#Reverb14 Day 18 Nourishment

In the busyness of the everyday, taking time to nourish the soul doesn't reach the top of the 'to do' list as often as it should. 

What nourishes your soul? How would you like to incorporate more of this into your life in 2015?

 

The following are all things that help me feel more grounded. All of them are also things that I need to do more (or maybe a little less) of, and will make an extra effort to do them next year.

 

1. Sleep. I do not get enough sleep pretty much ever. It is either my fault from getting so involved with something online, doing homework, or watching something. Another problem is that I let stress get to me, and that in turn leads me to staring at my ceiling until 3:00am (I would know the time since my hubby gets up for work around the time I finally doze off).

 

2. Tea. I have always loved drinking tea, and have always associated it with calm. I tried drinking it again this last year, and ended up rejecting it in favor of coffee and soda. Starting over winter break, I intend to go back to herbal teas and accept more of a calming aspect of the day instead of an energized one.

 

3. Writing. I have enjoyed writing since starting college, and used to do a lot of it. My ideas, it seems, have dried up, though, and I felt I had nothing worth sharing with others. And, I have never wanted to be one of those people who writes just for the sake of vomiting some words out every day in order to keep blog activity. I would much rather have decent content versus a bunch of blather. Over winter break, though, I would like to actually sit down and bounce around some personal ideas and organize what to blog about for the rest of the school year, and then will re-evaluate over summer break.

 

4. Exercise. I hate getting the momentum up to do it, but actually have fun once I've started. That, and I feel fantastic afterwards. Which means I need to just suck it up, wake up an hour earlier, and just do it (ha ha, see, I'm a perfect Nike commercial).

 

5. Learning the Bible. Though the stories do confuse me a lot (and the more I read does not seem to help that at all), I know I'm doing what's right by reading it. And it helps a lot during church service when I can piece together the meaning with prior knowledge. And it keeps me more centered on God. This is another one of those "just do it" type things.

 

6. Control my words. I feel much better about myself when I do not participate in rude gossip. It's hard, it's so much easier to share information and what not, but I have to admit that it isn't right. And I feel much better when I do not take part. I know I will not be perfect, but in 2015, I really want to work more on my words being positive ones.

 

7. Family time. It's hard to find things to do together that do not cost a huge amount, or that are cheap but not repetitious. I feel much better, though, and more centered when I know that my kids have a sense of family and the importance of doing things together. Over the next year, I want to develop more things we can cheaply, and easily, do with one another.

 

8. Not procrastinate, on anything. I have always put homework off until the last minute, or housework, cooking, work projects, etc. And that leaves me feeling disconnected, crabby, and panicked. I have made some huge strides in 2014 to cease this destructive behavior, but will be the first to admit that I am a work in progress, and will need to stay on top of myself in this arena.

 

9. Baths. Some times I just have to be a girl, take a hot bath with some Epsom salts, and light a candle. I cannot actually remember the last time I did that, which tells me that it needs to be put in my actual schedule next year. It's an inexpensive, guilt free way to take time for me since I can do it after my kids go to bed.

 

10. Budget better. So much of my stress comes from not planning well financially. I will be better able to be calm, and nourished, if I know that this stress has been removed (or, at least, has been greatly lowered). Though I do strive to budget monthly, I do not do so as well as I should. Over break, I plan on researching different budget methods, and choosing one that will work well for our family. Baby steps!