Archive for the ‘Christian Living’ Category
The Chubby Mama’s Fitness Plan
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Although I posted this yesterday(2/25) the kind ladies who are hosting Losing It:Not Just Our Sanity are letting me link up today (2/26).
Losing It is a 10 week weight loss contest/challenge hosted by Mary, Jessie and Ashleigh. Click here for more info on the challenge. There will be prizes! But, of course, the biggest prize of all will be lost weight!! (Hopefully never to be found again!)
Check it out and join us!
My original post can be found below.
*********************************************************************
I’ve recently stumbled on the will to actually stick with a weight loss goal recently. I haven’t been on it for long however but I feel good about it! I think part of it is because I feel like the proper diet and exercise will boost fertility but also because if I look pregnant I actually want to BE pregnant. That is not the case right now. I definitely look it. I weigh around the same a when I was nine months pregnant with both my girls! GROSS!!
So I wanted to share a couple of tips and what I’ve done in the past almost-two-months of trying to lose weight. Oh, in case you were wondering, I’ve lost five pounds. I’m not going for fast weight loss. I’m going for slow and steady.
The Daily Routine…
So, what I’ve been doing so far is trying to get on my elliptical 3-4 days a week for 25 minutes. I’m slowly upping my time by anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes every few weeks. I started out at 20 minutes and will try to get to about 35 minutes. Because I don’t want to be overwhelmed by the idea of exercise (which I hate), I will probably never be one of those people who gets on the elliptical for an hour 5 days a week. I will probably never go longer than 35 or 40 minutes. An hour just seems way too long to me! Half an hour is very doable in my mind. If I think of daily exercise in hour segments I get discouraged and think ” Ugh. I don’t have time for that every day. I guess I can’t do it”. Not to mention I’m beyond out of shape and an hour would kill me! But half an hour out of my day changes my mindset towards exercise. It’s weird but it works for me! I would, however, like to be able to fit it some form of exercise 5-6 days a week at some point in the future. Twenty minutes to half an hour is also very doable when you have small children in the house who are constantly trying to sabotage your exercise plans. I try to plan my time on the elliptical around a favorite t.v show that way I have something to look forward to. Right now I’m either watching “Yes, Dear” , “A Baby Story” or “Bringing Home Baby” during my workouts.
In the near future I would also like to start out doing Pilates 2 days a week and then progress to 3. I love Pilates because it strengthens your whole core with moves that incorporate your whole body. There are no sit ups or lunges or anything. And the beginners routine I have lasts 10 minutes and I can feel it at the end! The DVD I uses is very soothing and doesn’t go past 30 minutes at the highest level.
The Daily Mind Set..
What I’ve done is try to make getting on the elliptical as easy for myself as possible. I wake up in the morning with it already on my mind and the decision that I WILL get on that elliptical. I write it in my daily planner. I take my work out clothes down stairs along with my sneakers and tennis shoes so they’re right there when it’s time to use them. This to save precious minutes I may use to get sidetracked or to talk myself out of going upstairs to get that stuff. That may seem silly or trivial but every little bit helps me stay focused. I do this on the days that I take Katelyn to school in the middle of the day and know I won’t be exercising until later in the day. On days I don’t take Katelyn to school I go down stairs partially dressed in my work out clothes already. Then I pick a show I’m going to watch and set my work out time for then. Then, I keep a steady eye on the clock so I don’t miss it! Everybody goes potty, has a drink and a special toy to play with before I get on the elliptical. I told the girls they may NOT ask for anything while I’m on it. And I say this almost every time I’m on it- ” IF I….(gasp for breath) HAVE TO GET OFF… (gasp for breath) THIS THING …(gasp for breath)…. TO SEPARATE….(gasp for breath)…. YOU TWO…..(gasp for breath) … SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET IT!!!!”. (heaving chest, gasping for breath). The girls are starting to understand that elliptical time is mommy time and they need to be good and quiet or there are consequences after mommy stops gasping and heaving.
The Daily Food Plan……
If you know me at all, I love to eat. And I hate being on any sort of “you can eat this but not this ” plan. I usually give up on any plan that requires me to drastically change my eating habits, requires extra work or special food. Right now I eat what I want and track it on www.myfitnesspal.com I started in the beginning using myfitnesspal.com strictly as a food diary. I wanted to see exactly what and how much I was eating every day. I’ll just say it was scary.
