Funny how LIFE can just sneak up and get in your way! I don't really mean day to day life either. We all have day to day life, cooking, laundry, making sure kids are not injuring each other as they display wonderful characteristics of sibling love. (yes, I'm being SARCASTIC! on the kid thing). It's the other things though. The extra things that swoop in and steal your time. The truth of it is that they aren't always bad things, just things none the less.
I was crusing along through the first week of summer vacation. Fridge, Freezers, closets...etc were cleaned out. A small pile began to appear on the hockey table of things that we as a family do not need anymore. When a friend who might need them came over I passed them on. Things were going along at a great speed. I was feeling good about the fact that each morning I was spending time with God, getting a bit of exercise each day and spending some quality time with the kiddos that didn't involve raising my voice. Then this week came along. Sports Camp week! Now, Sports Camp is one of those things that I choose to help out with. It was not neccessary for me to function, but it was a bit neccessary for the outreach ministry to function for me to volunteer. Could they have made it without me. ABSOLUTELY! Just the same when the church asks you to consider giving up some time, that is a good thing. How you do it though, is what I mean by "When Life Gets in the Way".
When things in Life come up, when extras start to fill your time, how are you reacting? I could be sitting at my desk right now completely stressed out about the fact that my daughter's room is still not finished being reorganized (and trust me...it still needs it!), or that the family room really could stand a deep cleaning. I could be stressed about the fact that this week, due to the heat from being outside everyday, my workouts have consisted of walking the dog and walking kids to and from first aid and the bathroom OR I can make another choice.
In Phillipians, 4:6 it says. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
My request this week is that I would see the benefit of helping out and giving of my time. That I would get done what needs to get done at the house and feel the freedom to let the things that I would like to get done, but don't HAVE to get done wait. That I would find moments to relax and unwind even though the house is not what I would like it to be. Has it happened? Have I not stressed out about the other things, I'm happy to say it has. I decided to join up with some other Moms on a reorganize the house mission this summer. Each day there is a suggestion for what we should clean or do. Last week, no problem got it done and then some. This week I have felt the FREEDOM to read the suggestions and think those sound like great ideas when I have the time to do them. I don't feel guilty that the other moms are getting them done and I'm not, I don't feel that I've let them down. It's not a competition, it's a way to help us all move forward. Twice this week our family has shared meals with friends. Does the floor need vacuumed, yes, is there stuff to do, yes. Just the same I relized that this was a good week to kick back and rest and relax some because being out in the 90+ degree heat is draining, and that my family needs to use summer to reconnect with people not just reclaim the house.
Life will continue to happen. Next week kids are at camp and the love of my life and I get to spend time together without them. Good time to deep clean the family room huh? NO WAY! He and I need quality time, and that involves talking, and walking not vacuuming. I'm not saying that I won't do my weekly cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and other weekly must do chores. I'm just saying that the Moms in the reoganize group will have to continue to move on without me, because my relationship with my husband is far more important than whether or not the baseboards have been dusted recently. Will the baseboards get cleaned this summer, will those extra jobs that never get done be accomplished. I hope so. I plan to become a little more like Martha with each passing day, getting a little extra done and done right. I just don't want to turn my back on Mary and realize that I missed what was really important when I get down the road further in this life.
May you too find your priorities this summer and learn to accept where you are on the journey. Making it better as you go, without stressing yourself out as you move forward. Time to go grab the comforter out of the washing machine! Kids both have friends sleeping over, so getting a few extras done as they sleep then it's off to SPORTS camp for the last day!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Week 1 of a Very HAPPY Summer
Summer is moving along. Hard to believe we are on day 4 of being out of school. It feels good. While not everything is going perfectly, yes my kids are still fighting, I've decided to try my very best to choose joy and be clothed in humility. I could grumble and complain about all there is to do around the house. I know friends who would come over and ask me how I can say that, as our house "appears" neat, but trust me the mess is there, whether evident or not. We all have mess, we all have responsibilities, we all have things that we want to do or should have done. So, why grumble and complain. In fact God is very clear in Philippians about doing everything without grumbling or complaining. I certainly don't do that very well, but I'm working on it.
Since my last post I have managed to clean our main bathroom. The floor still needs done, and the tub rechaulked (aren't you glad to know that), but the cupboards are reorganized, the mess is thrown out and the surfaces are cleaned. Also got the pantry, and linen cabinet done. The kids have been asked to go through t-shirts and pjs, and I checked, they did pretty good. Today is DESK day. We all are going to go through our desks. Kids aren't so happy about it, but that's just part of summer too.
Fun wise, we've camped in the backyard, went to the beach, went canoeing, bought a slip in slide for $6, made shakes, ate ice cream, and saw the new Madagascar movie! Not bad for a list so far. Even better we haven't spent all that much $$$ either. Today, as I write this at 10:15 am only one kid is awake, and she just woke up.
We will continue to enjoy this summer, get stuff done and choose joy for our day. It won't be perfect along the way, but we're going to keep moving forward.
Off to clean my desk, might even tackle my whole office!!! Then I'm thinking a walk with the dog sounds like a good way to take a break!
