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.
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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. |
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