teach you anything, and therefore have avoided it like the plague.

So of course you can see how I didn't want to do such a thing in this class. I tried to get out of it, with not much luck (since my mentor is wonderful and wants me to do my work). So today I was sitting there trying to think of schoolwork that I needed to do that wasn't that journal, but I really felt like I should do the journal. So I got it out and started doing it. And I realized that since last week when I had tried to get out of doing it, I'd had a paradigm shift about the assignment. I realized that if I actually tried to get something out of the assignment, I would, because the people who wrote it didn't write it just for busywork or to get me to write a certain thing. They actually wanted me to be able to have a better experience reading the book. And it was giving me new insights on how I could use the book to help myself.

So that's my SGBD for today--and hopefully I can keep up in this new paradigm as I read on!

I love cleaning...by Brent

Okay I was being a little sarcastic with the title but it seems like I am going to keep getting cleaning SGBD's until I enjoy cleaning. Last night on our drive home from Utah my Dad asked me what I would be doing in the morning. I told that I would probably be doing schoolwork but other than that I was doing nothing. He asked me if I could help him clean the garage so that we would have room for the new food storage we bought(when in Utah, buy food storage). I think I said something like, "Oh, I have a lot of catching up to do on my homework but I could probably help you out a little bit." Anyways this m orning came and he told me that he had to work early and that we would have to clean the garage another time. At first I was like,"Oh ok that's fine." But the thought came into my head that I could easily clean the garage on my own(since have the stuff in there is mine) and I quickly told him that I could still clean it with out him. Cleaning is awesome!

Conference...by Kathy

After a weekend of hearing the leader's of my church, I have a million sgbd's.  Okay, slight exageration but 'tis my trademark.  I know I need to be better at attending the temple (it's on the calendar!), do some sewing for humanitarian aid (it's the only sewing I do if I can help it!), and be more diligent about serving the people around me.  In between sessions of the conference I visited my friend that had a stroke because she recently came home and she was the one that came to mind.  And tonight at sign language I followed all my sgbd's to help where needed and was given several opportunities.  I'm grateful for sgbd's because they really do help you to be a better person (when followed...otherwise you just feel lousy! :)  And I'm also thankful that they usually encourage me to do things for others. 

One other quick thing that happened yesterday.  I was writing an email to my students encouraging them to enter an essay contest and I felt like I should create an internal essay contest and award a prize.  I've already had one student take me up on the challenge so I'm pretty excited about that.  Here's hoping there are a few other ones :)

Joining :) ...by Emily

Hey, this is Emily :) Hope you guys don't mind if I join your blog! I'm excited to start sharing my SayGoBeDo's and, of course, ALWAYS following them ;) (Well, okay--trying to always follow them!)

My first SGBD is to ask Kathy if I could join this blog...reading it has inspired me a lot and I felt impressed that I should share my own SGBD's too.

Another SGBD that I have been really dying to share is one that happened about a week ago. I was in the store with my mom and sister, looking for a birthday present for my brother. It's a church bookstore that sells books, music, art, etc. that has to do with our church. (My brother is going on a mission for our church soon so I wanted to get him something he could use on his mission.) I was browsing around the books when one caught my eye. I took it off the shelf and looked at it. I felt strongly that I should read it--in fact, so strongly that I was moved to tears. I was already buying my brother something that was a little expensive for me at the time, though, so I put the book back on the shelf, vowing that I would get it sometime or another and read it.

As my mom and sister were browsing through the store, though, I kept thinking about the book. I really wanted it. So I came up with a solution. I told my mom that I wanted it for Christmas. And she smiled and was all happy that I wanted a church book for Christmas, of course, and I figured my work was done.

I couldn't stop thinking about it, though. And I knew that both my mom and I would probably forget about the book by the time Christmas came around. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I didn't buy it now, I would probably never get another chance to read it.

So I bought it, spending almost my last dollar on both it and my gift for my brother. Oh well, I thought, now I have no money. Hooray. But at least I acted on my SGBD.

Time passed and, surprisingly, even though I had spent what I had felt was a lot of money on the book, I didn't find time to read any of it over the next few days. Finally I got another SGBD that I should pick it up and read it.

Immediately I realized exactly why I had been impressed to buy the book. It has everything to do with my mission and the author seems to be on exactly the same page as I am. It is an inspired book and although I haven't finished reading it, I already know it is one of the best books I will ever read. I am so glad I followed that SGBD!

Even my sacrifice of the money, I think, was rewarded. Soon after I bought the book and figured I would just have to go without much money for a while (a tragedy, I know, that I can't buy ice cream on a whim!), I was paid rather a lot of money for house sitting for friends, which I'd forgotten about in the bookstore. I was repaid several times over, which made my little sacrifice seem like nothing!

Thanks for letting me join your blog, and sorry my first post was so darn long (I doubt they'll be nearly so long in the future! :P)

Papers...by Kathy

I had a student who wrote an amazing paper and I wrote three pages of evaluation/commentary/rebuttal/logical analysis on.  After it was done I was like "whew!" that was a ton of work (and totally fun in my warped view of fun!).  And then I had the sgbd that I should scan it and save a copy of my evaluation.  So I did and decided to do that for all of my students while I was at it.  Then I turned back the papers and all was well.  At the end of the day, this student's backpack ended up missing!  We don't know if it was stolen or just accidentally picked up by a different student but my second thought (after "Wow, I hope it wasn't stolen by one of our occasional homeless visitors") was "Oh No!  All that work!  I hope he read it during lunch" (yeah right! ;) and then I remembered the scan and sent it to him when I got home.  Score!

Responsibility..

