Kathi Lipp's Blog, page 138

A PG13 Rated Post for MOPS

Today I'm guest posting over at one of my fav org's blogs: MOPS

It's my Guide to Having Vacations Sex at Home (and even with kids…)

And by the way – the MOPS blog is great. I would visit frequently…

Fear, Panic, and an iPad

It was a full blown panic.

A start-calling-the-name-of-Jesus panic.

I had two speaking engagements on Saturday; one was a breast cancer research benefit for my fellow author Susy Flory in her home about an hour away. The other was for a local church in my hometown of San Jose.

I was packed up and ready to  go. In fact, I had time to stop at Starbucks with plenty of time to get to Susy's.  So I am sitting in the drive thru line at Starbucks, and realize I had left my iPod at home. No problem! I could listen to some tunes on my iPad that I had brought for my notes. (Yes. I'm like all those hipster pastors who preach from their iPads. Word.)I hooked up the iPad to my car's stereo and…

The problem?

I touched the power button and nothing. Nada.

How could it be? I had charged it all the night before. I should have had battery to spare. But there I was, staring at a blank screen.

AGGGGHHHH

Yes, I had plenty of time to get to Susy's. But not if I had to go back home (20 minutes) boot up my computer and print the speech (10 minutes) and then recover the lost ground, (another 20 minutes.) I would love to say that I started praying. But really, it was panic and a lot of pleading.

"God, please help me recall my speech. I will do anything if you help me remember it all. Help me, Help me…" And that's when I heard his voice…

Andy Stanley's voice. It was coming from the car stereo.

I couldn't figure it out? How was I listening to one of Andy's podcasts on leadership if my iPad was out of juice? And that's when I made one of those "slap-yourself-on-the-forhead-it-would-be-hilarious-if-it-happened-to-someone-else-discoveries"…

I couldn't see that the iPad screen was on the whole time because I was wearing polarized sunglasses.

All I had to do to see that the iPad was working the whole time was to take off my sunglasses.

UM – are we talkin' metaphor or what?

It's like my prayer earlier. God is there waiting the whole time – asking me to come to him with every single need. (Even an iPad that's on the fritz.) But because of fear, it's as if I can't see Him. I just resort to fear.

And that's usually why I can't see God: fear. Or it's close cousin, bitterness.

What gets in the way of you seeing Jesus?

 

Menu Monday – What are You Having for Dinner this Week?

I'm Back….

It has been a wild month of travel, MOPS moms, trainings and T-shirts. I left my blog in a corner because I didn't feel I could give it the attention it deserves.

The other thing that was getting neglected in my house was my meal planning.

With the travel and coming home late and getting up early in the morning, my meal plans took a back seat. Which meant a lot of last minute looking at each other and a lot of rotisserie chickens.

Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE a rotisserie chicken (especially if it's a COSTCO rotisserie chicken. To. Die. For.

But when the question becomes not "Should we have rotisserie chicken tonight?" to "What kind of rotisserie chicken should we have?" That's a problem.

The biggest time, money and energy saver for me is to figure out what I am eating for the week, write it down and put it on the fridge for the world to see. A plan, even if it's a back-of-an-envelope plan, is a life saver for me.

So, I'll show you my plan if you show me yours.

I'm doing super accountability here. My plan is that every Monday, I will show you my week's plan. If you tell me yours by Tuesday night, I will enter you in a drawing for an advance copy of my latest book, THE WHAT'S FOR DINNER SOLUTION.

Just tell me in the comments what you are eating Monday thru Friday. (You can put in the weekend if you are really ambitions.) Some of my best ideas come from hearing what other are eating and copying… I mean, letting that inspire me…

Here is my menu for the week:

Monday- Every Man for Himself (we have a ton of leftovers)

Tuesday – Pepper Corn Steak and Baked Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus

Wednesday – BBQ Pork Loin with Cajun Rice and Salad

Thursday – Going to my mom's house

Friday – Out of town (eating out)

I know – it looks like I'm cheating. I'm actually only cooking twice this week because of leftovers and going out of town. But isn't that kinda how life is? If you count in the times that you have to eat on the road because of soccer practice, and then the number of times you could eat leftovers if you planned ahead, or the times that you are eating at a friend's house, or at your small group, suddenly cooking for a week doesn't seem so daunting.

