Tag Archives: leveled readers

Self Control Really Does Matter

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It’s early on a quiet Saturday morning.  My husband and I have enjoyed a 2 day, mountain cabin get-away with dear friends.  I’m working on my first cup of coffee, thinking about the travel day ahead.  It’s snowed quite a bit the last 24 hours and the roads between here and home will certainly be slow going.  I’m also thinking about Trader Joe Cocoa Truffles as I eye the counter top full of snacks we’ve been grazing from.

Truffles

Have you ever had a Trader Joe Cocoa Truffle?  You would know if you had.  They are smooth as butter and downright sinful.  They are just one of the many calorie packed holiday treats I’ve enjoyed in excess the last 6 weeks.

In no uncertain terms my body is screaming for a post-holiday sugar fast.  My mind knows it’s necessary but my heart hates the idea.

Generally speaking, I can stay away from “candy” but a hint of chocolate or icing requires true resolve.  I hate that it hurts, but Self Control Really Does Matter.

In reflecting on the holidays, certain situations might highlight some victories and failures in self control.  Did you set and stick to a budget for Christmas gifts? Did you continue your fitness routine and eat in moderation?  Did you continue to spend some quiet time every day with God?  Did you lose your cool when your nephew knocked your grandmother’s relish try off the wall?  Looking back over the last 6 weeks, I’ve got some self control work to do in an area or two.

It’s helpful, in my experience, to really approach the thing you’re working on with focus on the final outcome.

I turned 40 this year.  I want to be fit at 45.  I want to fit into my wedding dress for my 20 year anniversary.  At 50, I want to roll on the floor and hike with my grandchildren.

I want to be debt-free, including the mortgage, before long.  I don’t want finances to keep me from serving where God calls. I want to be able to home-school our children and volunteer my time and talents alongside my husband in ministry.

I want my extended family to be close.  I want my siblings and their families to value our relationships.  I want my nieces and nephews, as adults, to reach out and share their successes and struggles.  I want them to know that I love them and will be praying for them until my time on Earth is over.

Those end goals are important to me but they aren’t going to magically happen.  They will require self control in the present.

Let this serve as fair warning.  I’m going to be sugar-free the majority of January and February.  Proceed with caution 🙂

Before you leave the site, follow my blog (top, right of this post).  It’s quick and easy! 

For more from Marea, check out Me and Thee Studios’ faith based leveled readers for 1st-2nd graders at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/early-reader-collection.html

Telling the Truth Really Does Matter

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I’m an educator.  In fact, in 2 weeks I will close the book on my 19th year of instruction.  I love teaching and my current position as a pajama-wearing,  no-nonsense home schooling mommy of a 3rd and 7th grader is some of the most rewarding (albeit challenging) work I’ve ever been a part of!

On the other hand I’m not a salesman; however, I authored a collection of leveled readers that my husband and I self published in March and I find myself with 2 choices:  1) let a storage room full of books sit cold, lonely, and unused or 2) figure out sales and marketing.

The last 8 months have been on-the-job-training with regards to my sales career.  While I still have much to learn, I’m not quite a green as I was at my first home school convention in April 2014.  In particular, I’ve learned much about myself as a salesman and customers in general.

While I’ve not been in this business long enough to make many valid generalizations I can tell you that Telling the Truth Really Does Matter.

Mark-Twain-on-the-truth

My product is very much a niche product.  While our collection is beautiful, unique, and powerful for young children, it’s meant for a very limited audience.  If you don’t have a pre-school child who’s beginning to work on early literacy skills or a K-early 2nd grade reader, you probably won’t be interested in talking to me.  I’ve learned not to waste time (mine or a customer’s) giving my spiel to a mom with 5 teenagers.

In addition, my collection is faith-based.  If you don’t believe that The Bible is God’s Holy Word, this collection is not something you will purchase for your child (although I pray you’re given it as a gift and that your child loves these stories and begs to read them daily).

Not only have I truly internalized the benefits of honestly representing my product upfront, I’ve learned the importance of telling the truth as a customer on the other end of a sale.  A telling example happened just last week.

I asked a middle-aged woman walking past my booth if she had young children, 4, 5, 6 or 7 years old, in her life.   She looked at me with a smile and said, “I bought those books in California last year,” and kept walking.

Honestly, I would have preferred for her to have told me the truth, saying “I’m not interested,” than to have lied.  I know she was lying because the books have only been available for 8 months, I’ve personally done all the sales and marketing for the books, and I’ve not been further West with my collection than Denver and Albuquerque.

Seeing people lie so effortlessly has really been heart-breaking.  I’ve had to guard my heart from becoming skeptical of others, but more painful than that, it’s been convicting for me.

I can think of examples in my own life when I’ve very carelessly given a “white-lie” kind of a response, thinking it was easier than an honest answer might have been.    Have people seen through me as easily as I saw through this woman?  Have I ruined my testimony through the years with my careless words?  Have people thought less of “Christians” and Christ because of my “fibs” or “half-truths”?

Lord, help us speak genuinely and honestly in our conversations with others.  Keep us humble and grant us wisdom in our words that as we speak, our words are measured and are found to be accurate.  I pray that our conversations bring You nothing but joy and the glory You so rightly deserve!  Amen

Before you leave the site, follow my blog (top, right of this post).  It’s quick and easy! 

For more from Marea, check out Me and Thee Studios’ faith based leveled readers for 1st-2nd graders at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/early-reader-collection.html