Well it has been about two and a half weeks since my family went to Utah and left me and my brother here to take care of the house and it has also been about two weeks since I have written down my SGBD's. For some reason I keep forgetting(or neglecting the fact)that I have a responsibility to share my SGBD's with you guys. Sadly I do not remember all of my SGBD moments since I last wrote but I do remember one. About two Sundays ago I was called to speak in Sacrement meeting for my church(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). I told them that I would not be able to because I was going to be in Utah that coming Sunday. Well the Saturday before the Sunday that I was supposed to speak at came and I was still home and was told that we weren't going to Utah until the next weekend. So I called the first counselor of the Bishopric and told him that I was going to be able to be at church but didn't feel like I had enough time to prepare a talk and I honestly wasn't all that upset about missing it. He told me that he understood but if I still wanted to speak I could and that he would enjoy whatever I had to say. I really wanted to say no but I had a feeling that I should say yes. Then I remembered a scripture in the bible that strongely influenced my answer. It is Revelation 22:4-5 and it says, "And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there;and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall riegn for ever and ever." And pretty much what this means to me is that if we let every one know that we are followers of Christ, then God will bless us and we will be able to live and reign with him forever. I knew that denying an opportunity to speak would be like denying the opportunity to bare Christ's name on my forehead or in other words show my love for him. So I spoke the following morning and guess what! I really wasn't that nervous and accually enjoyed it(Thanks to Kathy and her speech class).

Trying to say the right things by Kathy

I think it's amazing how many times my sgbd's prompt me to say something to someone (or write it as the case may be).  Considering how important our communications are I guess it just makes sense.  It's hard for me to give exact examples but I've been busy doing and planning conference calls and writing thousands of emails (slight exageration).  When I get feedback on them about how something I said changed a person's paradigm or gave them hope when they felt hopeless.  We get to be instruments as we bear one another's burdens that they may be light.

Nice to have some company :) by Kathy

So good to see my wonderful and amazing students posting again, it was getting a little lonely there :)
I had a crazy couple of days and haven't been good about posting, noting, or following sgbd's.  Busyness seems to make them harder.  I know I had one huge one yesterday because I recognized my all-to-prevalent rebellion reaction.  Once a year there is a broadcast for all the women in my church and there is usually a dinner before it where I live.  I was trying to get a million things done for my business and thought "I can read the messages later when they are posted." and then along came a sgbd that I definitely needed to be there.  "okay well I'll skip the dinner."  No go.  I knew that I needed to be there and, of course, am so glad I went.  Just the music alone (which wouldn't have been on the written messages!) was worth attending.  And I had a chance to connect with an old friend and visit with someone who is new to my area (as well as visit with many other people that I love and admire).

This morning I also thought I should make a slew of phone calls because our church meeting was delayed by an hour and a half because of a parade shutting down a major road.  Every one of those calls was received most gratefully and, again, got to connect with some people who don't always make it to church.

Time for repentance

Well I certainly have been a slacker in regards to contributing to this blog. But I am going to contribute now! Yesterday I was driving to a friends house and I was just about to turn off of the freeway ramp onto the street when I saw a man walking up from the freeway. I quickly thought back an d remembered seeing a car with it's hood up a little ways back on the freeway. My first reaction was "well that sucks for him." But i had this feeling that I should go over and see if he needed a ride. I don't make it a habit of offering rides to strangers but I felt like I should. However, I didn't listen to the feeling and I turned to go towards my friends house. But the feeling came back and I turned the car around and offered him a ride. He seemed a little reluctant at first but said yes and thanked me. He asked my if I could take him north to the next freeway exit and I said yes. He didn't talk much but he told me that his wife was in the emergency room and that on his way there he car had started over-heating. He had ignored it because he was in a hurry to get to the hospital, but the car didn't make it. I drove him to the hospital and dropped him off there. I didn't find out why his wife was in the emergency room, but he said that he was greatful for my help.

Oh Man!

Well it has been a while since I have written anything and I could probably come up with a million of excuses but none of them are really legit. The SGBD's I've had have been little ones(although still important). Since last Thursday all of my family, except for my brother and me, have been out of town. My Mom and two little sisters are in Utah helping my Older sister who is expecting a baby any day now(hopefully tonight). My Dad has been in Fontana(probably spelled that wrong) on a business trip. So my SGBD's have consisted of me seeing that my brother left something somewhere it didn't belong and picking it up even though it's not mine. I'm sure that he has found my stuff in weird places too but we are getting really good at keeping the house clean.

Glasses by Stephanie

So this morning I decided to check my e-mail and I saw that I had a message about the SayGoBeDo blog. I have continually been feeling that I should post and write on it, but I haven't been listening. I've been getting caught up in other things. This morning though I finally decided that I was going to write anyway, even though I don't have a specific story to share. In the hopes that one would come to me, I suppose. Anyway, so I have many stories about SayGoBeDos that I have followed (and maybe a few stories about those I haven't followed), but right now I just want to share one that I thought was pretty important to my day. Yesterday, I was packing my school bag and finishing up getting ready for school before Seminary. I leave for school right after. So while I was doing this, a thought came into my mind. I felt that if I didn't put on my glasses I would forget to have them with me the entire day at school. But because my hands were full and I was in the middle of doing something, I instead prayed that I would remember. I felt that if this prayer was answered, it would serve as a definite sign that God exists and he hears my prayers and he listens and cares about all my little wants and needs. Because I knew that I would normally have forgotten to wear them. I felt it. So I went to seminary and when I came home- What happened?- I remembered to wear my glasses! It was awesome. I thanked the Lord then and there. It was a very good experience. Although I don't know how entirely it fits in with SayGoBeDos. Anyway, that was one of my experiences and I really wanted to share it. Also a SayGoBeDo! =)

Ouch! by Kathy

These are the worst kinds of sgbd's for me, when I only have a few seconds to make decisions.  There was a man in a wheelchair selling roses and I felt I should stop and buy one but it seemed preposterous because I was running errands on my way to a camp out at the beach and what would I do with it, etc. etc. So I dropped my mail in the mail box and kept on driving all the while feeling that "I didn't follow it" feeling.  Then my next thought came as I was erranding in my parent's neighborhood that I should have bought it for my mom who loves a single red rose.  You can't repair these things with regrets though, just need to learn to act swiftly and correctly.

