My day started out with a banging headache. One of those that reaches from the front of your head all the way and goes down in to your shoulders. It was super intense. No worries. I miscalculated how much caffeine I had yesterday. It was none. Bad math. I'll try not to make that mistake again. One of these days I'll break the terrible soda addiction and I won't have those morning.
Action #1 - Be Thankful
Today's be thankful challenge is about being thankful for that one activity that you get to do every day. I chose my bedtime routine with my son.
There was a time when I didn't get to do bedtime routines. I didn't even think I would ever have the opportunity. But then God blessed me. He gave me one of the most precious gifts. Don't get me wrong. I do look forward to the time after our bedtime routine and he is out, but I honestly love the time that we get to have together. These are the times where he will run his fingers through my hair, put his hand on my cheek, whisper that he loves me right before he falls asleep. It's during the times that we read that we laugh and giggle. He recently started trying to say his prayers with me and it has got to be the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I treasure the times, that I get to lay there next to him and watch his eyes slowly drift close and he falls asleep. These are the moments I prayed for. The moments I longed and wished for. I am so very thankful for them. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
In today's devotion of Embraced, Lysa encourages us to see things with spiritual eyes. I have to admit I struggle with this one because I was raised with the belief that you never want to be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good. I do believe this. I believe it's possible that an attempt at being like Jesus can turn in to being pious or turn you in to a Pharisee or Sadducee. But lately I also believe that there is a balance. There doesn't have to be extreme opposites to this. It is possible to see Him in the simple and mundane in our lives without being overly important or overboard.
I think it's best to just directly quote my favorite part from Girl Be Brave and just let it speak for itself.
Life is hard! But those struggles make us beautiful! Action #3 - Exercise
Because of the terrible headache most of the day I did not do my Beachbody workout, but I did move my body by going out and walking our yard with my son. I also spent a good ten minutes of my night "dancing" with my son. It's really just jumping up and down in starbursts, but whatever. It made him laugh, so that's what we did.
Be blessed! Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
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It's cold friends! I'm not ready for this. Like, I haven't had time to mentally prepare for this. Despite the cold, it has been a good day.
Joe & I went with his daddy to get his oil changed. While we waited we grabbed something to eat. We had a great time playing with a monkey hand puppet and monkey finger puppet that I had stuffed in my purse. Life as a mom! Am I right? But the laughs and giggles we had make a purse stuffed full of toys totally worth it. It's day seven, so this makes a week that I have consistently posted to my blog, read my devotions, have thought about something to be thankful for and exercised. Whoa! I am pretty proud of myself. Action #1 - Be Thankful
Today's thankful question is all about what traditions mean the most. I have to say that Thanksgiving dinner with my husband's family is one of those traditions that are meaningful to me. It was one of the things that I first loved about his family. The one day a year where they would all get together and spend time together playing games, laughing, watching tv... eating.
It reminded me of all the family get together's we would have when I was young and my grandma and grandpa's house. The song says "don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone". Do you know what I would give to have those days back? Together with my grandma and grandpa. All the aunts and uncles and cousins. Those were good times. I remember eating taco salad until I was stuffed full. Yes, I said taco salad. That was my grandma's signature dish. I wish I had valued my time with my family more. Some have passed away and some have moved away. I may have just enjoyed myself more and soaked up more time with them while I had that time with them. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
I feel like I could have written today's Embraced devotions myself. Honestly. I should just type the whole devotions in because it is almost word for word what I have been talking about the last few days when I talk about where I want my relationship with God to be.
Lysa puts in a prayer that she starts her morning time with and then breaks it down. I want to put that prayer in and I combined it with the breakdown because I feel it gives it so much depth.
This is powerful! I can tell you that I am not one for scripted prayers, but this is going to be something that I add to at the beginning of my prayers because I need to hear it and say it on a daily basis. I need to remember why I need God in my life.
Oh man, Girl Be Brave was on point for me today. I needed to hear some of this encouragement. I still am amazed at myself in how easy I am ready to just give up sometimes. This challenge has not been easy for me. It requires consistency and that is not one of my finer traits. Unless you count binge watching The Office a good trait, then sign me up because I can do that pretty consistently with no real issues.
