Balance – Page 9 – Melissa Schlies

Step Back September

About a month ago, Tony and I went peach picking. We drove to a local farm, and bought a box big enough to fit a whole half a bushel of peaches. Then, we trudged through the wet and muddy orchard to where they were picking that day. It had rained hard the night before. Every time we’d reach up and pick a peach, all the trees’ leaves would shower water down our arms and onto our heads. But we weren’t deterred, and we came away with close to seventy beautiful peaches. What did we do with all of them, you [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-08-20T15:52:46+00:00September 3rd, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, Courage, discipline, Health, Making Decisions, Routines, Success, Uncategorized|3 Comments

Learn: Three Ways I Save Time

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? —Henry David Thoreau Though I haven’t read much of Thoreau’s work, I have to admit: lately, his words are speaking to me. The man who went off into the woods to live intentionally, I feel, has a lot to say to us in 2018. Not that we should all become hermits living in nature, but rather there is something powerful about stepping out of the current of our culture. To put down our phones, and figure out the best path for us [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-20T19:10:12+00:00July 19th, 2018|Categories: Balance, discipline, Food, Health, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, perseverance, Routines|Comments Off

Why We Have Time

“Hey, how have you been?” My friend who I hadn’t seen in weeks, asked me. I popped up from behind the counter in the youth area of the church where I worked, to see her smiling face. “Good, just really busy.” I answered quickly. It was a Sunday. I was coming off of leading the second Jr. High service of the day, and was gearing up for a meeting with students. My friend was passing through the youth area on her way to her car after service. “How are you?” I asked, hoping she knew I really wanted to know, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-09T21:24:15+00:00July 16th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Courage, discipline, perseverance, Routines, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

When Change is Slow

Well, friends, we’ve not only made it to spring, but summer is just days away. Though the winter seemed like it would never end (at least here in the Northeast), it has. Flowers are blooming and trees are finally green. Yet, as some of you have probably also noticed, this means it’s shorts weather. Soon, it will be bathing suite weather. And if you are like me, you’re not quite ready to shed all of the layers of clothing winter required. Long sweaters and jeans can hid a multitude of sins. But here we are, in June. As excited as [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-09T21:33:18+00:00June 18th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, discipline, Failure, Health, perseverance, Routines, Success|Comments Off

5 Things I’m Doing This Summer

Summer is one of the best times of the year. The days are longer, and the weather (usually) is nice enough to spend our evenings and weekends outside. Only, as adults these few months will never feel as free as they did when we were kids, and out of school for the whole summer. Staying up late, or deciding on a whim to go on a road trip with your friends, isn’t that easy when you have responsibilities. Yet this doesn’t mean the fun days of summer are over for us. It just means, we need to be more intentional. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-09T21:40:16+00:00June 4th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Relationships, Travel, Uncategorized|5 Comments

Lead May 31, 2018

This month, I want us to look at some very important aspects of leadership—including why leaders fail. But I also want to try and equip you with some lessons I have learned over the years, about being a leader. For this reason, every Thursday this month, I will share one of my leadership tips. If you are just beginning your leadership journey, it is my hope that these will give you some practical help in fully embracing your current role. Or, if you’ve been leading for a while that they will assist you as you begin empowering others to lead. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-09T21:43:28+00:00May 31st, 2018|Categories: Balance, Health, Lead, Leadership, Leadership Tip, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Uncategorized|Comments Off

When Leaders Rest

“Right now, we take better care of our smart phones than we do of ourselves. Like I bet everyone…right now knows how much battery remains on their smart phones—if it gets below thirteen percent we get anxious…’what would happen if it died?’…Until I collapsed, I was unaware I was at zero percent.” — Ariana Huffington, Interview with Chase Jarvis Do you know how much “battery power” you have left? Not in your smart phone, but in you? When I first got out of college, I thought that to succeed, I had to be “on” at all times. No matter what [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-05T12:30:06+00:00May 28th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Good Books, Health, Leadership, Routines, Success, Uncategorized|6 Comments

Learn: How I’m approaching change in 2018

On Monday, I shared that there are some years when making a strict New Year’s Resolution (NYR), just doesn’t work. When making a drastic change isn’t possible or perhaps, helpful. And when killing ourselves at the gym in January, isn’t the answer. For me, this year, is one of those times. If I am honest, part of the reason for this is because after the holidays, I didn’t have the mental energy to think up the best NYR for me. But also, I have a few dreams for 2018 that make it hard to set one “all in” goal, to [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:24:30+00:00January 18th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, discipline, Food, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Routines|Comments Off

New Year, New You–Or, Keep Fighting the Good Fight

Every year around this time, the story is always the same. “New Year, New You.” All of a sudden gym parking lots are full. We buy vegetables in bulk, and sigh at the numbers on our scales. We try to figure out how much kale we can hide in a smoothie, and feel the pressure to be different. And some years, this is good. There are January’s where we need to do something drastic to help get us back on course. To give us perspective. Or, to make a real change. But then there are January’s where striving to achieve [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:27:21+00:00January 15th, 2018|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, Change, Health, Routines|Comments Off

Love Learn Lead January 4, 2018

Ok, I admit it. I did it. When writing the date for today’s post, I typed 2017. It is going to take a few times of writing dates down to solidify in my mind that it is indeed 2018. But here we are, having entered another year. This past Monday, Tony and I left the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin, where we were visiting family, and are now back at home in Pennsylvania. Though where we live has yet to fully feel like home, we are eternally grateful the winters here are a little milder than where we grew up. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-07-17T01:36:44+00:00January 4th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Change, Food, Good Books, Lead, Leadership Tip, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead|Comments Off

Step Back September

Learn: Three Ways I Save Time

Why We Have Time

When Change is Slow

5 Things I’m Doing This Summer

Lead May 31, 2018

When Leaders Rest

Learn: How I’m approaching change in 2018

New Year, New You–Or, Keep Fighting the Good Fight

Love Learn Lead January 4, 2018

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