The good news is I had a flood of sgbd's about some conference calls I have coming up, knowing what to say and that sort of thing.  I had been thinking of one young man that I had coached in Portland and out of the blue I hear from his mom and got to tell her that he had been on my heart and to reiterate how awesome I think he is.  I'm pretty blessed to come in contact with so many amazing people.

At least it's short! by Kathy

Hmmm...when I teach all day (okay I get one and half hours off) keeping a list of sgbd's is far from my mind.  I think I listen to them all the time because the stuff I teach is so interactive and requires quick thinking and knowing when to ask a follow up question or respond to a student's thoughts.  Don't know if it counts that I felt absolutely sure that we needed to stop at Wendy's for a frosty (my kids almost NEVER get anything from a fast food restaurant so they were shocked!).  But it could have just been the 105 degree heat wave we are "enjoying."  Sorry, kind of dull today, I'll work harder tomorrow!

Philosophical? by Kathy

This is getting cool, in a low key kind of way.  There are so many sgbd's going on all the time.  Smile at this stranger, say "How's you day going?" to the person behind the counter at the gym, and pick up that piece of trash.  Can't say I've had any life altering ones lately but just realizing that the sgbd's are the things that keep me doing the right thing and for the right reasons is pretty awesome.

Notes and picking flowers...by Kathy

We had a program in church today that was done by the children and I was struck by the peace and calm exhibited by the teacher who had the littlest ones (including my two, very busy daughters) and thought I should send her a note to thank her.  Then I thought about how much the president of the children's group obviously loved them all, so I sent her a note, and on through to the woman who teaches them singing because it added so much to the meeting.  I sent 5 notes before I was through :)

I also went on an overdue visit to the woman I wrote about the other day who was wronged (and the letter is posted and waiting to be picked up tomorrow.)  On the way there I remembered she had been a floral designer and how much she would enjoy some flowers.  So we stopped at the B&B that my daughter works at and picked flowers from their amazing gardens.  And I ran in to an old neighbor who was there setting up for a Baby Shower.  It was so crazy, we still have a connection of a mutual friend too that I had no idea about.  I had the sgbd to tell the mutual friend some comments she made about our church too.  Need to do that tomorrow...

Letters, mommyhood, and tortillas...by Kathy

First thing this morning I was reading my scriptures and knew that I had to write a letter on behalf of a woman who has been incredibly wronged and needs witnesses to that effect.  It was the kind of sgbd that won't let you get on with your day until you do it.  So I did...

Over the past few days I've had many sgbd's that relate to being a mom and being in the moment with my kids.  Always hard for me but I'm trying to follow them.

Didn't follow one at a restaurant tonight.  We were in Old Town at a restaurant where three women stand at a hot table-thing all night making tortillas and I thought that I should tell them the tortillas were awesome and say thank you on my way out.  Basically I chickened out...there's no easy way to talk to them because people are crowded nearby waiting for tables, they probably don't speak English, "is the right word bien or buena?", etc.  Passing by the window where you could see them I wished they spoke ASL and I could have told them that way...but kept walking.  Felt a little better when Richard gave our last tortilla to a homeless woman with no teeth, but that was him following his sgbd's and not me...

Sad, but true...by Kathy

Just getting on to admit that I didn't notice any sgbd's today, maybe it was because I spent much of the day on hold for Tracfone agents in Brazil who work within systems that require them to NOT solve any problems even when the problems were caused by their systems.  A vicious cycle, sigh.  Eventually I think I got sent to Australia and then my problem was solved. 

On the bright side, I made significant progress on a sgbd I had yesterday (?) about writing about how to write essays.

Of road hazards and students (but not at the same time)..by Kathy

Sometimes I ride a scooter to the gym and on the way home I always see this cable in the bike lane of a busy street near me.  Each time I think, someone needs to move that thing.  Road hazards take on new meaning when you're seeing the pavement beneath your feet.  So I remembered in time to watch for it (that being the sgbd) and I slowed down when I was near the place.  Then I stopped, put it on the back of my bike and had the impression that I should do something more secure than letting it curl around the trunk-thingamajig.  I hadn't gone more than 30 yards when I hit a bump and it flew off.  Turning around wouldn't have been safe so I have yet to accomplish that one, maybe tomorrow.

I have had two sgbd for my classes.  One was to write an email that would fill in the gap from a class discussion on changing negative scripting (or self talk.)  And the other one was to write some hints on taking essay exams.  Have done the first and am working on the second one.  Not sure that it counts as a sgbd to realize that in my third class I messed up by not giving an assignment that I should have and then having to reschedule next week's activities?  At least I made the call to do that (one has to be happy when these things are accomplished at least...)

Some entries don't deserve titles...by Kathy

I've had a few sgbd's, one advantage of missing a day is they pile up a bit.  The first one was to take my dd Charlotte with me to a hair appt.  Doesn't seem big I know, but the fact is that my little ones get left home on almost every errand because it really does add a lot of time to work on "toddler speed" so I normally leave them home whenever I have the opportunity.  She and I had a great time and we went to the library to pick up musicals for Tina's class (same one Brent's sister is watching musicals for) and I had another one that I should check out this little 30 minute video on the Judicial Branch and the Constitution.  I had it playing on my computer while I did stuff this morning and it gave me some new insights for the TJYC class I teach (okay, one of them, I teach two levels of the same class now).  I also had a sgbd that we should rearrange some scheduling stuff that isn't worth going into but I know I'll have a much more productive day tomorrow because of it (she says realizing that the time I free up tomorrow could be spent following a sgbd...)