I love that these daily inspirations are only a page long, but pack one of the biggest punches ever. Here are a couple of my takeaways from today's reading:
I've forgotten to include my Inscribe The Word the last couple of days. I don't want to discount this or leave it out because I have to say that I have felt the benefit of reading these passages of scripture daily. Today's reading is Galatians 5:13-15.
Ouch! We've been given so much, but we have to love one another. I have to say that even though I did my devotions earlier this morning I still struggled with this today because I'm human I guess. I get annoyed or frustrated and I open my mouth. God please help me to love unconditionally like You. Help me to remember that everyone has a story and help me to see that story so that I can understand them better and love them like You do. Action #3 - Exercise
I have no idea why I resist yoga so much. I always imagine myself being completely miserable and then I just do it and enjoy myself immensely. Today was a yoga day in my routine. I had put it off yesterday and did just some walking and light exercises around the house because my lower back was hurting, but honestly now (I say this every time) I wish I had done the yoga yesterday. I imagine it would have helped me feel so much better.
So that's it! Day seven is in the books. Only twenty-three more days to go. If you are doing this along with me then go ahead and high five yourself, because I am. I am honestly so proud of myself right now for sticking to this commitment. Be blessed! Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
It's Wednesday. Well. There's just a little bit left of the day so I better get tapping right. Can't have too many days of me posting my update a few minutes after midnight for the previous day.
It snowed today, so we spent some time outside this morning playing in the snow. I really need to get to the store to pick up some snow pants. My son really wants me to play in the snow with him and I have a real aversion to being cold and wet. But man, that face when he is enjoying himself and saying "mama, come play" makes me want to roll in that snow with him.
It's time to be thankful!
Action #1 - Be Thankful
Today's challenge question was what scent are you most thankful for this year. Mine, I have to admit, was weird. It's my husband. What? Say it isn't so. What do you do? Just going around sniffing your husband? LOL. No!
But there have been some very distinct times in our lives that have been trying or tragic. In those time, my husband has pulled me close and tells me everything is going to be alright. I love those hugs. They are warm and strong and are full of comfort and assurance. I'm a smeller. I know that's weird, but when I smell something it can bring me such comfort or make me as sick as can be based on my memories. This year, my husband has worked a ton of hours. With the exception of the last month or two he has been gone six days a week and typically works twelve hour shifts. His drive to and from work is thirty to forty minutes so that is roughly thirteen hours a day he is gone. Add to that, the fact that he gets home around 4am and needs to get at least six hours of sleep, it means we get at most four to five hours of him before he leaves again. This includes his prep time to get ready for the day, eating lunch and doing errands that he needs to do. It leaves very little time for us to talk about my bad days or things that are just not right. Sometimes all I get a hug. I don't say a thing. But if I can just get that hug and I can breathe him in. I know that everything is going to be alright. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
Today's devotional in Embraced, it is all about slowing down to be filled by Him. Lysa talks about how we run forward with the intent of doing His purpose, but forget to fill our own cups by spending time with Him. Friends, this was for me today. This is a continued pattern of mine. Run until I can't run anymore. The funny thing is that I know somewhere in the back of my mind that it isn't even a marathon that I'm doing.
God does have a purpose for my life. There is a work for me to do. There are some great things that are going to happen and doors that are going to open, but I can't walk through them if I don't have the energy. This is exactly what I needed today. Here's a couple of things from the author:
Girl Be Brave was all about accepting yourself for who you are. It isn't that you can't change or strive for better, but stop rejecting yourself. Yet another sermon I needed to hear today. Part of my struggle the last couple of days has been me trying to convince myself that the plans I have set in to motion for 2020 are not possible because I am a hot, unorganized mess. I've been rejecting me. Can I be unorganized? Yes. Can I be a hot mess? Yes. Does it mean I can't get myself together, make progress and fulfill dreams and God's purpose in my life? No.