So share your menu, and I will randomly pick one winner to receive the book the week before release. But the real prize? Having your meals planned out!

Thank You…

Oh friend, how can I thank you for the prayers for me this week.

I knew you were praying. I could feel it, I could see it, and you told me.

I knew it every time I saw one of those MOPS moms praying over another MOPS mom.

I knew it in the divine appointments that were happening every time I turned around.

I knew it when I stepped on stage, to speak to the largest live audience I've ever spoken to, and had less nerves than I do when I've spoken to a dozen women.

I'm so excited to share with you all that God has done, and I will be over the next few weeks ( and there are ways that you will get to participate…) But for now know this:

You are the best bloggy friends a girl could have.

God used you in a big way.

I owe you a coffee the next time we hang out.

Could I ask You to Pray?

Hey friends.

Thursday is a big day for me, and I could really use your prayers. It's kinda the biggest speaking engagement I've ever had, and while I'm humbled by God that I get to do anything even in the realm of this event with MOPS, Sara Groves, and Max Lucado, I'm also, well, freaking out a bit.

Would you pray that I wouldn't get in the way of what God wants to say.
Would you pray that these MOPS moms are just blessed this whole convention and know that there is a God who loves so sweetly that He would orchestrate all of THIS for them.
Would you pray that I get some sleep…

I will be speaking on THE HUSBAND PROJECT from 3:00-4:30 and then in the MOPS presentation STORYBOARD from 6-8:30. (All Nashville times…)

Thank you friends. I can't telly you how much my bloggy friends mean to me that I can come to you and ask for this. Love each and every one of you.

Why Can't You Leave My TV Alone?

This morning I was sitting down with Jesus to do some face to face time and all of the sudden, out of nowhere, God was getting up in my grill.

"You know that TV is taking over your life."

Um. Back off and leave my TV alone. That TV has helped me write two books in the past three months.

You see with two big deadlines, I needed a way to break those huge writing job down into doable chunks. So I would write a thousand words, and then watch an episode of 30 Rock (God bless Netflix instant streaming and Hulu Plus…) TV made it possible to get through those huge projects that, at the time, felt totally overwhelming. (So if my new Organizing book has a distinctly Tina Fey edge, well, you're welcome.)

While I totally recommend doing what you have to do to get the job done, even after the books are now turned in to their respective publishers, I have continued to let the TV plan my days.

I'm not giving up TV, (Roger and I have recently discovered Hell's Kitchen and he, Kimberly and I are getting a load of fun out of watching it,) but I am going to stop the mindless, "let's just see if there's anything I want to watch" watching. i have some big and exciting things coming up in my life, and I want to be fully present for every experience that God has for me. I want to connect with the people in my life and stop using TV (and food) as my reward. I want to find my strength to complete a project based on the promises of God's work and not the promise of a new episode of The Middle.

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to give up something (or really, really cut back.) Curious as to how you went about it.

Do You Serve in a Women's Ministry? Welcome to SpeakerChicks.com

I'm so excited about Speaker Chicks, a new website that I'm a part of that is debuting this week.
It's filled with all sorts of great (free!) resources for you and your ministry. It also includes:



Fresh event ideas to keep your women coming back for more
Tons of free resources that provide life-changing takeaway for your women
New marketing ideas to promote your events
Ideas for fun, invite your friends"-style events
Proven ideas from other ministry leaders

So how do you get involved?

SpeakerChicks Facebook Page where we will be giving away tons of books, gift cards and other fun goodies just for "like"ing our page

Go to the SpeakerChicks webpage and sign up for Chick Feed – our newseletter to be notified when we have great new resources for you and your ministry.

