I am reading a book called Love Does by Bob Goff. It is a fun read. He talks about the adventures from his life from the idea that love actually makes things happen. It is making me think more and more about what love actually doing things would look like in my life. Sometimes love looks like playing a matching game with my fabulous son for the tenth time that day because quality time is a major love language for him or singing him a song at night when I just want me time. It means playing kitchen or puzzles with my baby princess. It means helping a friend with her kiddos or listening to her talk while having coffee.
But sometimes it can mean unexpected things. I want to leave room in my life for the times that love means doing something that I wasn't planning on doing, for a stanger, my friend, my kids, or my husband. Things I might not want to do, but will be fun and meaningful in the long run. I want to be able to show love to people. I recommend reading Love Does. I am not done with it, but so far it is awesome. On that note I am going to watch the first Lord of the Rings movie with my honey (which is for sure showing love because I have already seen it a couple of times and it is CRAZY long, but he wants to watch it again). Thanks for reading. :-)
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Easy Road
Ok, I admit it, sometimes I like the easy road. I want to be able to be fit, but do I really WANT to do the work I have to do to get there. Theoretically, yes, but practically, my abs and muscles yell at me when I work them. I want to have a continuously growing relationship with God, but other things want to crowd in on my time. I want to do more art projects with my kiddos, but it's messy and takes lots of time and patience (we will ignore the fact that some would say it also takes skill, which I may be lacking, but can make up for in enthusiasm). I want to continue to grow more in love with my husband, but it takes time and effort. I want the end result of all of these things- a fit bod, a rockin' and growing relationship with God, great memories with my kids and the cool stuff we made, a marriage that continues to get more and more fabulous.
But, sometimes the work that it takes, the every day little choices, are not as easy as I think they should be. I know that choices are good and important and I WANT what they will bring. I have to remember that it is worth it to keep growing my life, even when it seems easier to go on auto pilot. I know that I feel better when I make the decisions that lead to life and growth instead of stagnation. I just need to remind myself of that when I don't want to do the little bit of stretching that I need to do to get to the next level. But staying the same isn't good and I know that. So really, it's in the moment that I want the easy road, but in the long run- I want the crazy adventurous road full of memories. I want a road with a view, and to get there, sometimes you have to climb. :-) Thanks for reading. :-)
But, sometimes the work that it takes, the every day little choices, are not as easy as I think they should be. I know that choices are good and important and I WANT what they will bring. I have to remember that it is worth it to keep growing my life, even when it seems easier to go on auto pilot. I know that I feel better when I make the decisions that lead to life and growth instead of stagnation. I just need to remind myself of that when I don't want to do the little bit of stretching that I need to do to get to the next level. But staying the same isn't good and I know that. So really, it's in the moment that I want the easy road, but in the long run- I want the crazy adventurous road full of memories. I want a road with a view, and to get there, sometimes you have to climb. :-) Thanks for reading. :-)
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Do It Now
There are lots of times that the amount of time I spend thinking about doing something and figuring out how to not have to do it right then is greater than the amount of time the action actually takes. I build it up to be a huge deal but it's not. Some examples- unloading the dishwasher. Amount of time I feel like it takes- 15 minutes. Amount of time it actually takes-5 minutes (that is without "help" from my baby girl, but you get the idea). Folding a single load of laundry and putting it away. Amount of time I think it takes- 30 minutes. Amount of time it actually takes 5-15 minutes depending on the type of laundry. The problem starts when I think it is going to take a really long time, so I don't want to do it, like folding and putting away the laundry. But then I end up with three or four or eight loads of laundry to fold. And that does take a while. But if I would just do it when the dryer beeps-it really isn't bad.
I didn't realize that those daily activities didn't take as long as I thought until I found FlyLady a few years ago. She talks a lot about setting a timer for 15 minutes and doing a task. Then tell yourself you will take a break. I started doing that with the dishes and I would finish putting the dishes away and still have 7-11 minutes left on the timer. I was shocked. I have to remind myself often that these things don't take that long. When I am thinking about it I need to "Do it now" instead of just thinking about it and dreading it. Try it. Set your timer for the things that you are dreading doing and see how much you can actually get done in 15 minutes. It really is surprising. Thanks for reading. :-)
I didn't realize that those daily activities didn't take as long as I thought until I found FlyLady a few years ago. She talks a lot about setting a timer for 15 minutes and doing a task. Then tell yourself you will take a break. I started doing that with the dishes and I would finish putting the dishes away and still have 7-11 minutes left on the timer. I was shocked. I have to remind myself often that these things don't take that long. When I am thinking about it I need to "Do it now" instead of just thinking about it and dreading it. Try it. Set your timer for the things that you are dreading doing and see how much you can actually get done in 15 minutes. It really is surprising. Thanks for reading. :-)
Friday, January 4, 2013
Friends
I love my friends. I love that I have friends that we can talk about anything that we want. I can let down my guard completely. I don't have to "be" someone else. I don't have to say just the right thing. I can be me. I have been thinking about how to write a post to describe the awesome of my friends. I don't really think I can. You know who you are, my fabulous friends, so thank you so much for letting me really be who I am. Thank you to all of those people who have let me grow and learn and have helped me see the things that God has for me. I love you!