So say it with me "Tomorrow is a new day and I accept who I am and how God is going to use me today". Action #3 - Exercise
Today, my workout consisted of taking a half hour walk around the yard with my son and doing mini workout sets around the house in between chores. I took it a little easier because my lower back was a little iffy which was kind of my suspicion after yesterday's workout. Tomorrow I'll be back in to the hard core workout, but for now I'm so proud of myself for taking a half hour to dress my son in his snow suit. (a workout in itself) and getting out and moving.
Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
Today was a little bit of a laid back day for me. I packed away a large portion of the Halloween/Fall decorations. My son and I went for a walk out in the back portion of our yard. I took some pictures of him playing and we picked out some leaves to bring inside. We did some crafts today and we also spent a lot of time today playing with these new number puzzles that we had gotten him at Meijers on Sunday. In addition to all of that, I was able to complete my challenge tasks.
Action #1 - Be Thankful
Today's challenge was to compliment three people today. How is that showing thankfulness? It's showing other people that you notice them. It's thinking beyond yourself. Even though the task is for someone else, I have to admit that paying someone a compliment always leaves me with a reward of feeling pretty good myself. Especially if I know that my compliment made their day.
I did get to compliment three people today. Despite the fact that I only left the house for about 10-15 minutes. One of the people that I complimented today (actually several times) was my son. Since turning three, he has tried me in every way possible. Grrrr! Friends! I mean, he pushes the button. Then he pushes the button repeatedly. Then he just lays his finger on the button. I have gotten super frustrated the last week with him and yesterday's devotion convicted me that I should be stopping to think about my responses because how I respond to my son is my witness to him. Yes, even to a three year old. So today, I took a step back and the only time I did yell was when we went for our walk. He ran up ahead of me and ran around the corner of the house before I could catch up to him. Our road can be pretty busy so it was a pretty frightening moment thinking that maybe he turned and burned down the driveway towards the road. I will say I didn't spend a lot of time on it and the yelling really was just me frantically yelling "stop! too far! stop". When I caught up to him, I firmly told him that I did not appreciate him running away where I couldn't see him. When we got inside, I calmly told my husband what happened and he then had another conversation with our son. Other than that, if he wasn't listening I would repeat myself. If he still did not listen than I would take him by the hand and have him look at me so we could talk. Sometimes I would have him repeat back to me what I said. I can't believe it, but it worked. We had a pretty amazing day. I was able to pay him several compliments throughout the day. I'm sure it will all be different tomorrow. lol. This kid sure does keep me on my toes. The other two were friends that I messaged and let them know that when I am with them my heart smiles. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
In today's devotion in Embraced, Lysa talks about knowing what to do, but we pause or don't do it at all. She puts forth some very pretty solid questions we can ask ourselves when we are deliberating about important steps or moves that we want to make.
Great questions. I have to admit I go both ways on this. I can deliberate for so long that I end up eventually not doing something that I know could benefit us and at other times I jump in head first to something and do not weigh everything to see if it balances with the rest of my life. I am trying to be more intentional about reading and praying through God's Word. I won't say that I'm doing huge chunks at a time, but I am following a plan that has me thoroughly digesting one or a couple of scriptures each day this month. I want to truly step back this last part of the year and just lean in to God. That means taking my time to understand what He has already put before me in His Word.
There is one line in today's entry of Girl Be Brave.