Strange

I'm kind of having a deja vu moment right now. I was just watching a show and my sister came in telling me that she needed to watch two musicals(which are sometimes really long) before tomorrow. Well my response was the same as yesterday and now I am sharing this with you guys(like yesterday). I think the only way to avoid this from happening again is to stop watching T.V. But on the other hand not watching T.V. would stop me from have SGBD's like this. But on the other hand, I might be missing a greater SGBD moment while I'm in the middle of a show...

An everyday SGBD

It seems that when I come on here to share my SGBD's I am always a little frustrated with myself on the days that I don't have some amazing moment where I helped change someones life or made an impact on something or someone. So as I sat down at the computer I just said to myself over and over again that there was no point in sharing what little SGBD moments I've had today and as I sat there my paradigm started to move a little. Then I was saying to myself, "well I guess I acted on more than one little prompting, in fact I guess I've had many small SGBD's today." Then it moved a little bit more and I tried to remember every moment that I had today and realized that every SGBD I had had, in some way, helped someone else and me. At this point my paradigm had completely shifted. I went from thinking that the only important SGBD's were the ones that make a huge difference and come maybe once a week, to knowing that every SGBD moment is important because it, in some way, helps someone else or yourself. So if you're ever doubting the importance of one of your SGBD's, just take a minute to think what that moment has done and how its changed someone's life(even if it was a small change). Today I had many SGBD moments. I was watching(mindless) T.V. when my sister came in and asked if she could put a movie in that she needed to watch for school. My first thought was to tell her that I had just started my show and that she would have to wait until it was over. My second thought was that I should get off of the couch and do something productive. I'm glad that I acted on the second thought because I would be watching a stupid show instead of sharing this with you. And if I had not acted on that SGBD I might not have had my paradigm shift that was very important for me to have(see how important the little moments can be). The rest of the SGBD moments I had consisted of seeing something in a place it wasn't meant to be and picking it up even thought it wasn't mine, which seems to have happened a lot.

Getting out of "the box"...by Kathy

Yesterday I had some events in the morning put me in a non-sgbd state (you just don't hear them when you're angry or frustrated...).  I was trying to get out of it because I was in a great meeting, hearing really good speakers.  The sgbd thought that kept returning was simply "Choose to forgive."  I'm also trying to recognize when I'm "in the box" (read Anatomy of Peace for that one) and I knew I was in the "I deserve box" which, put simply, is when we think things should go our way.  I deserve kids that listen and obey.  I deserve some time to myself.  I deserve a house that is clean.  So it took considerable concentration and a lot of self analysis...always a party...but I emerged eventually and then noticed that all day long the sgbd's were coming left and right.  In that meeting I had a sgbd that I should talk during our mentoring meetings about a path for my son to consider, he said that had been on his mind a lot lately!  A lot of the sgbd's had to do with helping my kids with their jobs or spending more time with them.  My 18 y.o. son is an amazing help around the house, extremely capable and works cheerfully.  It's so easy to know that he will handle things and just ignore him.  I had a sgbd to work with him on the dishes last night.  A good conversation happened because of that one.   Normally my husband reads to the little ones, I had a sgbd to do that myself.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time with them.  Both of thoses last ones meant giving up time to do my own thing (including writing this post which I had a sgbd NOT to do because it would have kept my husband awake) and it helped me to stay out of the "I deserve" box by looking for opportunities to serve and show love to my family instead of getting things done or doing something on my list (which quite honestly is mostly made up of things I want to study or write...)  Had another more difficult one, mostly because a sick sinking feeling had to be endured before I had an opportunity to act upon it, to correct a communication that didn't come out as I intended.

This is for yesterday and today.

Yesterday I had kind of a weird thing happen. My SGBD moment kind of back fired on me but I tried and I think that that's what counts. One of my friends asked me if I wanted to go on a double date with him last night. So as I was thinking of who I should ask a name popped into my head. It was a girl whom I had helped convert to the gospel of Jesus Christ at the beginning of last year but has fallen inactive do to family problems and friend problems. I wasn't exactly looking forward to asking her because we don't really talk a lot anymore and I was pretty sure she wouldn't want to go. I decided to call her and ask her on this date and surprisingly she said YES! Unfortunately a couple hours before we were going to leave she got in a car accident(by the way she is fine) and so our date was canceled. Although that happened, I know think that we are going to start hanging out again which will give me a chance to fellowship her.

My next SGBD moment happened this morning as our ward choir was getting ready to sing in stake conference. There were many people there and not enough seats for everyone to sit in. So Our choir director(my mom) asked if anyone would like to go get a couple of soft chairs out of the relief society room. I felt like I should probably do it since I already knew where I was sitting and had all of my music prepared. Anyway, my moments weren't huge but in the end they were definitely worth it. I renewed a friendship and saved someone from having to carry chairs.

Just one tiny addition...by Kathy

Seems like cheating to put more than one entry in a day.  Was doing some gardening and we were pulling out the old stalks of corn.  There were several ears that were husked and ready for the chickens to enjoy (they benefit when we don't harvest at the right time...)  We husked them and gave them to the little ones (that is the group name for Charlotte aged 3 and Stephanie aged 5) to take up to them.  When I say "up," it's like a hike up a dirt driveway that's kind of steep.  And I kept trying different ways to get them to go do it.  Asking nicely, giving suggestions on ways they could work together, etc.  This went on for several minutes. Then the sgbd came "Offer to go with them."  I didn't want to go "up," I was doing something productive (it's called weeding), it was hot.  But this time it was a microsecond of excuses and I suggested it and off they went as happy as clams (which is the stupidest saying ever...)  I realized when I was up there that several things needed to be done for the comfort and happiness of said fowl (which I will spare you the details of because this is NOT a blog about animal husbandry, georgics, or excellent fertilizer).  Guessing that serving chickens counts as well? 

