The Timeout List - AKA, the Journey to the Naughty Stool

My dad makes these stools that are pretty awesome. Each time one of my close friends has a child, he makes them one so that the child has their own piece of furniture to play with. As time has gone on, these stools have turned into the timeout furniture of the home, and have been dubbed the "naughty stool". So, when I read the prompt of this week (List 10 people, places, or things you’d like to give a timeout to) my brain immediately said "hmmm, whom shall we place on the naughty stool?".

1. The Middle East. Yep, I just went there. Pretty much that entire area - lets just say the whole continent - needs a time out. We'll say one hour per each person that has senselessly been killed. That should put them on the stool for a long enough time that someone who has some compassion and brains can come in and fix things and see that Christians, other minorities, and women all deserve to 1. live, and 2. have rights. Middle East, go to your corner, now!

2. Russia. Mr. Putin, Sir, you are also going to have to sit your shirtless-while-riding-a-white-tiger self on a teeny, tiny stool for a while. Have you not learned that complete control and violence are not okay? They're not. Terrorizing other countries is also not okay. Someone, apparently, did not learn how to share in kindergarten, or how to get along with others. In fact, maybe instead of timeout you should simply be sent back to class with a bunch of 5 year olds.

3.  Friends who are only around when they need something, or when they are in between finding best friends. Seriously, we're either good friends or we're not. We're either on a level where we share intimate details or we're not. We're either basically like family or we're not. No more games, no more wasting of time, or playing with emotions.

4. Myself. A lot of times I feel as though I need to go to my own corner and collect my breath. This is especially so before dealing with my children. I have found that it teaches them about patience, and about making important decisions while calm. Plus, some times it's important to just hide and be alone.

5. Major fans of the NFL. All of ya'll need to chill out. This whole "they cheated" nonsense is getting out of hand. Newsflash, ALL of the teams cheat. Does it make it right? Nope. Should they do it? Again, nope. Just stop getting on your high horse in acting like there are no skeletons in your team's closet because I guarantee you that there are (here's a list, for anyone interested). Plus, football season is over. Can we please take a break from it until August?

6. The makers of delicious, yet unhealthy, foods. It is simply not fair to those of us with food allergies and intolerances to have to watch others eat this deliciousness, and smell it as well, yet not be able to indulge. Maybe, just maybe, you should sit on the naughty stool for a llllloooonnnngggg time while someone eats that stuff around you and doesn't let you have it! Bet that'd make you all reach for natural ingredients in a hurry!

7. The United State's government. I don't think I even need to explain this one. From the mess of the economy, not being able to set a budget (seriously, we families do it all of the time, pay one of us to come up with it for you!), and making questionable decisions left and right you all need a naughty stool, nap, and possible relocation to a new daycare.

8. The political correctness police. The one thing I have noticed as I have matured into adulthood is that the more pc things become, the more aware people become of differences. It is hard to say we are all equals and are all the same, while also being forced to be overly sensitive in word choices. You cannot have it both ways. At the same time, looking at people's pasts and fearing about the repercussions takes away from all we have learned from mistakes. It is important to acknowledge slavery, the holocaust, gender inequality, etc and see it for exactly what it is, yet move forward with courage. For those of you that can't, to the corner you go!

9. People who feel it's okay to have child trafficking/marriage. You who do this, or argue for it, are sick individuals and human beings. A timeout is probably too nice for you, but as that was my only option that's what you get. How this can even be publicly argued I do not know.

10.My children. You both are about to spend a while in separate corners of the house if you cannot get along with one another! Also, this whining, sighing, and eye rolling is stupid and needs to stop. I, myself, feel like doing all of the above at you multiple times a day now, and do not plan on getting most of my caloric exercise from plummeting breaths and eye movements. Gah!

I know my list is random. Trust me, if there wasn't a list on 10 it would have been a lot more comprehensive. Happy Thursday, all!