Hey oh! That's a mouthful and a rather large sermon all in nine words. It isn't easy being a stay at home mom with aspirations to do something bigger with my life. You know you have the people who judge the working moms and you have the people who judge the stay at home moms. Well, stay at home moms that also work from home get both sides of that. It's super annoying. Everyone wants you to fit in to a specific mold. You should be doing this or you should be doing that. But I refuse to be put in a box. When we got married there was a huge difference of opinion between what I wanted for MY wedding and what my husbands family felt traditional weddings should look like. Well, I did it my way and guess what? The other day, my mother in law told me our wedding was simple, but so beautiful. Imagine if I had caved to what people had said my wedding should look like. It wouldn't have been my wedding. It would have been someone elses and I wouldn't have all the fond memories I have of it today. I would have resented it. The same thing applies to my son. Want an opinion on how you should raise your kid? You don't even need to step outside your home for that anymore. Just open up social media and you'll have one person telling you to just go ahead and let your kid have screen time, another person telling you no screen time and another person telling you limited and monitored screen time. It's ridiculous. So, just be yourself. Do you feel conflicted about something? Have you asked yourself those questions that Lysa asked in today's devotional? If so, and your answers were all yeses then you have the best knowledge on what to do with your life. Go out and make it possible. Anyone that is standing in your way, when you know that you have a God ordained mission and purpose for your life just doesn't like that you have challenged them and made them uncomfortable with what they are doing with the purpose of their life. Action 3 - Exercise
Can I tell you how proud I am of myself? I am! I can literally start every one of these sections with "I just didn't feel like exercising today, but I did it anyway". LOL. Serious! I hate it! I hate stopping what I'm doing to take the time to exercise. It doesn't even matter if I was just sitting on the couch binge watching something. I hate the idea of getting up and working out. But I've done it five days in a row now. Today was another weights day. Someone reading this remind me tomorrow when I'm pretty sure I'm having a heart attack that I worked out with weights.
With that, I am turning in because I've already crossed over in to day six before posting this! God Bless! Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
It's Monday. Day four. I had a severe case of anxiety today. A day in the life of Michelle. So this will be short and sweet tonight. I hate the inability to focus during these times. That feeling of being overwhelmed. I can tell you I considered just sitting on the couch and doing nothing while I binge watched Blippi with my son, but alas, my integrity. Stupid integrity.
Day four actually started off with an early morning of alone time for an hour. It was kind of nice. I was able to complete my devotions and prayer time before my little guy woke up. Definitely something I wouldn't mind making a habit out of. Action #1 - Be Thankful
I'm thankful for the smell of fall. There is something about stepping outside the door and just inhaling. A deep breath in and you can be transported to fall days with friends, hot apple cider, apple orchards, bonfires and laughs. Isn't it amazing how a simple smell can take you back to so many fond memories.
Action #2 - Devotion, Journaling & Prayer
Day four of Embraced is all about living out your witness and taking time each morning talking with God to prepare for the day. This is definitely something that I have been working on. I can be a morning person when forced, but I don't willingly do it. I oftentimes wonder though how different my days would be though if I were to intentionally wake up two to three hours before my day was to officially start how much better could my day be? I could do my reading and spend some time with God and I wouldn't be rushed. Maybe, I could develop that relationship I crave. Maybe I could respond better in times of crisis. Maybe I could be so much better prepared for my days. Maybe I could feel less scattered brained all the time. Maybe. Let's see what tomorrow looks like. A few of my favorite lines from today's devotion are:
Girl Be Brave was all about the curve balls life can throw at you and being prepared. It's about working hard through it and not giving up. Today's favorite:
Action #3 - Exercise
It wasn't easy friends, but I did it. I don't even mean that I didn't want to do it. I mean, I didn't, but that isn't my point this time. Today was an ab workout. I would say ninety-five percent of the workouts were on the floor. Before starting I asked Joe if he would like to exercise with me and he said yes. Guess what ended up happening? Nothing like a few dozen body slams and being tackled while exercising. It definitely made it a little more fun and interesting.
Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
Day three just happens to be a Sunday. Whoo! Talk about a challenge. The one thing I had going for me was that it was that most glorious time of year when time falls back for an hour. My day consisted on teaching my Sunday School class for 2 & 3 year olds. It's crazy. I grew up with so many brothers. I had no idea at the time that God was preparing me for this class. I typically have one girl in class. The rest are all boys and can range from seven to ten kids. That is a lot of boys!
My husband didn't work today, so that also threw my day off as well. When he is home on the weekends, we tend to default to his plans and schedules. We did manage to make it to the grocery store and probably shopped for way more than we needed. To be honest, we did shop for more, not probably. Despite all of that, I still managed to complete all my tasks for my daily challenge, read some books to my little guy until he fell asleep, massaged my husbands feet and now I sit here typing away to finish up this post for the evening. Action 1 - Be Thankful
The moment I am most thankful for is also the moment that makes my heart melt just thinking about it. That first time my son said, "I love you mama". When I close my eyes and think about that moment I can still hear him and how he mispronounced "love" and I can see the sweet little smile on his face when he said it to me. We were laying cuddled in his bed together. I had said it to him and he replied. Just thinking about it makes me want to go wake that kid up and squeeze him.