Amending a SayGoBeDidn't by Kathy

Was on a conference call today, felt I should share something and didn't so this is what I wrote to the people in that group:
I don’t imagine I’m the only one who thinks that the few minutes for comments and questions at the end of a call should be for “someone else.” It always seems like there might be someone with a clarification question that will help everyone or someone who will share an amazing experience. I felt like I should share a comment but didn’t with those kinds of thoughts preventing me. But as soon as I hung up I realized that I didn’t follow a SayGoBeDo when I’m trying to learn to follow them every time (read the book, take the challenge!). Thank goodness for second chances (i.e. email groups :)


What I wanted to share was a quote from Jacque Lusseyran that is so powerful and it perfectly fit with the topic of allegiance and the things we were taught. Of his 330 days in a concentration camp Lusseyran said he had “…not a single evil memory…I was carried by a hand. I was covered by a wing.” Truly, when we have our allegiance in the proper place and we are following our calls, any hardship that we have will be inconsequential when compared to the lessons learned and the impact made. I wouldn’t begin to compare mentoring to a concentration camp :) but there are times when the sacrifices you make look like piles of undone laundry or personal projects abandoned. Then we wonder if it’s all worth it. I submit that it is. If for no other reason than this—the world desperately needs high-caliber leaders. They are in your classroom (except for the ones that are in my classroom :) There is no doubt in my mind that when we mentor we can be carried by a Hand and covered by a wing. And with that kind of allegiance and assurance we can know that “…they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2nd Kings 6:16)

Head colds don't lend themselves to sgbd's by Kathy

I've been plodding along today with a head ache and runny nose.  No fun.  I tried to do things to help my family and get things done between resting.  But no major sgbd's to report.  I guess following through on a commitment to "cast vision" on a conference call when I would have rather been napping might count as one?

I Forgot

Well I forgot to post my SGBD yesterday and that is not a good sign considering that we have only been doing this a couple of days. Yesterday was the first day of class which was awesome but I had kind of a fun experience before which actually led up to my SGBD. Well yesterday morning I was told that TJYC III started at 12:00 and since I didn't have any classes previous to it I was able to stay at home in the morning and have my brother drop me off at class in the afternoon. At 11:00 my brother had an institute class and so I joined him in that.(which was way good) At the end of class I realized that it was a little over 12:00 and I immediately started thinking, "Oh no what are Kathy and Diana going to say? They definitely won't be happy." So we got in the car and I didn't really bring it up to Scott because I figured he already knew. As we were heading over I felt like we were moving a little slow and I looked at the speedometer and we were going about the speed limit and I was thinking that this is a time to speed but I still decided not to bring it up. Well when we got there it was about12:15 and as I got out of the car I saw Kathy trying to get something out of her car. I went up to her and told her that I was sorry for being so late and she told me that class started at 12:30. So being relieved of that problem I asked Kathy if I could help her get whatever it was she was trying to get out of her car but I was a little to late and she was just finishing.

Why did I just give you the whole story of my Wednesday morning? It was because without all of these little events happening I wouldn't have been able to have my SGBD. After talking to Kathy I walked into the building that we do school and as I stepped through the door, one of the teachers was walking out of a room with her hands full. I offered to take the trash bag she was holding and was able to lighten her load a little bit. It felt really good to help her out and I'm thankful for everything that got in my way that morning because I might have missed that opportunity.

Also this morning at seminary I had a SGBD moment. I am in my last year of seminary so I am really trying to pay more attention and participate more since the last three years I have been somewhat of a squatter. Our teacher is blind but that doesn't stop her from being a great teacher and instead of raising our hands we need to call out to answer questions. This morning she asked if someone would like to give the prayer and for a couple seconds it was dead silent. I have taught people before and I have had that same response and it is not a good feeling when nobody answers you, especially when you can't see them. I decided that I wasn't going to let and awkward silence like that happen to her this year so I offered that prayer and then she asked if someone would turn on the T.V. and put the movie in and again nobody said anything so I told her i would. Many of those same instances occurred this morning and I am sure there will continue to be many more this year but hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to inspire others to do the same.

Wonderful Wednesdays...by Kathy

Our school started today and I get to mentor three classes (TJYC I, TJYC III and Speech and Debate). I am happy to report that I receive tons of sgbd's about mentoring. When to ask a student a hard question for instance (not hard as in they'll get the answer wrong but hard as in it makes them think and re-examine their logic or paradigm). When not to say anything (always hard for me!) A funny sgbd happened that will probably be only funny to my TJYC III students because of a theme running through our class about being a homesteader and changing the toilet paper roll when one is empty. I was in a hurry because our first class was about to begin and we were setting up this banquet of food as an object lesson (and tummy filler--makes for happy students:) Anyway the youth were in their opening devotional and I thought that I'd better run to the bathroom. Naturally the toilet paper was empty but there was one on the back of the toilet and I thought "Here we go, first day back and the theme returns when I'm in a hurry." I just can't teach TJYC and not be a homesteader so there was no choice in the matter. I take off the empty roll and the spindle thing ricochets across the room. Deep breath, I can't just leave it? No, gotta chase it down and finish the job.

A million more liked that happened as I did work around the house after a long, hot day of teaching. Can't I just leave that where it is? No, put it away where it belongs. Etc. Etc.