The Ghost of Futures Past

You HAVE to go back in time and choose a different career path for yourself. What do you choose?

Yikes, that's hard. I am one of those people who has a fear of commitment. I am quick to shop, and then immediately head out to either put something back on the shelf, or return it after I've gotten home (this is a trait that drives my husband bonkers. No lie. Bonkers). I do this with everything, I "try on" an idea, and swiftly declare it is not for me and head to something else while still having the first idea in the back of my mind. Yep, fear of commitment with a side of indecisive, that's me.

A friend and I used to joke around about wishing there was a degree/career called A Jane of All Trades. And, honestly, that's what we both need given that I have been in costuming, crowd control, security (that was a day long stint), retail, customer service, photographer assistant, government, internet radio, cake decorator/baker, blogger, not for profit, insurance, and education. And I'm only 28 years young... For anyone shaking their heads #1. I happen to have gotten into the nitty gritty of career digging during a major economic recession, and have become well acquainted being laid off, #3. While dealing with unemployment I ended up being pretty resourceful in either how to bring in some money, or how to boost my resume, and #3. Look at the paragraph above.

I say all of this because I honestly don't know what I would do differently. Teaching, what I am going for now (and fully committed too thanks to the declarations and evil eye of my husband), is not my dream. It is stable, though, something I am good at, and allows me to be in the work force while also staying at home with my kids when they are home. And I really like helping kids see that if they change their inner dialogue that they can achieve more than they thought possible. Might not be much more, but any little bit counts.

In the past I wanted to be a high school French teacher. I still think that would be pretty great, but with all of the law/regulation changes I'm not quite certain that would be a good fit for me now. I also wanted to be a nurse or an engineer. What I have learned is that the medical field is awesome, and that my brain is not smart enough for the math that engineers use. I also wanted to work for the airlines, but now that I am a mom I am very thankful that I am not doing that, away from them all of the time (more power to all of the mommies out there who do it, though).

Mainly, what I always wanted was a prestigious job where I could travel and make everyone proud thinking I had accomplished something. I then found out that God has a sense of humor, and that, that usually interferes with people's perceptions of themselves along with their goals.

I think if I knew then what I know now that I would have gone into the medical profession. I have always been interested in it, pretty good with people, and good with math/science that does not go into calculus and beyond. I always thought that working in labor and delivery would be one of the most beautiful jobs anyone could do, and really did entertain thoughts of that for a while (of course, not even going there with abortion and assisting. Just, no.). And blogging, I love doing it when I have the inspiration and time. So if I could go back in time I'd tell myself to deliver babies, have my own babies, get an annual pass to Disney, be a Disney travel planner (always, always wanted to do that) and be a famous blogger about all of it!

Are You My Friend?

We all have that one friend or two who used to mean the world to us. You know, inseparable, practically family, besties for life. Then, something happens... And that person seems as though they wish you'd lose their number, forget what their face looks like, and that you'd move out of town. Except, when they don't and all of a sudden appear out of nowhere and act like nothing is wrong.

Which leaves you wondering:

Original photo credit to www.randomhousekids.com

In the adolescent/early adult years these types of relationships were fine. People could come and go, rolling with it was easy, and none of us really figured these people would be our friends for life (despite the loud proclaiming of "oh, we're bff's"). What about now, though, as we're all actual adults with spouses, children, bills, and careers? And, at what point can any one person claim that the reason to disappear is due to busy schedules (there are definitely times for this excuse, such as having a baby and what not, and I'm sure none of us begrudges our friends for disappearing during those times)?

I am proposing that now is the time to evaluate whether or not you are the doormat in your relationships.

1. Does knowing that they refuse to be a consistent part of your life give you nothing but stress? If so, maybe it's time to have a heart to heart with your friend. If that chat leads to an argument, I think it's safe to say, they are not your friend. Anyone who truly values you, your opinions, and your time will not get mad when you ask that they spend a little bit more time with you.