It will tell you how many calories you need to eat a day for your height and weight. You can log in and keep a record of what you’ve eaten and it will deduct the calories from your daily allotment. When you log in your exercise it will add calories to your daily allotment (yay!) You can also keep track of your exercise and any notes about how you feel about your eating and exercising that day. Right now, my daily allotment is 1500 calories. When I exercise I get 300 extra calories to eat.
If you remember I’ve been trying to move to a whole/ real food diet. While that kind of diet is healthy for you the foods that aren’t fruits and veggies tend to have higher calories because they aren’t diet foods. I eat a lot of full fat dairy. The whole grain breads I eat have 110 calories a slice! So my portions can’t be very large if I want to have any calories left for the end of the day. What I’ve found is that even though my portions are smaller I enjoy the flavor and they satisfy me longer because the food isn’t “diet or fake. I’ve had to learn balance in my eating. I usually don’t count fruits and veggies (unless they’re covered in some sort of sauce etc) a la Weight Watchers. My whole family has been more adventuresome as of late and my girls are eating fruits and veggies they refused to eat before. And Mike? He’s eating salad! Actual grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette! And steamed carrots with salt and butter! He’s found he likes spinach!
Ok…..you can pick yourself up off the floor now. For those of you who don’t know Mike, he’s an UBER DUBER (yep. It’s a word I just made up) picky eater. For years he wouldn’t touch fruits or vegetables other than an apple. He doesn’t eat any sauces or dips other than barbeque and ketchup and the boy still won’t eat macaroni and cheese. Who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese?!!! Anyhoo…I digress.
So, eating healthier as a family really helps.
I’ve been having to eat lunch on the go lately because of Katelyn’s school schedule. I drop her off at 11:30 and then usually run errands for the two and a half hours she’s school since we live about 25 minutes from her school. I’ll admit… I hate packing a lunch for myself on those days so I don’t always do it. Nothing ever sounds good other than a couple of snack items. So, sometimes, I grab lunch at the two places close by. McDonald’s and Burger King!! But, I’ve managed to make it work for me. Madelyn loves chicken nuggets and fries as does Katelyn. I love McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries! What I usually do is share chicken nuggets with the girls. I’ll get a 10 piece nugget and eat 8 pieces and give Maddy two (which is about all she wants to eat of the chicken anyway). If I eat 8 nuggets and a small fry that comes to 483 calories. Sometimes I treat myself to a sweet tea from there (which I LOVE) for 230 calories. I’m full and don’t feel deprived at all. At Burger King I eat a Whopper Jr with cheese and mayo for a total of 420 calories. I factor those things in to my daily eating habits and work accordingly. Some days I may go over and some days I stay under my calorie allotment. But I don’t over think it. If I eat unhealthier foods one week because of splurging eating out, I try to balance that out over the next few days with extra water, fruits and veggies. I’m trying to do what works for me so I don’t feel deprived and like I’m starving all the time.
I allow myself one “treat” every day. It’s usually after dinner when I’m really craving something sweet. And it’s usually Nutella on a piece of toast with a cup of milk. I look forward to that snack every day. I save calories for it every day. And, sometimes I still have it even when I don’t have any calories left over! It’s all about what works for you and what is going to help keep you heading towards your weight loss goal. Guilt and deprivation does not work for me.
Stuff I like……
Some healthy foods that I’ve discovered I like are Kashi Cereal. Especially Kashi Go Lean Crunch with honey, almonds and flax and Kashi Go Lean Crumble with blueberries and cranberries. I usually add about half a cup or so of frozen blueberries to that cereal and it’s a super filling and super healthy way to start my day.
I’ve also come up with a parfait snack that I love.
I take half a cup of Stonyfield Farm organic whole milk french vanilla yogurt and layer it with half a cup of frozen blueberries and half a cup of Grapenuts cereal. It’s delicious and nutritious. You could use whatever low fat or non fat yogurt you would like in place of the full fat type I use. It comes to 345 calories. I like it for breakfast too.