He continues to astound me with the new things he says and that imagination that is really starting to kick in, but that first "I love you" will stick with me forever. Actions #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
Today's devotional reading in Embraced is all about not just reading God's Word, but reading it to understand it. To understand the God who is a God of love and grace. To read about a God who offers salvation to anyone who wants it. Here are some of my takeaways.
One of the things I have struggled with in the last couple of years is that I don't "feel" God like I used to. I can tell you about some pretty intense moments, prayer meetings, conversations, connections I have had with God in my past, but in my more recent history I can tell you the connection has been different. Kind of disjointed. I know He hears my prayers because He has answered them. Even as recent as this morning. But I miss that deep connection. The security of being close to Him. Maybe this is just the reminder I needed to get to the place that I really want to be. Just maybe, what I really need to do is relearn who God really is. Just thinking about this makes me realize that I have been taking my relationship with Him for granted.
Have I said yet how much I appreciate these two books seem to compliment each other? It's amazing to me the messages that can be paired together from each book.
Today, in Girl Be Brave, Cheryl talks about not conforming and having your own identity. She calls out how society encourages us to judge one another to justify who we are. A couple of my takeaways today are:
Let's just take a second right there. I don't know about you, but one of my biggest life struggles has been my identity. I am constantly putting myself in a role of people pleasing. God will put me in a spot to do great work and I get caught up and conflicted with making sure that other people are happy with who I am and what I should be doing and saying that I lose the identity and the purpose that God has given me. Why is there that constant struggle to be identified with those you are with instead of just accepting the identity that God has given you? Is it because it shows I am weak? Because I don't look perfect? Because I won't fit in? I can probably answer yes to all of those. I'm thankful for this last year. The growth that I have seen within myself. I'm thankful that God is still here and is still loving me and still holding my spot to use me for my purpose. Action #3 - Exercise
Today was a weight day! Whoa! I am feeling it, but it was a nice break from cardio the last two days. I could digress on not wanting to do it. I was tired. I won't though. I'll just keep it simple. Day three of working out is in the books!
Good night friends! Be blessed! Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
Can you imagine that? Day 2 of my own personal challenge falls on the weekend. WHAT!?! The time when all my commitments fly out the window. My day started out with attending a networking event with local mom bloggers and business owners. This was not an easy task in and of itself because I am not a very outgoing person. I love adventure, but I prefer to be with people I know and am comfortable with when I'm adventuring.
Something I've been trying though is pushing myself to meet new people. I barely spoke to anyone there, but I'm proud of myself because I stepped out of the door of my own house when I wanted to just crawl in to bed where it was safe. I even had a chance to turn around because I ran late. When I arrived at the location the front door of the building was locked. I could have turned around and just walked away, but I didn't. I made myself type in the number and text the post it note person that I was waiting outside the door. Funny story. I mistyped the number the first time. I promise, whoever you are mystery person, I am not a stalker and I'm not standing out your door. At all! I will admit, I was tired today. I helped my husband work on organizing our garage when I got home. I ran a trunk load of our junk and another person's treasures to the thrift store, ran another errand for my husband and then came home with our very active three year old. We played together for a little bit and then I got to work on fulfilling my commitments despite the fatigue and the little voice that said to just go ahead and give in and start again Monday. So here it is... Action #1 - Be Thankful
So today's question was to list your favorite meal and why it is your favorite meal. Now, for the average person, thinking about your favorite meal, may not lead you to a reason why you are thankful, but for me (the food lover of all things delicious) it does. In fact, a lot of my memories can be tied to food. I can tell you the time period, what we were doing, what kind of day it was, if we were having fun or not, etc. No joke.