2. Looking at the give and take factor, does your percentage of giving rate way higher than taking? In other words, do you have visible proof that this friend uses you more as a babysitter, bank, psychologist instead of a person to spend quality time with? If so, begin saying no and watch to see if their calls/texts/PM's become less and less frequent. If not, congratulations, you have a true friend!

3. Do they consistently bestie hop? You know the person, one moment they are your bff and then someone new comes along and they jump ship. Months later, you can see on their FB that they have found someone even newer. And the saga continues with bestie after bestie and random texts complaining how the previous bestie had something wrong with them. If this is you, decide if you mind being last season's friend that is occasionally used whenever some comfort is needed (kind of like those super comfy jeans that you no longer wear out in actual public).

4. Does this friend reach out and share in the good and bad times of you and your family? Hopefully, your answer is yes and you do simply have a friend who is busy, but still cares about your well being. If, though, your friend sees the status updates about family emergencies, career advancement, graduations, etc and says nothing... Well, that silence is definitely an answer that no time or stress needs to be wasted here.

5. And, lastly, what is this relationship modeling to your own children? You may reason that they are too young to notice, or simply don't care about any of mom and dad's friendships. No matter what, though, we are the foundation to how our children will lead their lives and this does not stop at personal relationships. How you handle, and maintain, your friendships will become the guide to your children in their future relationships. So, what will they see? Is this a toxic person who turns every situation into a fight where they become the martyr and you are horrible? Do they lie and expect you to go along with it? Evaluate, and treat yourself how you wish your children to some day treat themselves. Above all, though, be fair to the other person and treat them with dignity and respect regardless of how you decide to leave the friendship. That will speak volumes to your children that we treat others well no matter what.

Basically, take the time at the beginning of 2015 to decide who you give pieces of yourself to. Who really deserves to be let in on all of the private details about yourself and your family. Clean out the Facebook friends list, and stop worrying about how many are left behind. Those who are, are truly keepers. Who knows, maybe there are some new adventures with old (or new) friends to take!

November Thanks Day 24 - Holiday Fun

Yesterday the kids, my dad, and I kicked off the holidays by doing a walk through at our local park. Every year they will the entire park with pretty lights and displays, and the Sunday prior to it opening, they open it up to the public to walk, instead of drive, through. The last time I had been was on a date with my husband almost 8 years ago. We drove through, were disappointed, and vowed not to go back as the park charged to see a lit up sign placed maybe every 10 or so feet, nothing fancy or impressive. Last year, my parents took the kids and ooh'ed and awed about it for the entire month of December. I decided that it was time to give the walk through a try.

 For a while, because of how sick my son was, it looked like we may not be able to do it, plus the weather is usually really yucky in Washington State every fall/winter. Scarily, yesterday morning we woke up to a monsoon going on outside, and reports that it would probably rain that evening. By noon, though, the sun was out and the ground began to dry. That evening was perfect, no rain, very little wind, and warm enough that with brisk walking my daughter took her jacket off.

Area sponsored by Clover Park Tech

The lights were pretty, the music was fun, and all of the volunteers were cheery. The kids, my dad, and I had a wonderful time staring at the lights, looking at the different sponsors (his employer had a sponsor/set up there), and being able to spend some quality time together while being mesmerized by everything around us. Don't get me wrong, driving through would be pretty spectacular too, but being able to slowly walk made it feel like we were enveloped in a winter wonderland.

I am very thankful that we were able to go, that the weather held up, that my son was doing alright enough to make the trek, and that I decided to just do it instead of backing out at the last minute. It was fun, and we will definitely be doing it again (although, big regret of the evening is that I left my good camera at home, and had the poor one on my Kindle for the picture perfect moments).

November Thanks Day 14 - The Grandparents

Today, I am thankful for the role my parents have taken with my kids. Though I know they were not in love with the idea of being Grandparents so soon, they have truly taken on every aspect of loving their Grandchildren that is humanly possible.