Since my last post I have managed to clean our main bathroom. The floor still needs done, and the tub rechaulked (aren't you glad to know that), but the cupboards are reorganized, the mess is thrown out and the surfaces are cleaned. Also got the pantry, and linen cabinet done. The kids have been asked to go through t-shirts and pjs, and I checked, they did pretty good. Today is DESK day. We all are going to go through our desks. Kids aren't so happy about it, but that's just part of summer too.
Fun wise, we've camped in the backyard, went to the beach, went canoeing, bought a slip in slide for $6, made shakes, ate ice cream, and saw the new Madagascar movie! Not bad for a list so far. Even better we haven't spent all that much $$$ either. Today, as I write this at 10:15 am only one kid is awake, and she just woke up.
We will continue to enjoy this summer, get stuff done and choose joy for our day. It won't be perfect along the way, but we're going to keep moving forward.
Off to clean my desk, might even tackle my whole office!!! Then I'm thinking a walk with the dog sounds like a good way to take a break!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Summer 2012 is finally here!!!
Honestly, it seemed as though summer was never going to truly be here. With temps in the 80's in March (of course before we had spring break!) we started the long journey of being teased with summer. Yesterday it arrived. Ok, not officially as it's not yet June 21, but really how do the majority of us recognize that it's summer? WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT! So here we are. I guess the question now should be now what?!? 104 days to plot a course of action, to reconnect with the family and to capture memories. In reality though shouldn't we spend 365 days connecting with family and capturing memories? Guess that's a topic for another time. Today I'm launching into my families summer with some goals.
The goals:
1 Spend time with God daily! Without this, I know that the summer, and my life would not be the same. Spending time with Him helps me focus on what is really important. I read today in Haggai (yes, you can learn from these books too) “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1. Am I being consistent. I might be planting, but am I remembering to maintain, to check back on it, to keep the process going by weeding out what isn't necessary and fertilizing the good things. Or am I just putting the idea out there and hoping it will take care of itself. Am I fueling my body and my families bodies with good things that will really keep us going? Am I wasteing money? These are lessons I learned from one small moment with God today. He wants to speak to me so much more, but am I listening, and taking time to do that?
2 Spend quality time with family This one should be easy. Yet, it's not. It is so easy to get caught up in all that needs done and not really listen or know what my husband and children would like to do. Sometimes this costs money to find the right activity, but just last weekend we had a wonderful 2 hour time together walking a trail in the metroparks for FREE! Some creativity is in order, but especially since it is summer finding time to just stop and do what they are doing is important.
3 Reclaim the house If you know me, you are most likely going to say that the house is in good order. If you lived here, you would know that I'm just good at hiding some of the mess. This past year I worked practically full time, and got lazy when it came to time at home. So this summer I want to get things put back together, know what needs to get put on the "what needs done" list and come up with a doable plan for keeping the house running whether I'm at work or not.
Those are the 3 main goals. There are other things I hope to accomplish too, write more, read more, scrapbook more, exercise more...the list could go on and on. These are my starting point though. I could spend another ten minutes writing about what is going to happen first, but there is a load of laundry to move to the dryer, two kids to try to get to go on a bike ride or walk with me, and then our main bathroom is going to get some attention.
Happy Summer! Time to get moving!
Honestly, it seemed as though summer was never going to truly be here. With temps in the 80's in March (of course before we had spring break!) we started the long journey of being teased with summer. Yesterday it arrived. Ok, not officially as it's not yet June 21, but really how do the majority of us recognize that it's summer? WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT! So here we are. I guess the question now should be now what?!? 104 days to plot a course of action, to reconnect with the family and to capture memories. In reality though shouldn't we spend 365 days connecting with family and capturing memories? Guess that's a topic for another time. Today I'm launching into my families summer with some goals.
The goals:
1 Spend time with God daily! Without this, I know that the summer, and my life would not be the same. Spending time with Him helps me focus on what is really important. I read today in Haggai (yes, you can learn from these books too) “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1. Am I being consistent. I might be planting, but am I remembering to maintain, to check back on it, to keep the process going by weeding out what isn't necessary and fertilizing the good things. Or am I just putting the idea out there and hoping it will take care of itself. Am I fueling my body and my families bodies with good things that will really keep us going? Am I wasteing money? These are lessons I learned from one small moment with God today. He wants to speak to me so much more, but am I listening, and taking time to do that?
2 Spend quality time with family This one should be easy. Yet, it's not. It is so easy to get caught up in all that needs done and not really listen or know what my husband and children would like to do. Sometimes this costs money to find the right activity, but just last weekend we had a wonderful 2 hour time together walking a trail in the metroparks for FREE! Some creativity is in order, but especially since it is summer finding time to just stop and do what they are doing is important.
3 Reclaim the house If you know me, you are most likely going to say that the house is in good order. If you lived here, you would know that I'm just good at hiding some of the mess. This past year I worked practically full time, and got lazy when it came to time at home. So this summer I want to get things put back together, know what needs to get put on the "what needs done" list and come up with a doable plan for keeping the house running whether I'm at work or not.
Those are the 3 main goals. There are other things I hope to accomplish too, write more, read more, scrapbook more, exercise more...the list could go on and on. These are my starting point though. I could spend another ten minutes writing about what is going to happen first, but there is a load of laundry to move to the dryer, two kids to try to get to go on a bike ride or walk with me, and then our main bathroom is going to get some attention.
Happy Summer! Time to get moving!
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