Mary L Thompson

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Well, good morning! ☀️ 🌅

Month of January I experimented with an earlier wake-up time. Jury is still out what I’ll do going forward but today is February and it’s Friday and I gave myself an extra hour—and woke up in a dawn-ish dark rather than a dark dark.

And by the time I got to my coffee pot (thank You, Lord!) THIS was happening right outside my front door!

Definitely worth a step outside!

Here’s to finding beauty and loveliness wherever and whenever it shows up! 🌸🌹🌳

Today's to do item, brought to you by end-of-year overwhelm!

An important part of every day, week, month, and year for me is reflection coupled with re-calibrating, so today I was looking at my brain dump from Monday and here--you're witnessing something I put down as my actual to-do.

"Figure out my life."

Seriously? What might that even mean? 🤷🏻‍♀️😳🤔

Even funnier, it's sandwiched in between approximately a million other to do's such as finish Christmas shopping, prep for client meetings, and do some Christmas crafts. The list was written in the waiting room while I was getting a car serviced! Figure out my life? How does one schedule that?

Here's the truth, though. The brain dump is ALWAYS a good first step to getting my life and myself figured out.

Flight Deck exists to help all of us get to a place of peace and purpose and unfortunately "figuring out our lives" is not a one-and-done item we can check off our list. It's a lifetime quest and we all have both good and not-as-good days in how connected to that peace and purpose we feel.

Back toward the beginning of the week, sometime after writing that to-do item, I pulled out "8 Ideas to Establish Your Life." It's a free resource to help with mindset. It helped me a ton--which might seem weird. I wrote “8 Ideas”, so I know it, but we have to constantly be grounding ourselves in truth or we'll get swept up in the craziness all around us.

The Reflection and Intention is part of the BUILD course, also available in the bio or on Flight Deck's website.

Just a few minutes a day with these resources could be a game-changer for your mindset through this season, and set you up to go into 2024 stronger!

As for me, I’ll head back to the list and see what more I can check off before the weekend! ✅

I’m excited for the next few weeks, and cool with figuring out my life one-step-at-a-time! 🪜🚶🏻‍♀️

Dog-sitting is such hard work!

Making some website modifications with the brilliant and talented (and beautiful--inside and out!) from

Today I'm having a hard time finding the on-ramp. I need to get my email out to my subscribers, and I have a few drafts and a few ideas, and the Bible study post I just did has a new idea percolating for me–a more in-depth exploration perhaps.

Up to now, I've been using an app called milanote to house my ideas that become Flight Deck posts, emails, etc. but it's getting a little unwieldy. I love the visual nature of the layout, and being able to drag around cards and documents and pictures and columns. That works for my brain but as it's growing larger it's starting to feel a little scattered. (Like my brain? 🤔)

So I'm looking at Notion. Again. I've had quite a number of starts on that app, and a while back (I'm guessing in April based on the last sync date) I had signed up for Readwise and synced it to Notion. Totally forgot but found this auto-note that has populated all my Kindle highlights. 🤯🤩😍

I'm still looking for the on-ramp but this was like finding a little gift!

Looks like now I need to look a little closer at both Notion and Readwise.

But mostly I need to finish writing the email / blog post.

Do you have favorite apps? Or tutorials for apps?

Most mornings start here:

I set a timer on my watch for 30 minutes and have been working through a one-year reading plan since 2018.

Same plan. I'm almost a quarter of the way through. 😌

I’ve “failed” many Bible-reading plans over the years because I didn’t keep up.

Here’s what I did (and have done) differently:

I thought about my WHY.

When I started this routine, I realized–I needed to hear from God. I was teaching leaders and feeling burnt out, and knew that wasn't how things should be. We're supposed to give from our overflow, so I needed to get more and better input.

Reading a certain number of pages wasn't going to do it. I determined to take it slow. Read until something sparked in me and chase whatever trail it led down, and for however many days it continued to inspire and speak to me.

That's where most of my weekly newsletters come from. And most of my teachings and products, too.

And it's where I've gotten what I need to get through the hardest times and the regular times.

Today I'm participating in .tremaine's One-Day Hour by Hour.

This is always the starting place for me!

7:00 a.m. ish

Are you growing?

This ficus tree, like most ficus trees, hails from the 80's and is about 37 years old. I know this, because it was handed to me by my uncle after my aunt's funeral as I walked out the door. He was thanking me for coming, and was such a generous man that he couldn't bear the thought of sending me away empty-handed and as he looked around, grabbed a small potted ficus that was on the massive dining room table in their 100-year old farmhouse amid the many, many other floral arrangements and gifts.

I re-potted it and it did its thing, for many years, but at some point in our journey together, I started to neglect it. I left it in its original pot. Watered it only occasionally, then less than occasionally, and it got to looking bad.

Mostly dead.

In 2015, (so, like, 29 years later, mind you) I was on my way to teach a group of leaders one evening and was looking for an illustration, and noticed the mostly dead ficus and I threw it in the car.

The teaching was awesome.

(I'm embellishing. No clue now what I taught or how it went. I do remember I loved doing it, because I always do. What an honor to listen to the Lord, then get to speak to others what He is showing me!)

I also remember coming home, and unloading my car, and looking at the plant and considering: Do I take it straight to the trash can outside, or do I take it inside?

I brought it inside. Re-potted it. Started watering it weekly-ish.

And now it's taller than me.

We, like, all living things, are meant to grow. And Flight Deck is here to help you grow in your purpose, maximize your potential and apply faith to your everyday life.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter at the link in bio. Like and follow for all the latest.

And rest in the fact that like my ficus, you have growth potential working in you at all times.

Loved this little moment. Went to the zoo today, and in front of this aquarium display, there were a number of people–kids and their grown-ups–who just plopped down on the floor right in front of the glass so they could sit and watch and enjoy.

This weekend, let's take this inspiration–to sit in the sweet moments, watch and enjoy the beauty around us, and stay near to those we love.

❤️✈️🥰

Yesterday I posed the question: "Who are you? What do you want to be known for?" from my blog post based on 1 Samuel 25.

I seem to (unknowingly) want to be known as the person who dresses the same exact way every day. As it happens, I'm visiting my son, my daughter-in-love, and grand baby and when I noticed what clothes I'd brought for the week→👕👕👕👕👕←like that, but the shirts are black! 🙄🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ This is a long-ingrained habit and unlikely to change.

I coulda, shoulda packed lighter. A few black shirts on repeat would have accomplished the same end.

Pic two: Tell me you love me without saying you love me. Came to bed and found that my little grand-boy had left me a truck to sleep with. 🥰🛻❤️🚚

How can you tell someone you love them without saying you love them today?