I hope you will check it out and recommend it to your friends in ministry.

 

 

What Authors and Other Entrepreneurs can Learn from Bettheny Frankel

This is not a blog about about Real Housewives, business, or low-calorie alcohol. However, it 's a blog about following the path that God has for you.

So why am I writing about someone who is famous for Real Housewives, business, or low-calorie alcohol?

Because when you do figure out what God's next step is for you, we need to use every resource and brain cell that He has given us to make that plan a reality. And this woman, has used a lot of brain cells.

When I talk about what I do for a living, I can no longer say "writer". Writer doesn't even begin to describe what I do. Yes, I write books, but I also speak, coach, network, market, and have products beside my book. You can call me an author, but I think the term "Authorepureneur" is a little bit closer to including all my activities.

It is the same for you and what you are trying to accomplish in life. If your leading a Bible study, it's not enough to be a good teacher. The best leaders are also:

Marketers – they know how to advertise a class
Networkers – they know how to make connections and keep those women coming back for more
Social Media experts – keeping in touch and starting a Facebook page to keep in touch only adds to the study
Ministers – managing the needs of her group
Party Planners  – someone has to bring the snacks to keep those women coming back
Child care coordinator – nuff said

If you are a bible study leader, a ministry leader, a children's ministry leader, a MOPS coordinator, your son's room mom, or just a mom, multiple skills are required to make a success of your endeavor.

So here is are my questions that I would love for you to answer below:

1. What are you trying to do? Go back to school, start a business, lead a ministry?

2. What is something you need to learn to make you more successful (or get your started) on that God project?

If you are a speaker or author, check out my upcoming teaching session on building your platform.

Read Bettheny's great article in CNN Money.

So I have a question for you… Your favorite quick dinner recipe

Hey friends. I am putting together an e-cookbook of favorite quick dinner recipes. You know, things you can throw together in 30 minutes or less and get your whole group fed. Would you be willing to share your favorites with me? If your recipe is selected, I will send you an e-copy of the book, and you will have your name on the web for the rest of your life.

I'm looking for family favorites here: things that your people love. And they should be a friend/family recipe, not something that you grabbed from a cookbook.

Send them to me at recipes@kathilipp.com and you will have a bunch of new favorites coming your way soon!

BTW – we have some winners from our great Organizing Giveaway. If you are one of the following winners, go ahead and email sunnie at kathilipp.com and she will get your goodies sent out!

Andrea July 5,  9:27 pm

Danielle July 5,  9:54 pm

Amanda July 6,  12:35 am

Marla Taviano July 6,  5:21 am

Tiffany Brown July 6,  6:04 am

Adelle Gabrielson July 6,  8:47 am

Jeanna HolmesJuly 6,  9:23 am

Jessica Ramsey July 6,  5:29 pm

Michelle Duncan July 6,  5:51 pm

KB July 6,  6:15 pm

Organizing Tools Giveaway (Tell me your deepest darkest secrets to win…)

Hey friends – I have been MIA for a while. I had two books due in two months, and now, because I've turned in the books and have nothing to do, I have Jury Duty in the morning at 8:30.

So as much as I would like to be back to blogging, this is just a stop by. But a stop by with gifts.

The book I turned in yesterday is THE GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED PROJECT. (And how cute is that cover.) One of the tips I use in the book (and in my own house,) is to use the plastic clothes separators that are used in stores on clothes racks to separate sizes. I use them to section of general areas of my closet. It makes putting away my clothes easier and keeps things in orders.

I want to give away ten sets of five separators! Just tell me the one area of your house where no one is allowed to look (that junk drawer, junk room, your son's room, etc.) and I will put you in the drawing to win the set. Drawing will take place this Friday at 8:00 PM CA time. Fun!

BTW Yours will be blank so you can put whatever you want on it. (Dresses, sweaters, clown suits…)