When we have not had a way of transporting the kids to different lessons, events, appointments, etc my parents have done it. Whenever the kids perform in anything (even a five minute skit at school) my parents and Grandmother are there. They have made every single effort possible to let the kids know that they mean everything and are important, worthy of spending time on and with.

My mom cooks with the kids, and decorates cakes for them. My dad builds things and takes them hiking. My mom rides roller coasters, and buys them any clothing she thinks they may need or like. They have both built traditions with the kids, and my kids know that my parents will always be there for them so long as they are living.

Thanks mom and dad for being the best grandparents these kids could ask for!

November Thanks Day 8 - My Grandmother

Today's thanks is for my Grandmother. She has been a calm, steady pillar in our family ever since I can remember. Not easy to excite nor apt to be pulled into anyone's drama. Throughout my lifetime, I can remember multiple family members (self included) making mistakes, and instead of putting her opinion in, she was simply there the same as always. She has been there, in that capacity, for her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. Many, many of her character traits are ones I would love to have, but God did not decide to bless me with (as in, being able to watch someone taking jumping off a cliff type mistake without so much as a facial expression of disappointment. I'd love that trait, in case the Big Guy up there is reading this, and feeling benevolent in the characteristic gifting).

My children, Grandmother, and Uncle

 Not only has she always been the person who can bring together multiple feuding people into one room without so much as a haughty comment from anyone, but she has also been the glue to our family traditions. From her, we have our Norwegian heritage celebrated at every holiday. As a child, I remember having a day ever November set aside to going to Grandma's house to help her bake lefse. She would have spent the day before prepping things so that I'd have the easy part left, yet act as though it was a "huge help" for her with the holidays coming up to have me roll out the dough (already made) and bake it on the griddle with her standing next to me the entire time, giving out instructions and advice. For every birthday, until I hit my teens, she would bake and bring sandbakkels decorated with frosting, and filled with my favorite candy. A few years ago, she announced she would not be making them anymore, and took time to have me and my kids over to learn how to make them, and then handed the tins over to me. It is my job, now, to make them, and make them I shall though I am horrible at it, and cannot get even one of those suckers to come out resembling the baked, golden deliciousness that she used to turn out.

Lastly, my Grandmother has taught me that people are more than they appear, and getting older is not to be feared. Over the last few years, I have gotten to hear stories about my Grandparents honeymoon (still having difficulties thinking of her wearing chaps on the back of a Harley, and then camping out on random farms), and other adventures she has had. Her life has been anything but safe, anything but ordinary, anything but dull. She was raised on a farm, became a nurse during WWII, met my Grandfather and married him three months later, had six children while working and living on a farm, and even now she still travels and sees things though she is well into her 80's.

My Grandmother at my cousin's wedding. She
saw the car, and just had to take a ride in the
"hot rod".

So thank you, Grandma, for always being there for everyone in the family, taking time to show my kids they are special,  keeping our family traditions alive, and being fully involved in her old age!

November Thanks Day 6 - The Kiddos

Last day of sports camp

Making kiflis with Grandma

I couldn't very well spend a bit of each day giving thanks, and not mention my kids. They are, after all, the greatest gifts God decided to bestow upon me (although, they do drive me nuts a lot of the time). Instead of focusing on all the reasons I am thankful for them, I have decided to focus on some of my favorite things about them this year, and do that with pictures since no amount of word manipulating would be able to replace the looks on their faces.