I have a hard, sgbd-to-do with an individual that remains on my list but literally couldn't have been done today. Something to dread for tomorrow I guess. I also know I need to visit a woman in my church who lost her husband today so that's another hard thing on my list. In both cases though, I'll be an instrument which, to me, is the ultimate goal of following our sgbd's.

A small one

Well this isn't a huge SGBD moment but I was sort of busy today and didn't have to do anything incredible. So today as I was reading three of my friends came over after school to hang out. Of course I was a little bugged because they didn't call to tell me they were coming and I really didn't have time to hang out today. Just to give you a little bit of background on these three friends of mine they are all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One of them has been a member his entire life and the other two just got baptized in the beginning of last year and have unfortunately fallen less active but won't admit it. Well all three of them do not attend seminary for many reasons but mostly because they are too lazy and don't feel that it is important to start your day with a spiritual message. Today was the first day of seminary and so it was on my mind when they had come over and inside I knew that I had to atleast invite them to come and tell them how sick seminary is.(To clearify, sick just means cool or awesome and I might use it every once and awhile but I will try my best not to.) This was a tough thing for me to do because it was one of me, a pro-seminary um person, and three of them, who are anti-seminary people. Luckily my feeling to say something overcame my fear to stand up to them and I was able to say what I wanted to. Sadly they brushed it off and continued talking about other stuff but I know that I gave it my best shot and hopefully they will think on what I said.

It's the excuses...by Kathy

Okay, I now get it. Hearing the sgbd is only half the battle. It's like I've spent my whole life storing up excuses to use...just in the nick of time for whatever sgbd pops into my head. I will consider this a major success if I just learn to "hear and do."

I had turned off my computer and was about to say my prayers when I realized that I hadn't written today. Then the excuses started coming fast and furious. I tried to say my prayers anyway. No luck. Couldn't concentrate. Knew it was because I was blowing off a commitment to myself. I'm glad I invited my students to participate and for people to check in because it's just the kind of pressure I need. The goal of course would be to have these habits without that.

I bought my sgbd notebook today, I knew it had to be small enough to carry with me and so I had avoided starting one. Now I need to figure out how to keep Stephanie (my 5 y.o.) from taking it, she's obsessed with certain things and small books are among them (yes, no worries, I'm saving for her psychotherapy...) But now I feel official. Hopefully I'll remember more of them when I write them down throughout the day (nooooo! Don't make your posts longer Kathy!!!! :)

Real quick

I really need to go to bed because I have seminary in the morning but I just wanted to share a small SGBD. As I was praying tonight I realized that before I got the email from Kathy about this blog, I had prayed asking for opportunities to strength me and my character and also to bless me with more opportunities to serve. I JUST REALIZED that Kathy's email was an answer to my prayer. I would just like to thank her and of course Heavenly Father for this opportunity. The funny thing is that I really was debating with myself whether to do this or not. I'm am definitely glad I decided to.

Mainly the Mentor Bug hit me by Kathy

I didn't have any major sgbd's today.  I was just doing stuff like those taxes I mentioned and sorting mounds of little girl clothes trying to narrow down to what they actually wear.  Oh wait!  There was one.  It was my husband's idea and I was just going to let him do it (stuff management is the WORST for me, I'd just let the stuff pile up until they couldn't get in the room...actually that's about where it was to be truthful).  And I found myself thinking, "I should at least do the Sunday dress pile, that won't be horrible."  and "Hanging up the jackets will only take a second and I shouldn't leave all this for Richard."  Why do we have a dozen jackets for two little girls who live in So. California I do not know...  But in between tasks I'd hit one thing here and one thing there and Richard did the rest.  I'm positive I wouldn't have done any of it if it weren't for that little sgbd voice urging me on.

So while I'm tasking on this stuff I found myself continually drawn to my Power Structure in America studies.  Oh...I should check this.  Oh yeah...I could look at my notes from the "Healing the Constitution" seminar.  I had to actually concentrate on attending a family party (it was at my house and I wanted to finish reading stuff...they might not even notice if I was in my room for 15 minutes! :)  Guess those were sgbd's also "Spend time with your brother."  "Talk to Dad." etc.

Funny how writing makes them surface.  I didn't think I had anything except my mentor organization flurry.  Can't wait for Wednesday :)

Finally!

Okay so I have finally figured out how to blog and can share my SGBD moments with you guys. Today I was kinda sitting around thinking about what I could possibly do on the LAST DAY of summer. It was about 11.00 am and I still had done nothing and my day was almost halfway over. As I was looking for something to eat(Which I usually do when I'm bored) I saw that the dishwasher was full and the dishes inside were clean. I new that if I didn't unload the dishes that my mom would end up doing it(which is bad because she does too much) so I began unloading. After emptying the dishwasher I looked to the sink and saw that it was filled to the brim with dirty dishes. I decided that my mom would probably end up having to clean them and so I began my second task. When I had finished with the dishes in the sink I noticed that there were dirty dishes all over the counter tops and I had to finish the job so I continued washing dishes. Once that was done I saw that there was food on the counters and trash.(It never ends) To make a long story short I realized that I might as well clean the entire kitchen. The feeling I got when I completed was awesome and I think that Iwil be a lot more open to cleaning the kitchen now. Oh the best part of this experience is that when I was all done my little sister came in, got some chips out, realized they were stale, and left the kitchen without cleaning up her mess. Of course I made her clean it up but that was kind of funny to me.

