Ten Ways To Increase The Light Through January's Windows

1. Beat The Light: Enjoy The Snow

When is the last time you enjoyed the snow? For many of us it was when we were a child! No-one forgets building your first snowman, trying to build an igloo or whizzing through the air on a sledge! For many of us adults the snow heralds a more difficult journey to work with cancelled  commuter trains and dangerous early morning drives. Maybe it's time to rediscover the magic of the season?

• A Swiss sledging dream: Tobogganing Park, Leysin, Switzerland. … 

https://www.timeout.com/.../the-best-sledging-and-toboggan-runs-in-europe-for-kids

BEAT THE CHILL: ENJOY THE THRILL

2. Enlighten Yourself: Enjoy Some Winter Reads

19 Chilly Winter Books to Read by a Roaring Fire

• Shiver—Maggie Stiefvater.
• Winter's Tale—Mark Helprin.
• The Winter of the World—Poul Anderson.
• The Terror—Dan Simmons.
• Cold Earth—Sarah Moss.
• At the Mountains of Madness—H. P. Lovecraft.
• The Brief History of the Dead—Kevin Brockmeier.
• The Left Hand of Darkness—Ursula K. Le Guin.
• https://www.tor.com/2018/01/05/19-chilly-winter-books-to-read-by-a-roaring-fire/

winter books for children

The Snowy Day

Owl Moon

The Lion, the Witch and the...

The jacket I wear in the snow

Animals in Winter

Now it is winter

When Charley Met Gram...

WATCH THE SNOW: FEEL THE GLOW

3. Light Up Your Taste Buds: Impressive Your Family

Indulgence yourself just once in this month usually reserved for slimming down after the festive excesses! I include this recipe from BBC Good Food but there is many other super fruity chocolatey indulgences! Who can resist this cheesecake after reading its yummy description: 

"A majestic orange flavoured cheesecake swirled with chocolate goodness. Orange liqueur may be substituted for the orange juice in equal amounts. These cheesecake not only looks fabulous, but the flavour will send you to cheesecake heaven.".

Ingredients

• For the base:
• 16 hobnobs
• 120g Unsalted butter
• For the filling:
• 200g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 184ml of double cream
• 100g Icing sugar
• 225g Terry's chocolate orange 
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Method

1. Put the Hobnobs in a bowl and crush with the end of a rolling pin until the Hobnobs are like breadcrumbs.
2. Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl for 30 seconds. Add the crushed hobnobs to the butter and mix well.
3. Add the biscuit mix into a big glass dish or 3 small tins and leave in the fridge for 30-40 mins.
4. Whisk the philadelphia and icing sugar together in a mixing bowl.
5. In a separate mixing bowl use an electric whisk to whisk the double cream till it peaks.
6. Melt 160g of the chocolate orange by putting it into a heatproof bowl and then into the microwave for 30 seconds.
7. Stir the melted chocolate into the whipped cream and then add this to philadelphia and Icing and whisk.
8. With rest of the chocolate orange grate on top of the mixture or place the segments in the middle.

SEE THE LIGHT: ENTER CHEESECAKE HEAVEN

4. Light Up Your Wardrobe: Add a New Colour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bfA4tEKUK

WATCH THE FILM: ADD MORE LIGHT TO YOUR WARDROBE

5. Alight on New Shores: Book a Holiday

One of the best ways to best ways to let more light and life into our life is to travel. I enclose an extract from an article I wrote for a website on Travel and Depression:

'A holiday, then, may be just what the doctor ordered. Who doesn’t remember their travels? It doesn’t matter whether it’s been trekking in the Himalayas or island-hopping in the Greece, you’ve gained new knowledge, skills and a clearer outlook on the world. The writer Miriam Beard sums it up well when she stated: ‘Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” You’ve moved on. With new wind in your sails, you can travel on to discover a brave new world. And that world is you.'

BOOK THE FLIGHT: INVITE IN MORE LIGHT

6. See The Light: Simplify Your Life

If we want to see more light in the new year, we need to rid ourselves of the things in our life which obscured the light in the old. Mountains of clutter? Stacks of paperwork? Piles of ironing? Unsatisfying commitments?  

https://www.wisebread.com/25-ways-to-simplify-your-life-today
These  are the tips I like best for simplifying your life. I give you the link so you pick what is most helpful to you!

18. Define Enough

Our culture is great at promoting the idea of more and presenting us with countless ways to go upsize and upgrade, but it's not so great at defining what enough is. Without a clear view of satiety (enough money, a big enough house, a nice enough car, etc.) many of us can end up on an endless and exhausting loop. Define what enough is for you personally and work toward it.

19. Downsize

Do the things you own, own you? If so, it may be time for some strategic downsizing. Large houses take time to clean, sprawling lawns demand our attention, and expensive cars can sap our resources. Take a critical look at the objects in your life that demand the most time and labor. Is there a way to scale back

25. Trade Perfection for Good Enough

Good enough gets things done, but perfection stops us in our tracks. Embrace the notion of the good enough in your life and free yourself from stifling and unrealistic expectations.

Sometimes complication is imposed on us; sometimes it arises from a failure to say "no" or draw a line in the sand with ourselves or with others. Look for those things you can control and begin to actively explore ways to reduce your time commitments, reset expectations, consolidate your energy, and find opportunities to just rest. Reclaim your weekends, your sleep, and your sanity — start simplifying your life today.