My favorite meal is cheese lasagna. My forever friend makes this dish. Before I got married, I would go with my friend to events that she was catering and help her cook, serve and clean up. I loved the leftovers that I usually got to take home with me. There is no one that makes a better cheese lasagna. Believe me. I've tried, but no one compares. The thing is, when I eat cheese lasagna now, I think about those times that we would travel with a car packed to the seems with catering dishes, food and sometimes her toddler. We would unpack everything and then spend all day in the kitchen together cooking, laughing, listening to music and talking. I remember, cleaning up and being completely exhausted as we drove home, but completely fulfilled. I remember, knowing in my heart of hearts that this friend loved me for who I was and wanted nothing but the best for me and provided every opportunity she could to present new opportunities for me in life. We no longer live near each other. It isn't convenient to just hop in the car and drive over to visit her. I miss her. I miss her knowledge and understanding. I miss the long conversations we could have about absolutely nothing and I definitely miss the times where we could just sit together not even having to say a word. Friends like this are few and far between. I really wish I had understood then, that friendships like that are not that common. I may not have taken that friendship so much for granted and treasured it just a little more than I did. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
Today's devotions in "Embraced" was all about getting in to God's Word. Lysa really encouraged the reader to stop just reading God's Word second hand via (yes, ironically) devotionals and messages and really dig in to His Word. This really made me glad that I have made inscribing scripture part of my devotions routine that I am committing to. Some of the take away's from today's devotional are:
I was definitely challenged in today's reading to really dig in to the scriptures that I am reading so that I can truly understand the heart of God.
In Girl Be Brave, I was further encouraged to be ok with changing directions. Honestly, I struggle with being flexible. I pretend I am flexible, but let me tell you when things are not going to plan I struggle hard. I may be smiling on the outside and saying everything is fine, but when my plans have changed it takes me a few days to recover in the aftermath of that shift. Some of the take away's are:
What!?! If I just let go of the reigns and let God be in control something divine could happen? Shut the front door. God help me. I needed this message today. I need to be willing to dig in to God's Word to draw closer to Him and I need to just be willing to hand my plans over to Him and let Him show me what He can do with my life. Note, I didn't say I wouldn't work for it. I'm a firm believer in God gives us the ability and we need to use it, but I know that I am sometimes less willing to turn from a plan. I wonder how many blessings I have missed out by not letting God lead me to my goals? One of the things that Inscribing The Word encourages you to do is to personalize the scriptures your reading that day. I'm going to go ahead and just give you my modified version and you read it to yourself, for yourself:
Are you crying? I did! It's ok if you did. I won't tell anyone. Action #3 - Exercise
Woot! Friends, I did it. My son interrupted me like three bajillion times. I had to stop and start where I was to help him find a toy, help him put two lego pieces together, to tell Alexa (she doesn't like the way he says her name and he isn't patient about his demands) to play Blippi for him. But I did it. I finished a twenty-seven minute work out in fifty-two minutes. About half way through, I had to modify in a big way because my knee started to hurt, but I was able to at least keep pace with the workout. I finished it though and I didn't quit.
Day two is in the books. I'm excited to see where the rest of this month takes me. How about you? How did you do with your own personal goals today? Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are either paraphrased or directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase.
Do you ever get to the point where you are just tired of your own lack of commitment to your own goals? This is kind of where I am right now. I have talked consistently of wanting to be my own boss and do my own things, but when it comes down to it I have lacked the consistency I need on an every day basis to make any type of business work.
So here I am with a plan to commit to three things in my life for the next thirty days. They are: 1. Blog about one thing I'm thankful for and my thirty day commitment journey. 2. 20-30 minutes of devotions/journaling/prayer 3. 20-30 minute workout of some kind So, I'll start off with day one right here. Action #1 - Be Thankful
I will forever be thankful for my husband. I probably complain about him more than I praise him and that is something that I have been working on. My husband is a hard worker. Whenever it is possible, he will sign up for overtime at work so that I have the opportunity to stay home with our son and so that we do not have to put him in daycare.