So Many!...by Stephanie

I have had so many SayGoBeDo moments recently. I think there are a few reasons for that. One, I have been acting on almost every SayGoBeDo moment that comes along. Two, I have been praying that the Lord will guide my life that I can really do the right thing and know that what I am doing is his will. So I have notices a whole lot of moments. I don't even know if I can remember them all to write them down! But one of my SGBD moments was a few days ago. Kathy had just asked if I wanted to join this group and I was so happy that she put it together because I had decided just a little while before that that was something I wanted to be working on. So anyway, I was reading my scriptures and I read 1 Nephi 3:7. It reads, "And it came to pass that I Nephi said unto my father. I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded. For I know the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them." This is the first scripture mastery verse for Seminary this year. Now for any followers that are not LDS there may be a few words in here you do not know. Seminary is like an early morning bible study class that we go to on weekdays. We study the scriptures before school starts. This verse is taken not from the Bible, but from The Book of Mormon, a book that, like the bible, is a testament of Jesus Christ and speaks of his ministry on the Earth. For more information go to: www.mormon.org . Oh and scripture mastery verses are the ones that are deemed important that we are encouraged to memorize before the year's end.

Okay. So I read this verse and I thought "Oh this is scripture mastery! I should type it up on the computer really big so that it fills the whole page and then tape it to my wall." Something to that effect. Well, it was pretty late when I was studying my scriptures. Probably 10:30 (which feels late to a Seminary student who wakes up at 4:30!) and my family was asleep. But I decided to go over to the computer anyway and hope that no one woke up and the light didn't bother anyone. So I go over to the computer and type this scripture up and print it out. Then I tape it to my wall, finish my scripture reading and go to sleep.
The next day, I woke up and I looked at my door (which is where I taped it, not actually on my wall) and I saw this scripture mastery verse. I thought that it would be such a great idea if everytime I looked at the verse, I read it out loud.  I decided to do so and by Sunday I had it memorized! I actually typed it on here from memory! (Although I needed to check on the punctuation).

Now, I have been trying to recieve inspiration/revelation in everything I do. So I sat down at the piano on Friday and thought, "Which song should I play?" I looked over at my door and then got this great idea. I know that you can go to the back of the hymnbook and the songs are indexed by which scripture they refer to or use. So I thought, "I wonder if there are any songs for 1 Nephi 3:7?" There was one song. It was: I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go. So I of course found my answer on which song to play. I began to play it and I learned it very quickly. I am working on memorizing the verses right now, but I also think that the song fits in with what we're doing here with the SayGoBeDo moments. The chorus to the song is: I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. Over mountain or plain or sea. I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord. I"ll be what you want me to be." The song talks about doing whatever it is the Lord commands you to do (Or in our case, whatever we feel inspired to do.)

Another moment I had was yesterday at church. It was fast and testimony meeting and I was really feeling the spirit. I felt prompted to go up and speak, but I didn't know when a good time to go would be. So I started thinking in my head, "I'll know when I should go up." But nearly every word was interrupted with NOW. Not loudly, but firmly. So my thought actually went more like this: "I'll know- NOW -when I -NOW- should go -NOW- up." Well that was all I needed. So I got out of my seat and sat on the stand and waited for my turn. As usually goes for testimony meetings, I like to think of a nice story or experince I could share to maybe inspire people or motivate them, but that Sunday, I knew that wasn't what I should do. I needed to simply testify and bear witness of what I knew to be true. I needed to really bear my testimony instead of sharing a few stories. And I did. I told the congregation what I knew. It felt fantastic. I think I inspired some others to come up, because there was not a lost moment in that testimony meeting! Also, my sister came up following me and our friend who is visiting from Arizona. But I knew what I had done was right.

Already today I had a SayGoBeDo moment. Right when I was in the middle of writing this post! Well, I stopped writing to fix myself a bagel for breakfast and I felt that I should ask Megan if she wanted a bagel as well. So I went into her room and told her I was making a bagel and asked if she wanted one or if there was anything I could get her. She told me she didn't want anything. Well, I just wouldn't take "no" for an answer. I had walked all the way over to her room and was really wanting to fix her something for breakfast. I don't quite know where this sudden desire came from but it was there. So I kept insisting. "Are you sure you don't want anything? We have such good food in the kitchen. Come on I'll fix you anything you want." Well, I guess it's the magical phrase "anything you want" that that made all the difference. She got creative and told me she wanted a bowl of ice cream. So I diligently went to the freezer and delivered her a good sized bowl of ice cream. Now, I don't quite know why I was prompted to do this, but maybe it meant something to her. I know I felt good doing it.

Oh! I almost forgot. I had another SayGoBeDo moment today. I think I would be happy not remembering this one. So first you need to know a little background information to truly appreciate this moment. I really, really, really, really don't like doing the dishes. It is the one chore I can not bring myself to do. But, this morning I brought myself to do it. Now yesterday, we had some guacamole. For those of you that do not know, after one day guacamole goes bad. It turns very dark and looks just awful. At least if you keep it out on the counter all night. I dont' know . Maybe if properly stored it can last longer. But our guacamole was left out on the counter and it turned rotten. Now, the main reason why I do not like doing the dishes is because I think it's gross. It's disgusting. Having to touch old food that has been left to rot in the sink and then cover it in water so that it loosens up so you can scrape it off of the plate. Eww. So I walk into the kitchen and I see that the dishwasher is open. And dirty. I was going to start it, but I looked around and saw that there were still some dishes on the counters. One of them being the infamous guacamole bowl. I looked at it and I knew that I needed to wash this bowl. So I brace myself and I pick it up and bring it over to the sink. It was just as awful a job as I had envisioned. The guacamole was all hard and stuck to the bowl and I needed to scrape it off. Meanwhile, my bagel was cooking. I knew that if I took too much longer it would burn. The timer went off and I was still working on cleaning this bowl. For a minute I wondered what I should do. Should I leave the bowl half cleansed and eat my bagel or should I keep cleaning and let my bagel get a little more crispy than I generally like? Well that decision too maybe half a split-second. I knew that I needed to clean this bowl. So I really started scrubbing the thing. Man, I went to town. When I finished cleaning it I deposited the dish in the sink and rushed over to my bagel. And it was a little crispier than I like. But it was still delicious. In fact as I was eating it, I thought "Man, this is the best bagel I have ever eaten. Probably because I worked for it. I wonder if food starts to taste better once you have to pay for it yourself." And that finishes out my SayGoBeDo moments for now. More when they come. Sorry this post is so terribly long.

