Rules for Sleeping With the Cat

Well, I couldn't sleep last night and as I was tossing and turning I greatly upset my cat and that's what inspired this little post.

1 - the bed is not your bed it is the cat's bed and they allow you to sleep in it.....sometimes

2 - if you are allowed to sleep in the bed the cat is allowed to pick their preferred location first...this may be in a place that is not convenient for you...too bad

3 - if you try to move the cat to a more convenient location be warned...nuff said

4 - your job is to lie as still as possible so as not to disturb the cat, if you cannot, see above rule 3

5 - when you wake up and the cat is not ready to wake up it is your job to get out of bed without disturbing the cat. This is only common courtesy as it is the cat's bed.

I'm obviously feeling a little whimsical due to a lack of sleep, but that's my giggle for the morning. My cat is actually not bad all around but she is still, after all, a cat

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I can do all things

Psalm 121 starts with a question "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?" The question is answered in the next verse which states that my help comes from the Lord. Now I know that my help does not come from the hills but I look to the hills and that reminds me that my help comes from the creator of those hills. Those mountains that have stood for untold generations - the creator of those mountains is my strength and my shield. This of course always leads me to "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". That's not quite the NIV translation but it is what sticks in my head.

This verse came to my mind a lot this weekend - even for something small. I think most people don't want to be sick, many especially don't want to be sick on a weekend. However, as a single officer who has to be there on Sunday mornings this was a special fear of mine. So, when on Saturday I could barely move without being sick I was concerned. I was fortunate to be able to rest up so Sunday I could at least get up and get to the church. Then through the service I felt just fine. Afterwards was a different story, but what was important was being able to enjoy some wonderful worship with my church family and a time of fellowship. I can after all get better later....and I did

This was one of those tangible moments, but as that verse is with me always I know I'll remember it in the intangible moments too. Because God can do amazing things and I stand amazed every single time and look forward to that continuing here.

Working in a Small Office

Since moving to Fernie I have come into a nice, small office. Now, there are definitely some downsides to working in a small office. If you're claustrophobic it would be a challenge, it's hard to meet with more than one person at a time, and if you're at all like me you could be forever bumping into things. Also, lots and lots of people would look at my office and say that there wasn't any room to get anything done in there. BUT, I say it isn't so. What a small office gives you is a need to be properly organized and efficient, thereby getting a lot done.

You may be thinking of my bumping into things and how I can deal with that? Truthfully I bump into things even in a larger space so that's not really a qualification for me :).

A small office also dictates some creativity and planning. There are pieces of furniture and resources that are useful to have in offices but arranging them to fit the space means thinking, measuring and seeing an image in your head of how you want the office to work for your needs. So when I arrived I thought through a few different ideas, tried out what was there and eventually re-jigged the office a bit to work better for me. This will be different for every person.

Another thing that's important is keeping your paper and supplies under control. My dad writes Ian's Messy Desk and lately he's had a series of One Minute Monday tips - short little articles of ways to keep organized and cut down on excess in your office. The one that caught my eye particularly was Clear Desk Clutter although the others are useful as well. Keeping your desk clear is good no matter how big your office is but in a small area it is imperative. When you have nowhere else to put anything a clear, organized desk is imperative to getting any work done at all.

All in all, working in a small office has been very helpful to me, and this occurred to me on Saturday as I was organizing my paper work and getting things ready for this week. A small office is helping me keep on top of all sorts of projects, correspondence and definitely helping me keep on top of having excess paperwork and stuff around. When you have no space you get to be good at clearing out what you don't need.

Another good idea is to go as paperless as you can. I got some experience in working a paperless model and I still try to maintain a similar model myself. It's not entirely possible but if I keep as much as I can paperless it works better for keeping my space free for other things.

Anyway, there's what I have for today - small offices do not equal bad :).