He also is a pretty amazing dad. Our son loves him. When he wakes up in the mornings, one of the first things he will ask me is "Is dad asleep?" or "Is dad at work?" Joe lives and breaths to be with his daddy and play with him. It helps that the two of them are like two peas in a pod. Not a whole lot of serious in either of them and they love to play pranks on me. My husband is also a protector. This is one that I actually struggle with. Dan and I met when we were in our 30's. So I had spent quite a bit of time being an independent person. It is hard for me to grasp that someone wants me to be my protector and even harder to fall under the protection. It has taken me quite a few years to realize that sometimes I don't always have to do it my way and that sometimes (sometimes is all I can admit out loud) he is right and I need to follow his leading, especially when it comes to protecting my time, my emotions and my heart. Action #2 - Devotions, Journaling & Prayer
I've started the Lisa TerKeurst devotional "Embraced". Just the first day made me cry, so I believe that I'll be crying at least once a day for the next thirty days. I want to pretend that is a joke, but it probably isn't. Here are just a couple of my takeaways from today's devotion.
1. I want it to be evident that I'm a girl who spend time with Jesus and that He's working on me. 2. His perspective on what troubles me overshadows my anxiety. (when discussing the impact of daily devotions, reading God's Word and prayer) Honestly, these two things are what I need. I need to spend more time with God at the beginning of my day. I need to know that I have taken just a moment to rest in His embrace. I need to know that I'm on the same page with Him. When people see me, I want them to know I'm His! Another book that I am reading in addition to this, is "Girl Be Brave" and whoowee, it got me in the feels right away because it reprimanded me on not letting my emotions be my dictator. It isn't really a devotional book, but more of an inspirational book. It did deliver a message I needed to hear though so I think I'm going to count it as a devotional. The big takeaway from today's "lesson":
Friends, more often than I care to admit, I let my feelings dictate my mood and what comes out of my mouth. In fact, I think Day 1 of both books has a very clear message for me to get back in to God's Word and to spend some dedicated time with Him so that I am so filled with Him that my emotions do not have any room to be in charge. To wrap my devotion time up I am going to follow a friend and do something called "Inscribe The Word". Today's scripture was Romans 5:1-2.
So, God took my devotion time today and managed to wrap up three difference sources and tie them all together for me. Because I have God. Because I have been justified by faith, I have peace. When I spend time with Him and His Word, that peace will help me through my day so that when others look at me, they see Him all through my life. Action #3 - Exercise
Friends! I am a fat girl that loves to eat. I do not like to exercise. It is not in my genetics. I typically start sweating within the first thirty seconds of a workout and am steady panting and fearing I will pass out by the first minute, but I CAN DO THIS and I did do it today. Yes, I had to even stop the video for a minute to have a serious conversation with my three year old about giving mama ten more minutes. I also threatened to hug him with my sweaty body. This seemed to be the real moment of understanding for him. Whatever works right?
I have the Beachbody on Demand subscription. If you want to know more about it I can hook you up with one of the sweetest souls you will every meet. However, it isn't necessary. If you have Amazon, there are workout video's there. If you have a gym membership, go use it. If you have Youtube, then search out some workouts. If you have none of that, then get yourself somewhere you can walk or exercise in your home. Ask a friend to print out some exercise drills for you to follow, but get up and move your body with me. Hey... that's something else you can do... just turn on some music and DANCE! Please don't let me be the only fatty in the next thirty days that is intentionally getting up and moving my body. Somebody join me. Let's shake up this planet. Ha ha... see what I did there? Note: Anything I have italicized is not my own words, but are directly from a book. I try to make it clear from which book the writing is from, but if you are unsure, please ask. Also, if you click on any links that lead you to Amazon from this page and you then purchase the product that you clicked on I may or may not earn money from your purchase. I will share this every year for as long as I can remember on the last Tuesday of September.