A couple of mine...by Andrew

This did not happen today, but it was a great sgbd moment and I think a good one to start with (My sgbd moment for today will follow).

A few days ago our van was nearly out of gas and I volunteered to go fill it up. Since it runs on CNG we have to go to a special filling station that is about 5 miles away. On my way there i was driving over a hill and I came across a dog that was running in the middle of the street. Fortunately, I saw it in time for me to slow down and not hit it. The without much thought I pulled into the first side street and parked so that I could try to catch the dog. Someone else with the same idea pulled up right behind me and we proceeded to entice the dog to come over to us. We were eventually able to grab the collar and check for tags. We found that there were no tags or any other way to determine where the dog had come from. We had gone through too much work to simply let the dog go and drive away and neither of us wanted the dog to get hurt so we started considering what to do. After a short period where few ideas came up, I told the man that I would put the dog in my van and go into a neighborhood and see if anyone recognized the dog. (had I not been caught up in the sgbd spirit I don't think I would have offered to do this considering that the gas gauge was on "E," I had no idea where the dog lived, and it could well take me hours to find it's owner.) I didn't know where to go so I made three left turns and ended up in a neighborhood. I began to realize what I had committed to doing and started having doubts about whether I could find the owner. But I didn't want to give up. I walked to the closest house and talked to a lady sitting outside. She had never seen the dog before and I was getting ready to go to another house when I red BMW drove by. The driver stopped when he saw me and the dog and it turned out that it was the owner of the dog. The owner told me that he had been looking for the dog for half an hour and that he couldn't thank me enough for helping him find his dog. Looking back on it now, I had several sgbd moments (first of all to stop and get the dog, then to go to the neighborhood that I did, and to go to the house that I did) and, amazingly, the experience only took me about 15 minutes. And I did not run out of gas before I got the the station.

My sgbd for today occurred in church. Like in Kathy's church, we had a testimony meeting today. One of the first people to get up was a young women. This particular young women wasn't exactly on my lists of favorites. I don't really know why I didn't think too highly of her, but I just didn't. I hardly ever speak to her even though I see her most every week at church. She has friends though so I didn't feel too bad about not talking to her a such. Like I said, she was one of the first people to get up and bear their testimony. She revealed to the audience that she was going through a hard time in her life and that she had been diagnosed with extreme depression, anxiety, and OCD. She went on to talk about how the church had always been there for her and such. It was an awakening moment for me. I realized that I had truly misunderstood and made assumptions about what was going on in her life. I really felt kind of ashamed. The prompting came to me that I should send her a message thanking her for bearing her testimony and apologizing for not really being her friend. I sent her a facebook message when I got home from church. I have yet to find out what will become of the experience, but I am glad that I acted on the prompting.

It is enough...by Kathy

The main sgbd (new acronym to save my fingers/sanity) I had today was in my church meeting.  On the first Sunday of the month we can share a testimony with the congregation.  And quite honestly, I don't do it often enough.  I have lots of reasons but nevertheless if I don't feel quite strongly that I should bear testimony I gladly skip the experience.  And it doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to speak in public :D (random readers of this blog can go to http://www.unleashingyourvoice.com/ to get that one...) So today I felt that I should and I really had nothing to say, normally I like to have some faith-promoting story or experience that makes it more meaningful.  Couldn't think of one.  Then the thought came to me, "It is enough."  So I bore a testimony of this 30 day experience (only I called them "promptings" instead of saygobedos because that is the language people in my church would understand) and I bore testimony that having a testimony was reason enough to bear it.

I had a couple of people tell me that it spoke to them and one man said that he wished he acted on every prompting he received, and then commented that if we do it means that other things have to go by the way side.  So true.  Guess we'll see what else slides off my proverbial plate while my cup runneth over!!

Not quite ready but here we go...by Kathy

I haven't even found my 4th friend to do the SayGoBeDo challenge (from the book by the same name authored by my dear friend Tiffany Earle) but I want to get this show on the road and increase the amount of inspiration in my life. 

I had a few experiences today that totally fit.  The one about saving the worm from an untimely death on a hot sidewalk doesn't seem to do justice to the cause at hand...sooooo...we'll move on.  I went to the gym this morning and since I work out at the local community college and am too cheap to buy a parking pass I always park off campus and walk to the gym (seems reasonable, to walk when one is going to exercise?)  But since it was already hot and it was Saturday and the beginning of the semester I thought I'd just park on campus knowing that no one would check the cars today.  And I drove in and picked a spot and...I knew I shouldn't break the rules of "Parking by Permit Only" even if I wouldn't be caught.  So I drove off campus hiked up to the gym (including five thousand stairs...approximately) and guess what?  It was closed for the Labor Day weekend.  If I hadn't parked off campus I wouldn't have gotten any exercise at all, which made me a teeny bit grateful for the stairs.  And on the walk to the gym was when I saved a life (the worm, even though we're not going to talk about it.)

I had to do an extension on my taxes because I FINALLY got a K-1 from an investment.  I did it yesterday on TurboTax (which knows all, doesn't it?) and I had everything ready to go to the state and the federal governments with checks written and envelopes stamped.  And I couldn't mail it, I had the definite impression that something isn't right.  Naturally I don't want to do it again (it goes without saying that doing taxes is a drag, right?) but guess that doesn't matter...when we listen to our SayGoBeDo's and act upon them, then we get more (and that's the goal....)