Have you heard of Sketchers Shape-ups? I bought a pair last November. They are pretty pricey but worth the money, in my opinion. I use these babies whenever I go grocery shopping or am going to be doing a lot of walking. First of all, they are super comfortable!!! I feel like I’m walking on a bouncy cloud! Secondly they really do work your glutes and thighs. If I wear them for half an hour or more of walking I feel it when I take them off. They are also good for posture and lower back pain. Am I burning a ton of calories and going to get in shape just by wearing these? No. But I feel like every extra lit bit counts. If I can turn grocery shopping or a trip to Wal-Mart into a toning session even better! I don’t wear them on the elliptical because of the wedge. They put me at a weird angle I don’t like while on it.
Another resource I turn to (not often enough!) is the book “Body By God” by Dr. Ben Lerner. Our Chiropractor lives by this book and gives copies away to his patients.That is how we came to own a copy!
There is a wealth of valuable exercise and nutrition information in this book. I highly suggest reading it! There are two things in his book that Ive been using lately.
1.Throw your scales away!
Ok, I haven’t thrown them away but I’m not completely depending on them as the gauge for my fitness success. His point is that our weight fluctuates and if we let our success be determined by the numbers on the scale we’re going to get discouraged and quit. He says to not even use scales and only go by your measurements and how your clothes fit. Muscle weighs more than fat. I hadn’t measured myself in ages and never used them as a guide. I now check my measurements once a month. I took my measurements late in the game so I’m due to check them for another week or so. For right now, I’m using the scale just to keep somewhat of a gauge on my progress here at the beginning.
2. Maximum heart rate and fat burning zones.
Each of us have fat utilization heart rates when we exercise. Usually that is 55% to 75% of our maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is defined as “the number of beats per minute your heart should not exceed during exercise”. That heart rate is dangerous and painful. He talks about three different rates you can exercise at and which ones are the best. The Fat-Utilization Rate (FUR) is appropriate and comfortable for people at all stages of life and exercise.
The second one is the Performance Enhancement Rate (PER) which is 75%-85% of your maximum heart rate is recommended for serious athletes who are looking to make gains in distance and speed as well as burn fat.
The third one is the Sugar-Utilization Rate (SUR)- This is at or near maximum heart rate and not recommended. It begins to burn sugar for energy instead of fat . There is high caloric output but also high amounts of dangerous stress being placed on your cardiovascular system.
Here is the formula for determining your maximum heart rate=
220 minus Your Age
So for me that would be 220-31= 189. That’s my MAX heart rate level. The level in which my heart should NOT be beating while exercising.
To figure out my FUR rate (55-75% of my max heart rate) I would take 189 x55%= 103. That’s the lowest my heart rate should go to still be burning fat. The highest fat burning rate would be 189×75%= 141. So my FUR is 103-142 BPR. When I’m on the elliptical I try to keep my heart rate between those to numbers.
I know this post was long but I hope I wanted to share what I’ve learned recently and what’s been working for me!
I’d love to hear how everyone else is doing with their fitness goals.
Giving To Others This Holiday Season
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
a) Stress. Cooking. Baking. Stress. Christmas rush. Shopping. More shopping. Bills. Spending money. Stress. Parties. Commitments. Christmas decorating. Long lines. Christmas cards. Christmas pictures. Holiday parties. STRESS! RUSH!
OR
b) Jesus. Christmas caroling. Friends. Family. Smiling. Laughing. Church family. Christmas eve service. Giving to a family in need. Tears of joy over being blessed by someone’s generosity. Unto us a Child is born! Messiah. Oh Holy night. Jesus is the reason for the season. Baking cookies with your children. Snuggles. Homemade gifts. Celebrating Jesus. Worshiping the Savior. Happy Birthday Jesus. Hugs. Joy. Peace
A or B? Which one of these word groupings sounds better to you? If I did my job well then you will feel stress just reading A and feel a lot calmer and happier in reading B. Has A ever applied to you during the holiday season?
The Lord has been dealing with my heart recently about the holiday season. I have really been thinking of ways to keep Christmas a lot simpler this year and more Christ centered. ( Remember my “Life Words” post? ) I was also being convicted of ways to give to others this Christmas in a bigger way than I have in the past and making it a family affair. Our servicemen and women have really been on my heart and I’ve been researching some ways to bless some of our troops this holiday season.
So, after all this thinking I’ve been doing these past couple of weeks, it all came together in our church service today! The youth minister of the church we’ve been attending spoke about Advent (it starts next Sunday), a little bit about it’s history, and practical ways to make this Advent season more about Christ and family than about giving and receiving gifts.