Posing in front of the tooth fairy letter

Valentine's Day

Getting little brother ready for his birthday at school

First week of school

Letter my daughter made to the tooth fairy for her brother

A super hero and his side kick

Posin' with the space dude at the Museum of Flight

Finding shells on the beach at Vashon

Easy Peasy Pizza Dough

The best part of this pizza is how fast it is to make, and how easy it is for kids to help with. Not only is it easy, but the kids love to get in the mix and create their own food. Definitely a must do for any night of silly, family fun!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self rising flour (or regular flower if that is all you have)

1 cup of plain (we use Greek) yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (if not using self rising flour)

3/4 teaspoons salt (also if not using self rising flour)

Combine ingredients, and knead the dough with extra flour. This dough will be VERY sticky and soft, so do not worry about whether or not there is too much extra flour during kneading and rolling out. After the dough has been kneaded, roll out with rolling pin (I gently rub mine with flour several times during this process) to fit desired baking sheet - we use a cookie sheet for a thin crust, or a cake pan for deep dish. Please keep in mind that if the table was not covered well with flour, that transferring the dough from the table to the sheet will be an absolute bear! Before moving the rolled out dough, spray the sheet, or lightly cover with oil (butter could work as well). Then, place desired toppings and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400 degrees!

Put it Down Already

Photo credit to www.mastertheguitar.co.uk

Last night the kids, my dad, and I went to see a movie at our local, minor league, baseball stadium (basically one step below major leagues). We got there, found where we wanted to sit, talked, and soaked in the views of the beautiful blue sky, puffy white clouds, and the setting sun. Some families were using the opportunity to play catch and Frisbee on the side of the field before, and during some, of the movie: after all, how often will any of us get to say we "played" on a field like that? Everyone was content and happy to be seeing Despicable Me 2.

Sounds pretty perfect, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Let me first say that I had a wonderful time, as did my kids, and their Grandpa. What I am about to say has to do with me opening my eyes and seeing the sad things that we are doing to our kids. As I looked around, after the movie started, there were masses of parents who were using the time to talk to each other (no biggie as the movie was loud enough we could not hear conversations), read the newspaper, play on their phones, use the camera to take pictures, eat (understandable, not knocking that one), breastfeed (I wish I had taken a pic of that one, was so proud of the mom's out there doing that!), and chasing after their kids (also something that was fine, did not block the view of the movie at all).

In almost none of this were the parents actually sitting and watching the movie WITH THEIR KIDS! Now, I understand that there are times when the last thing any human being wants to do is zone out on a cartoon after possible hours of cartoon watching, fit throwing, fighting, and normal childhood routines. I do, I really do get that. However, when you take your child to a place where there is a family event happening, it's time to tune in and be a family. The conversations, newspaper reading, mass picture taking (take one of the family at the movie, and be done), Facebook surfing, cell phone talking and leave them at home. Seriously. Otherwise, your child will grow up and remember all the awesome things they did while mom, dad, and whomever else were ignoring them.

Now, the last thing I want to say is that kids deserve every single moment of attention from their parents. They don't, they need parents who show them that the world does not revolve around the youngsters of the family, and they need parents who do check out of family life in order to revitalize themselves. Also, I am not saying that picture taking and checking Facebook are bad. Anyone who knows me knows I am the queen of the camera and try to capture all of the moments. I've started to realize, though, that some times it's best to take a few, then set the camera down and actually be part of the situation instead of its photo journalist. The same with Facebook, I am royally guilty of checking that sucker way too often, and in watching everyone I realized I need to hit the "log off" button during certain times.

It's time, people, time to remember what life was like before texting, internet on phones, instagram, and the like. It's time to remember that we are all so very busy, and that in the busyness of life our children are rapidly growing up. Carve out some time for them, even if it's sitting through a movie you'd rather not see for two hours on a gorgeous Friday evening. I guarantee you that years from now, you will not remember all of the things you could have been doing, but will remember how awesome it felt making your children know that they matter.

End of Summer Catch-Up

Back in June, I found out that I would be having a crazy school schedule. As soon as I accepted what was in front of me, I realized that I would be shorting my kids on having a great time this summer. So, we sat down and made a bucket list of all of the things they wanted to do before summers end. Though I realize I should have shared this at the beginning of summer, I forgot and am making up for it now. Side note, the items that are bolded are what we have accomplished so far.