DITCH THE CLOUDS: SEE MORE LIGHT

7.  Find The Light: Get a Spiritual Mentor

Sometimes despite all our efforts to reach for the light in 2018, we  can find ourselves in a dark place. Don't struggle on alone in 2019, walk through the year hand- in -hand. 

https://ministrytodaymag.com/leadership/higher-education/20395-finding-the-spiritual-mentor-god-has-for-you

Take the advice from Dan Reiland: 

'Seek someone just a little ahead of you. A common mistake is to think, “If I’m going for a mentor, I’m going right to the top and getting the best.” I appreciate the sentiment, but you are likely making a mistake. For example, if a pastor who serves in a church of 500 seeks a mentor who pastors a church of 5,000, the two of them clearly live in two different worlds and they barely speak the same language. Yes, leadership principles are leadership principles. That’s true, but trust me on this, and this is the key: You are much better off being mentored by someone who understands where you are because they were there at one time, and maybe even not so long ago! If you lead a church of 500, try to get a mentor who leads a church of 800 to 1,200. This is not a legalistic thing. Don’t get hung up on the numbers; just go with the idea. And of course, make the ask.

Think intentionally organic. Don’t ask for lots of regularly scheduled meetings. You will likely lose a potential mentor that way. Don’t ask for monthly or even quarterly connects. Go for a more intentionally organic approach. Here’s what I mean. If you can hang with a couple meetings (phone or in person) a year plus a few short emails, you might be surprised by how quickly you get a yes. Intentional refers to staying strategic and on purpose, and the organic simply means to catch the meetings when it works out naturally in both your schedules.

You don’t need lots of meetings, not if you really want to change and grow. Information requires lots of meetings—transformation requires only a few. If you connect with a good mentor two or three times in a year, that is plenty. It will take you at least that much time between conversations to really put to practice what was given to you. Now let’s do the math. If you have two or three mentors, you can see that would be six to nine meetings a year—basically way too much.

Note No. 1: When it’s a boss/employee relationship, of course you meet much more often, but much of that is just “doing business.” That’s natural and normal. It is unrealistic to think that’s all mentoring. In fact, if it is, you are likely into something closer to a counseling relationship than coaching and mentoring.

Note No. 2: When it’s a crisis situation, everything changes. If it’s a true crisis, your mentor will get that and quickly respond, and that requires more time. Sometimes in those situations I encourage the one I’m coaching to hire a consultant who can devote the needed time, and I remain as chief encourager during that crisis time.

Work harder than your mentor. Don’t waste your mentor’s time. Show up with well-thought-through and relevant questions. Take notes. Work hard to practice what was discussed, and the next time you talk, tell him or her what you have done.

A good mentor will always have some questions, a resource or two, and good advice, but the mentoring is more your job than his/hers. You set the agenda and come with it in writing. If your mentor asks you to do something, make the necessary adjustments, but do it. This does not prevent healthy disagreements and intense conversations, but you either want their advice or you don’t. If you don’t, that’s OK, but then stop taking their time, and end the mentoring relationship with respect and gratitude.

I’ve been blessed with five mentors over the course of my life, and I’m grateful! I’m sure that’s part of the reason I’m eager to coach as many as I can. I trust that you will also pass on what is given to you.'

Dan Reiland is executive pastor of 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., listed in Outreach magazine as the No. 1 fastest-growing church in America in 2010. He has worked closely with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as executive pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as vice president of leadership and church development at INJOY. His semi-monthly e-newsletter, The Pastor’s Coach, is distributed to more than 40,000 subscribers. Dan is the author of Amplified Leadership, released in January 2012.

FIND A GUIDE: MOVE IN THE LIGHT DIRECTION

8.  Chase The Light: Get Out In Nature

https://thetrek.co/scientifically-supported-reasons-get-outside

1. Vitamin D. This is perhaps the most obvious reason to get outside, since the sun supplies us with …
2. Eye Health. Getting outside can improve your eye health. Really this should count for two distinct …
3. Improved Sleep. Poor sleep is often caused by poor sleep patterns. Our sleep patterns are …
4. Clean Air. Someone telling you to get some “fresh air” is more than a subtle way of saying “go …

Walk In The Light: Save Your Sight

9. Dazzle The World: Take Up a New Hobby 







Everyone has talents so why not turn these to good use in 2019 and let these start enriching your life! Check out the following website:

https://wellkeptwallet.com/hobbies-that-make-money/

I enclose some of their first two suggestions:

1. Start Freelancing

If you are looking to make some extra cash from the “gig economy,” sites like Outsourcely are a good place to start. On Outsourcely, you can make money from freelance writing, graphic design, website design, or being a social media manager. You simply find a job and place a bid. If the client likes it, you get paid to complete the task. Depending on the client’s needs, it could even turn into a long-term project.

2. Write

The internet is the ultimate medium for written communication. If you can write a research paper or put words to paper with ease, you can make money freelance writing. Holly, who earns over $100,000 per year from writing, at Earn More Writing can help you get started as a freelance writer.

Indulge Your Hobby: Increase Your Cash

10. Spread The Light: Join a New Charity

There are many reasons for volunteering and many ways that giving of your time can benefit you more than those you are helping.

www.gvi.co.uk/blog/17-excellent-reasons-to-volunteer:

 

1. It boosts your health

2. It boosts your career

3. It boosts your skills

4. It boosts your experience and enriches your life...….

This action will undoubtedly bring the greatest amount of light into your windows of 2019!




 GIVE YOUR LOVE: SPREAD THE LIGHT

So over to you now!

You can share your windows for  any month of the year

or on Twitter- Sara Particco

I look forward to hearing from you

I will add your ideas and acknowledge your contribution

Let's bring more light into the windows of 2019!

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