In 2015, my husband and I decided to go all in and to try for a baby using IVF. Our first round started in late summer and we did a transfer at the end of August. By mid September, we knew something wasn't right. The week before Sept 29, the dr's confirmed an ectopic pregnancy. We went to the emergency room and had the methotrexate administered to end the pregnancy. The following Tuesday I went in to do the routine blood test, but to everyone's surprise my numbers had doubled again. The dr called me back in to do an ultrasound and sure enough that baby was alive and had a very strong heartbeat. He/she just wasn't where we needed them to be. So they sent me to the hospital to be prepped for surgery. I could have lamented, cried and allowed myself to sink in to a pit of despair, but at this time in my life I chose to be happy. I was patient with the nurses as they tried for several hours to get an IV started in me. I cracked jokes with the dr and I patiently assured my husband that everything was going to be alright. I had already purposed in my heart that God was going to take care of me. Fast forward to 2016. I was 38 weeks pregnant. Friday would make 39 weeks. I had developed PUPPS in early September and we were at the point of it driving me nearly insane. We had a scheduled ultrasound and then a visit with the dr. It was the last Tuesday of the month, September 27. As we walked from the ultrasound to the clinic I said to my husband. We are going to have this baby today. I was tired and itchy and had the insane notion that if the baby was out the rash would go away right away. Ha ha ha. We met with the dr and she agreed. The lack of sleep and constant itching were causing my blood pressure to go up. A few weeks later I came across my old planner and saw this and it clicked. One year prior to the day I had lost something that I had hoped for. The next year on the same day last Tuesday of the month I was blessed with a perfect little boy. God is always on time. I think it is ok to be disappointed when something doesn't happen when it should. The thing I am preaching to myself is that will i let my circumstances dictate my mood and outlook? Or will I let my outlook and mood dictate how I respond to my circumstances? I pray I will choose the latter. Another parenting/preach at yourself moment tonight. My son started to get upset because the corner of his coloring page tore when he pulled it from the grips of his art easel. "Momma, it's broken. Branch is broken." "It's alright." I replied and added, "It's ok to be broken." Whoa! There's a whole one hour sermon condensed down in to five words. I don't know about anyone reading this, but one of my biggest struggles in life is feelings of value and worth. The hardest part is knowing all my "bad" stuff. Everything that makes me appear to be "broken". I can be over the top emotional. I cry when I am happy, sad, mad and being empathetic. I laugh super loud and I have a very lame sense of humor. I'm not kidding. It's so dry that you could blow on it and puffs of dust and dirt would shoot in to the air. I am a very organized, unorganized person. I hate chaos and clutter, but sometimes I get overwhelmed when there is too much to organize and contain. I hate housework... with a passion. I just will never be that person. God bless all of you who get joy from cleaning your house. I love a clean house. I just don't want to do it. These are all things that cause me to broken. Imperfect. I sometimes see myself as the "as is" item on the clearance shelf. Maybe it's missing a piece or torn or unraveled. All of these describe me. Not many people jump at the chance to pick up an "as is" item. The only thing that really draws attention to it is the amazing price that is attached to it. Most people will leave an "as is" item on the shelf where it lays. Some people will buy it, take him home and either try to hide the flaws or dress it up so that the flaws are not visible. Not my God. God is so good! He picks us up off that clearance shelf. If needed he will dust us off and takes us to the register of life and pays full price for us. You see, God sees value in the broken. He isn't out looking for the best of the best and perfection. He is out looking for those who are broken. The ones that no one else sees any value in. There is something that God knows that we oftentimes don't realize. He isn't just randomly picking out things that need to be fixed. He is being strategic. Yes, God is strategic. He works everything out for the good. Do you know why he likes broken people? Because God's light shines better when we are broken. All of the cracks and missing pieces in us causes God's handiwork to light up the world. If we were completely whole, there would only be one outlet for God's light to shine out of, but broken allows for His light to shine bigger and brighter than it could have if we were completely whole. Friends, it's alright if you are broken. You may have friends, peers and maybe even family who will make you think that only perfection is acceptable, but that isn't true. It is ok to be broken. It's ok to be a hot mess. It's ok to make mistakes. It's ok to not have it all together and by all that is holy, it's ok to hate housework. God looked for me. This is hard for me to even grasp. He wants me. All my faults and failings. He wants me just like I am. He wants you just like you are. He can use you. You aren't worthless to Him. You are priceless. You just what He is looking for. Broken. |
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