And here it is:

1. Baskin and Robbins
2. Going to the beach
3. Family game night
4. Picnic pizza day at the beach
5. Holiday celebration
6. Getting shells at the beach
7. To see lily pads
8. To see frogs
9. Have another family movie night
10. Go to the Rainforest Cafe/Museum of Flight
11. Go to the Art Museum
12. Go to the Glass Museum
13. Go to the train station
14. Play in the sprinkler
15. Going to Uncle Doug's
16. Ice skating
17. S'mores nights
18. Swimming lessons
19. Art projects
20. Sleeping in the tent
21. Go to the park
22. Go to the water park
23. Squirt gun fight
24. No tattling for a day
25. Watching The Lego Movie
26. Watching Smurfs 2
27. Staying up late
28. Alder Lake
29. Mount Rainier
30. Put put golf

As you can see, we haven't made much progress.  That being said, we have done #29 several times this summer, and have had family come to us (#14) instead of us going to them. Also, some of them were done two weeks before school let out (we went to the beach, collected shells, and slept in a tent), I just haven't put it as official summer fun since school was still in session. I hope when my kids look back on all of this that they won't be disappointed, and will have had an awesome summer!

Know Your Story

Because school is right around the corner (whether I'd like to admit that or not), I decided it was time to discuss a very simple way to bring about classroom success. Now, I am in no way advocating that this is the only way to help your child in the classroom. Everyone is different, and there are so many valuable ways out there to help students learn (I will showcase some of those ways every few weeks) that it would be wrong to say that this is the fix all for every person out there.

A few years ago I stumbled on an article that made me really stop and ponder for a while. The article (a version of which can be read here) claimed that studies are vastly improved when children know their family history. Sound silly? It did to me, at first, but then I read on and found that what they psychologists were saying is that students who know what their families accomplished going back several generations, and failed at, have a stronger sense of self worth, stronger values, and an ability to combat stress better.

The point is to sit children down and tell them how their family came to be. What things have they overcome and still been standing, with their family, at the end? No family is perfect, no family has the perfect tale, and it's important for all of our kids to see the struggles, the heroic tales, and the mundane that all helped create them. The studies that were done by Dr's Duke and Fivush comprised of twenty questions for a scale about basic family history (including health knowledge that we should all know) and has questions such as "Do you know where your grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know where your parents met? Do you know an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family? Do you know the story of your birth?" (Feiler, 2013). A mere two months after these psychologists ran their study, 9/11 took place. At this point, the psychologists, again, studied the children who took part in this scale and came to the conclusion that those who knew their past were better able to cope with these horrific events.

How does all of this help with school? When children have a strong sense of self they are able to determine what they want to do in the future (even if that future is, say, a week from now when they will have a test) and will set out to conquer it. This can be applied to studies, and to finding a career that they want. When children are able to monitor their stress levels, and cope, they will be able to handle difficult courses in school, and will not (like many students I have seen) break down and give up on a difficult math problem, or while reading a difficult story.

Personally, I can relate to this study. I have known that my family were once Norwegian farmers and have now climbed up to produce a generation full of engineers, medical personnel, missionaries, and small business owners. Even now, as I finish up  my schooling, I am propelled further in my studies and career by not wanting to stop that cycle of growth, and wanting to honor my family by doing well. At the same time, knowing my family has also taught me that there is no shame in a simple life, so long as family and God are always kept close.

Though most of us are always running on a time crunch, Dr. Duke suggests this can be done while "parents pursue similar activities with their children. Any number of occasions work to convey this sense of history: holidays, vacations, big family get-togethers, even a ride to the mall". For us, I have tried showing my own children who they are, and where they have come from. Each week, four generations of us are together for church and lunch. Also, we have different things around the house (like an apron from my Great Grandmother) that the kids get to use, and hear about these people as they use them.

How will you share your history with your kids?