I’ll be honest with you, I had not really heard the term “Advent” until I moved to New England and my family never used that word. Of course, I’ve seen it on calendars but never knew what it really meant. Me being raised a Baptist, I always thought Advent was a tradition practiced by other religious faiths. But now I’ve come to know what the season of Advent means. Here is what About.com says about Advent:
“In Western Christianity, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, or the Sunday which falls closest to November 30, and lasts through Christmas Eve, or December 24. When Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, it is the last, or fourth Sunday of Advent.
Advent is a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. During this time, Christians observe a season of prayer, fasting and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope and joy.
Many Christians celebrate advent not only by thanking God for Christ’s first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of time.”
I think this is such a good definition of what the Christmas season should be about! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I love the sights, the hustle and bustle, the parties, the excitement, the gifts (yes, I said it! I love getting gifts!), the Christmas baking, the decorations, the music and even the shopping in crowded malls. I love it all. But, in the past, all of this has caused me great stress. I remember one Christmas a couple of years ago that was so stressful and busy for Mike and I that all we did was fight! We breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and Mike was actually looking forward to going back to work after his Christmas you- know-from-where vacation week. We said to each other that we never wanted to have a Christmas like that again. I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have had stressful Christmases in the past. Which brings me back to the point of this post.
The youth minister today spoke of the Advent Conspiracy . Ever heard of it? Here is a great video clip that describes what it’s all about. Check out their website for more wonderful information on this movement.
Isn’t this awesome? I was totally convicted by this.
Worship Fully
Spend Less
Give More
Love all
Wow. Should be simple to us Christians shouldn’t it? But it’s not. So, here are some practical ideas and ways to give more to others this season.
1) It was suggested in the sermon today to take 1/4 of the money you would usually spend at Christmas, pray over it as a family and ask God to show you where to use that money to serve others this Christmas. I really like this idea and think it’s a great tradition to start as a family. I know Katelyn is old enough to start learning about giving to others who have less than she does. And even if you can’t take 1/4 of the money you usually spend, try buying one less gift and using that money to help someone in need.
2) Give more of yourself this Christmas. Meaning, more of your time to your family and friends. Meet your neighbors. Invite people you don’t know very well over for coffee. Invite your friends who don’t know Jesus to church or to a Christmas church function.
3) Make more homemade gifts. I’m not crafty. At all. But I can bake and I can use my computer to make picture gifts for families and friends. I know homemade gifts are the ones I remember the most. Use whatever talents you have and your imagination to make something special instead of spending a lot of money on something your loved ones may not need.
4) Do more things together as a family and start some fun traditions. We started making a birthday cake for Jesus, which I know many families do. Start a Jesse Tree.
And if you’re looking for some ideas on how/where to give this Christmas consider these options:
1)Give to our troops.
Go to military.com for a list of ways to show love and thanks for our troops this Christmas. Don’t forget these men and women who are overseas putting their lives on the line for our freedom while we sit in our cozy living rooms on Christmas day. Another great way is to sponsor a care package through the USO for a soldier in need. The cost is $25 for a $75 care package. You can also donate at Give2TheTroops. 90% of donations goes to care packages for the troops and postage (which can be up to $10,000.00 a month!)
2) Give to World Vision Or Compassion International ( my cousin Phoebe works for them!) which are both wonderful Christian organizations that help families and children in third world countries.
3) Participate in Operation Christmas Child by Samaritans Purse.
4) Give anonymously to a family in need that you know personally. Leave gifts on their front door. Mail them a card with gift certificates. Have them over for Christmas dinner.
These are just a few of the many ways you can give of yourself and make Christmas more about Christ this year. I hope you’ll join me in participating in the Advent Conspiracy this year. Mike and I had already decided we were not going to buy the girls as many presents this year as we usually do and we’ve asked the grandparents to do the same. Let’s slow things down this Christmas. Let’s cherish the things that need to be cherished. Lets have a wonderful, Spirit filled Advent season. I think God will bless us, our hearts and our families more than we could ever imagine.
