WELCOME!
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Welcome to a New Year and to January's LifeRhyme Notes.
I especially want to welcome all of the new subscribers -- it's great to have you here!

One of my goals for 2002 is to grow the subscription list for LifeRhyme Notes. I invite your help in this endeavor. Forward each issue to your friends, family, and colleagues. Many thanks!

IN THIS ISSUE...
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A New View
Single Step Challenge (TM)
Brief Book Reviews
Quote for the Journey

A New View
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My 5 1/2 year old son Sam asks questions all day. Yesterday, he wondered about his new camera. "Why do you look through that little square? Do you look through there to get a new view?"

A new view! That's what I have been yearning for and yet not quite able to define. This is the time of year when people talk about making resolutions, trying harder, and connecting better. This is the time for fresh starts and new visions. Even so, I look around my house and I still have last year's unfinished to-do list, last year's mess, and last year's missed connections. I am lugging around last year's body with a 2001 cold and a bit of baby fat! In the midst of all this baggage from last year (and the preceding years), I am having trouble seeing what I want for this new year. I do need a new view.

I think we all do. In my own life, my best ideas and most amazing transformations have taken place when I have been in a place where I can have this "new view." A car, plane, or train; a retreat center; even a hotel room provides enough of a "space away" to let me see my life with new eyes. Away from my messy life, apart from the phone, tv, radio, and e-mail, I find a renewed energy. I can hear myself think and I have a better sense of what I want and need for myself. I can listen for God's call. At home (where I always return) -- I am confronted by the noise and mess of daily life. It is harder to find the time, space, and energy to listen. Even when God is speaking, I cannot always hear God's voice above the noise (or recognize it).

Jesus was constantly calling his hearers to a "less encumbered" life. In the story of Jesus' visit to Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Jesus chastised busy Martha, saying, "You are worried and distracted by many things." He praised Mary, the one who sat and simply listened to Jesus' teachings. When he sent the twelve disciples on a mission to preach and heal, he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money -- not even an extra tunic." (Luke 9:3)

When we want to change our lives, when we seek to create a new vision for our life's journey -- we first need to open up time, space, and energy in our present lives. Without this first step, it is difficult to hear God's call. It is tough to find and focus on the new with the old stuff in our way. It is impossible to make room for new habits when our old practices take up so much space. And so we practice letting go. For many of us this will mean letting go of stuff -- packing up clothes, toys, and other pretty things and giving them away to people who need them. It may also mean silencing some of the noise by turning off the television and radio, letting go of magazine and newspaper purchases, and giving ourselves a break from the constant ringing of the telephone. At a deeper level, creating time, space, and energy will mean ending toxic relationships. It will mean letting go of our less-than-helpful ideas and beliefs about ourselves. It will mean coming to terms with old grudges and griefs. In the spaces left behind, you will be able to be still and listen to yourself and to God. You will hear the desires of your deepest soul. You will be able to hear God calling you to what is next in your life.

The question I ask each of you to ponder in January is this -- what must you let go of in order to create the time, space, and energy for something new? Think about it. Then "clean house" -- whatever that means for you. Take this month to find "a new view."

Peace to each of you!
Rochelle

SINGLE STEP CHALLENGE (TM)
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What is blocking your view? Remove it. Create the time, energy, and space for God to do a new thing with your life.

If you are having trouble determining what is blocking your view -- take a walk or a mini-retreat at a coffee shop, museum, or library (anywhere that provides the space for you to look at your life with new eyes).

BRIEF BOOK REVIEWS
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"Plain Living: A Quaker Path To Simplicity"
by Catherine Whitmire; Foreward by Parker J. Palmer.
This book of quotes and questions opens up a quiet place in one's life and helps the reader to focus on what is essential. A great book for paging through or for a daily spiritual practice.

"Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood"
by Wayne Muller.
If "making room" means coming to terms with past hurts, take a look at Muller's book. He discusses how we can transform some of the limiting beliefs we acquired in childhood into the sources of new wisdom.

"Organizing from The Inside Out"
by Julie Morgenstern.
If cleaning up means clearing out stuff and organizing your living space, check out this book.
Morgenstern's intuitive approach to organizing makes sense and can help you create order out of chaos.

QUOTE FOR THE JOURNEY
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"Sometimes we need to step away from those who need us, step into the silence, and take time to nourish our hungry souls."

-copyright 1999, Melander and Eppley,
Dancing in the Aisle:
Spiritual Lessons We've Learned from Children. (UCP, 1999)

NEWS
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Make a fresh start this January! Take time with a coach to think about how you can integrate spirituality into your daily life. Make plans to live the life God is calling you to live! Or, use the time to create a personal mission statement.

I am offering you, my subscribers, the exclusive opportunity to purchase a gift certificate for coaching at a wildly reduced price. You can do this for yourself or for a friend. The offer is good through January 31st, 2002.

For each of the packages, I will provide my free half-hour of coaching in addition to what you purchase. To order, call me (414-771-1408) or send me an e-mail (rochelle@liferhymecoaching.com).
*Three half-hour coaching sessions, a copy of our book Dancing in the Aisle, and a gift card for $100.
*Two half-hour coaching sessions and a gift card for $60.
*One half-hour coaching session and a gift card for $30.

A FREEBIE
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+Needing to create the time, space, and energy to do what you love?
+Wanting some guidance as you discover what you want from life?
+Looking for someone to encourage you to stick to your goals?
Newsletter recipients are welcome to a free coaching session, done by telephone, with Coach Rochelle Melander. Groups in the Milwaukee area are welcome to a free speaking session.
Call 414-771-1408 or e-mail Rochelle at rochelle@liferhymecoaching.com for more information.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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I will not sell or share my subscriber list with anyone.

To subscribe or unsubscribe: visit www.LifeRhymeCoaching.com or send an e-mail to rochelle@liferhymecoaching.com with either request plus LIFERHYME NOTES in the subject line.

LIFERHYME NOTES 2002 is a free monthly e-mail newsletter designed to consider how we can integrate spirituality into our daily lives. It is written and produced by Rochelle Melander, personal and professional coach. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: rochelle@liferhymecoaching.com.

I would love to hear from you.

Feel free to forward your copy of LIFERHYME NOTES to anyone you think might enjoy it. I do request that you keep the entire newsletter intact, including my contact and copyright information.

COPYRIGHT 2002, ROCHELLE MELANDER, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.