My children with their Grandparents

Great Grandma with my kids and their second cousins

Kids and their second cousins (or cousins once removed, whatever they are)

My children with their Great Grandma and Great Uncle
 

And the Word of the Day Is...

Let me say that I firmly believe in helping out when possible. Communities thrive when people pitch in and volunteer, churches become stronger, and families are saved from loads of stress when a few hours of time are given to them. This, in fact, is something that I have tried to instill in my children: Time is a gift, and is important to give others.  I feel so strongly about this that I volunteer at our church, and can be found teaching Sunday school, assisting other Sunday school teachers, helping out with the Christmas musical, help out at the annual sports camp, and babysit when needed - to me, children learn by seeing almost more than hearing and I intend that they see me practicing what I preach.

In saying all of this, I have become very aware recently that I need to teach myself, and my kids, that saying no is important as well. To be a successful busy mom means that I know how to look at everything I have selected in my life, and divide my time out to things I value, things with a high return for my family, and things I am able to rejuvenate myself from. Not only that, but I need to remember that God did not give me a cape and label me "Super-Mom", I will not wreck the world if I choose to limit my "yes"es.

Recently, I have become tired in just thinking about all I have to do every day. Deadlines loom in my mind, dreams have flooded my nights about the things that are waiting for me. Irritability is the mommy crown I wear daily (as proof, my daughter told me the other day "it's okay you're grouchy, mommy, some moms are like that when they're really busy"). On top of it all, it feels like I am getting requests daily for more pieces of myself. Pieces that would be simple to give if I had more available. As I released about all of this to two friends, I was told to just say no. How simple is that? One word with two letters, and no apologies attached. A guilt free, powerful (but small) statement to start throwing the mental stress off a cliff.

So, for any of you mom's out there that may feel like you're drowning, don't let your mouth say the opposite of your mind. As more comes to you that is not a necessity, declare, without guilt, that no you will not be taking part in whatever it is that will take precious, sanity saving, moments away from you. Repeat after me "no", and end it there.

photo credit to www.chicagonow.com

With any of you reading this that know me personally, yes this means that I am off the table for any extra anything for the next two months. Any favor or volunteer requests may be submitted to me September first, until then the answer is "no" with no apologies :)

The Season of Being Content

Photo credit to www.bloggingpro.com

2013 was a very fulfilling year for me in almost all aspects. Were there down moments? Of course, life wouldn't be complete without them, but the majority of the time was filled with growth and happiness.

I cannot say the same for this current year. Though only a few weeks in, the whole dynamic of work and home life has shifted drastically. What was harmonious no longer is, what seemed simple and second nature is now full of second guessing. Needless to say, I have NOT been a happy camper! And, I'm pretty certain, everyone knows it.

I have been internally stewing over the causes, and with all the stewing, and praying, I've been doing I am certain that I am not misplacing blame; however, I am starting to question the benefits of being in a blame filled state. You see, blame leads to irritation, which leads to anger, and then moves on to resentment. No matter how valid the initial points are/were these emotions are not how God would have us walking around on earth. Religious or not, I am assuming everyone is on the same page about not walking around with loads of negative baggage hanging around our shoulders. It's bad, it's icky, it keeps others from seeing the glories of God, it keeps self and others from seeing the positive. As I was praying before bed last night, something happened that caused me to realize that all that's really needed is contentment. I may not like how hard a new curriculum at work is, but I can be content in the fact that I have work. I may be irritated with my husband playing games and hanging out with friends, but I can be content with the life we have created with one another. I may be stressed to the max with school, but I can be content in knowing that in a short year I will be able to provide for my family twice as well as I am able to right now. And, lastly, I may be frustrated with certain friend situations, but I can be content that I have found out who will be in my inner circle and support me and my family through anything.

In other words, 2014 may not be as grand as last year, but I choose contentment for now, instead of dwelling on everything I wish I had, and wish could be.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." - Philippians 4:11-12