This Is Me Being Authentic
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
I have thought long and hard about this post. When you write a blog you have to decide what to share and what to keep to yourself. There are some things that are definitely not appropriate to share in a public forum. As my blog is linked to Facebook whatever I write here turns into a note on Facebook which my 232 Facebook friends can read. I’m going to delete this post as a note on Facebook so anyone who wants to read it has to purposefully come here to read it. After I wrote this post about my Life Words and being authentic I thought I would put myself out there and be very open about something I’m struggling with. Something that is very close to my heart. Writing this is humbling for me and also exposing a sensitive part of me to my readers. (Mostly family, but still!! My mom is probably worriedly reading this right now and wondering what the heck I’m talking about) I’m doing this because I feel in not sharing this I’m not being open and authentic.
For the past 15 months, to be exact, we have been praying, trying and hoping to have another baby. Many people have joked that “isn’t it time?” and people have asked if we want more and I’m even sure that there are people who have been curious but too polite to ask when we were planning on having another one. After all, we do want four kids. Well, now you know. I was hoping to have another baby yesterday. When we decided to stop using birth control last July we I just assumed we’d have a baby by now. But, apparently God has other plans. I know this issue is a huge one among women today. My heart goes out to the millions of women who struggle with conceiving and fertility. It breaks for women who have been told they will never conceive or for those who have been trying for years to conceive their first. Please know I am not trying to categorize myself with those women. I would not assume to completely know their pain. After all, God has utterly blessed me with two beautiful and healthy girls. If I never have another child I will still be blessed beyond what I deserve. This fact still doesn’t take away from my desire to have more children and my disappointment each month when that doesn’t happen.
We tried to conceive for almost 2 years before I got pregnant with Katelyn. When we first set off in that endeavor we were so excited and figured it would happen within 6 months. So we told everybody. That was probably some of the hardest and longest 21 months of my life. During that time friends got pregnant had babies and got pregnant again. Of course, as any woman who’s trying to get pregnant knows, it feels as if everyone around you is getting pregnant. Except for you. So many people were praying and routing for us. We really appreciated all the love and support. I even had friends who got pregnant and felt terrible to tell me! Although I appreciated the love I certainly didn’t want anyone to feel bad about their good news. One thing I had a hard time with were all the questions/advice/suggestions each month (although well meaning) like ” So…are you pregnant yet?” , “Hurry up! I want you to be pregnant with me!” and various medical advice and suggestions. I went to the doctor and had various tests. Nothing was wrong with me.
The other thing that would make me cringe was when someone would announce they were pregnant and everyone would discreetly and not so discreetly look at me to see my reaction. Others would ask, later, if I was ok. Talk about feeling like my nerves and deepest emotions were being exposed! And of course I was always happy for the person although deeply desiring that same good news for myself. Then, (oh joy!) God blessed us with Katelyn. I will never forget the day I got the positive result on that pregnancy test. It was euphoric. The joy and excitement expressed to us by family and friends was overwhelming. I will never forget that time. Then I got pregnant with Madelyn when Katelyn was 13 months old. It was almost a surprise!! How easy that felt. I hadn’t been on birth control since I got pregnant with Katelyn. I thought that maybe taking so long to conceive with Katelyn had been just a fluke. Although we weren’t trying to conceive, it still took us a year to get pregnant with Madelyn. But it still felt like perfect timing. They would be just under two years apart. Great! After I had Madelyn I was a little overwhelmed with having two small children so I decided to go back on birth control pills because at the time I couldn’t fathom getting pregnant right away if that were to happen. Apparently I had nothing to fear! I found out recently that there is actually a name for this. Secondary Infertility. (There are links at the bottom of this post to more information on this subject)
So here we are. I remember in March getting very sad that once that month had passed my chance of having a baby this year was gone. As Mother’s Day neared I thought ” What a great Mother’s Day gift that would be” and found out a few days before that I was not pregnant. Then Father’s Day rolled around and I thought the same thing. Then my birthday (What an awesome birthday gift!) and our trip to Texas (what a great surprise for my family!) and …..nothing. Now Mike’s birthday has arrived.I just knew this was going to be it. I even had the way I was going to tell him all planned out for his birthday. And….still nothing. Although I would love to blame my not getting pregnant on some supposed residual affect of those birth control pills,I can’t. I would love to blame it on my weight because being overweight can affect fertility. I could blame a lot of things but the only person I can “blame” is God. He could make this happen. But He’s choosing not to. I’ve run the gamut of emotions. I’ve been angry, sad and frustrated. I’ve stomped my feet and yelled at God. I’ve cried in disappointment to Him. I’ve questions Him month after month. Please don’t let it take as long as it did with Katelyn! And what if takes as long or longer? What then? What will it mean?
Why does God give the Duggars 19 children and other women none? Why do 14 year old girls get pregnant and have abortions when there are couples waiting with empty arms? These questions are tough and we will never understand them. But God does. And He can take whatever we say to Him.One of the answers is that we live in a sinful world and because of that bad things happen. Bad things happen to good people. Life is unfair from our perspective. I know God is in control. He has a reason and He has a purpose. And he doesn’t owe me an explanation although I’d really like one!
I read this today from the “Purpose Drive Life”
” God wants you to develop the kind of character described in the beatitudes of Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit, Paul’s great chapter on love, and Peter’s list of characteristics of an effective and productive life. Every time you forget that character is one of God’s purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. You’ll wonder “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?”
So, maybe God’s trying to develop my character. Maye He knows that I wouldn’t deal well with three children right now. Who knows? All I can do is wait. So I move on. I keep praying that His will be done and that I’ll be happy with however many children He wants to give me. I’m doing my best to not focus on this right now. I have so many good things going and many exciting opportunities to partake in coming up.
And I wait. And I’m ok. Really. I don’t need to talk about it a whole lot. I’ll feel free to write about it as I feel led on this blog. I’ll be sure to share the news with the WORLD when it happens. If it does. And I’ll be ok.
So… I’ve exposed my heart. It’s out there. Was this authentic enough?
And if you’re interested here are a couple links to articles about Secondary Infertility-
http://www.cookiemag.com/brain/momhealth/2006/11/secondshot
The Guilt Of Secondary Infertility (great article if you struggle with guilt over desiring another child)
http://www.preconception.com/articles/diagnosed-infertility-issues/secondary-infertility-1303/
Life Words
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Phillipians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
simple. authentic. content. humble. giving. open. approachable. compassionate. uncluttered. peaceful. joyful.
These are my Life Words. Life Words are my motto of sorts. They are words I try to focus on for whatever I’m doing whether it be chores, parenting, housekeeping, or relationships. They help remind me what my goals are in regards to these areas of my life.
I’m starting to see the whole attraction to this living simple thing I keep seeing in the blogosphere.
Living simply. Not simply living.
See the difference? Simply living connotes just getting by. Barely living. Just making do. That’s not how Christians should live.
I want to live simply so I can live abundantly. Visual clutter equals mental clutter. When I’m overwhelmed by all my possessions and things and the work that goes into keeping those things in order I get stressed and it steals my joy. Which is the opposite of peaceful and content.
Am I being authentic and open in my relationships? I don’t like to show my flaws. I hate making mistakes. But, who am I kidding? Everyone else knows I’m not perfect! So why do I keep trying to act as if I am? Admitting ones flaws helps keep you open and humble.( Wow, it hurt my fingers to write that!!)
And guess what? If you decide to spontaneously stop by my house one day you’ll find out I’M NOT THE WORLD’S BEST HOUSEKEEPER! There, it’s out there! My house overwhelms me at times. I lose control of it. If you tell me a date ahead of time that you’ll be visiting I”ll rush around, stressed and in a craze trying to make everything perfect for your visit. But, as hard as I try, a few days after our visit is over we’re back to the real house I live in. I don’t really enjoy making everything from scratch. Although I really wanted to be able to do that. It’ s just not me. I tried it for awhile. And you know what? It caused me stress. I’m not crafty. I can’t whip up my girls costumes, thereby saving us a lot of money. I wish I could say that I sit down every day with my girls and spend a lot of hands on time with them doing all sorts of educational things. I don’t. I would like to but I’ve been too busy trying to manage my house. Sometimes I feel like I’m running in one of those hamster wheels and I’m going in circles, doing the same stuff but nothing is really getting done. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result each time.
Enter living simply. When my life is not cluttered with unnecessary stuff (excessive amount of things, worry, constant rush, stress etc) I can now be more approachable, joyful and open. When I’m stressed and busy, busy I’m less compassionate and less giving of myself.
When I get to Heaven God is not going to accept this from me- ” Lord, I know I didn’t put myself out there as much as I should have. I’m sorry for all the opportunities that passed me by while I was dusting. But hey, I finally found the perfect cleaner for my hard-to-clean tub and it looked fantastic right before You called me home.”
So, I’m changing things around here.
What are your Life Words? Do you have a “motto” that you live by?