I know there are people who have a hard time making close friends, if that is the case for you. Please find someone who you think you have one thing, just one thing in common with and start to get to know them more. It could be the stage of life you are in, it could be your faith, it could be your hobby, it could be your work. Look for someone that you think, "I could probably manage a 5 minute conversation with them." Then go have that conversation. The other person could be feeling the same way you are- in need of a friend and you will both be glad you took the chance. It might be weird at first, but that's ok. It is worth it. Your conversation starter most likely will not be weirder than any I have used. A couple of examples, "If you could be any kind of fruit, what would you be and why?" and "I think we should be friends. Here's my phone number." Yes, I actually said both of those to people that I did not know. But they both worked out really well for me. :-) So, even things that seem a little crazy may make you wonderful friends! Go and try it. Thanks for reading. :-)
I know there are people who have a hard time making close friends, if that is the case for you. Please find someone who you think you have one thing, just one thing in common with and start to get to know them more. It could be the stage of life you are in, it could be your faith, it could be your hobby, it could be your work. Look for someone that you think, "I could probably manage a 5 minute conversation with them." Then go have that conversation. The other person could be feeling the same way you are- in need of a friend and you will both be glad you took the chance. It might be weird at first, but that's ok. It is worth it. Your conversation starter most likely will not be weirder than any I have used. A couple of examples, "If you could be any kind of fruit, what would you be and why?" and "I think we should be friends. Here's my phone number." Yes, I actually said both of those to people that I did not know. But they both worked out really well for me. :-) So, even things that seem a little crazy may make you wonderful friends! Go and try it. Thanks for reading. :-)
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Levels
My son LOVES to make "levels." This word and idea comes from playing video games and watching his Daddy play video games and the two of them playing together. So now when he is playing in his room or the living room, he makes levels, a lot. Every day we have at least one group of levels. There is not just one level. You have to beat the first level to get to the second, and so on. This could go on forever. When I am playing a level with him, at some point I have to tell him, there are no more levels after this one or that the boss (the biggest bad guy) needs to be next.
I love watching him play, but what is awesome is to watch him build them or look at them after he has built it, but before he plays it. After he plays it, the pieces have usually "blown up," so you don't get to see the intricate detail he has thought through. He builds these levels almost anytime he has friends over, but there are two friends with whom level building goes to an EPIC level. We had a play date with one of those friends this afternoon. My son and his friend can be in his room for hours, with no arguing, just building and playing levels. The reactions of moms when seeing my son's room after level building and/or playing has happen is usually, "Oh my!! It is such a mess, we can help clean it up." Or, "Oh my gosh! It looks like a bomb went off!" I on the other hand, am used to the look, so I am not as worried. I tell them that it is not a problem and my son will want to finish the level anyway, so just leave it. :-)
Today was a level of epic proportion once again. But the boys weren't able to finish playing out the whole level. They were planning the next one as his friend was walking out the door. (FYI, next time, it's an ice level.) My son didn't even finish it before bath time. We were playing other things this afternoon, so he didn't get to it. Tonight, I decided I would clean it up for him while he was in the bath. As I was cleaning it up, I was able to look at all the planning they had put into it. The bad guy teddy bears (these are actually meant to be a learning pattern aid, but my son loves that the 100 count bucket of bears never seems to end) were placed in just the right places. His Skylanders were ready for battle. The Star Wars guys were everywhere ready to take on both the Sith (bad guys from Star Wars) and the teddy bears. My Glo-Friends from when I was a kid were ready to take part too. Books were platforms, and blocks are bosses. Next time going to take pictures. I didn't think about it until I had taken most of it down. But the whole time I was appreciating the intricacy of it.
A fabulous part of taking it apart was that I know some of the secrets to his toys. Other people might not know to look inside the Millennium Falcon (a Star Wars ship, we like Star Wars, ok? ;-) ) or the AT-AT (another Star Wars vehicle). But by not knowing those secrets, others would had missed the little Han in Carbonite and Star Wars Angry Bird Han in Carbonite (I know, we are nerds, I am ok with that) that was hidden in a secret compartment in the Millennium Falcon. (This is even more awesome because it is Han's ship and the boys had Chewbacca driving the ship, which totally goes with the movies. It was a super cute nerd moment.)
It made me think that sometimes what we think we are looking at-a mess, a disaster- isn't really what we are seeing at all. But we don't always SEE, we look, but don't see. I want to see. I want to look at all of the details of things and understand. Not just levels, but other situations that I am looking in on. I want to get down and see why it is the way it is. I love my son and the things he teaches me. Thanks for reading. :-)
I love watching him play, but what is awesome is to watch him build them or look at them after he has built it, but before he plays it. After he plays it, the pieces have usually "blown up," so you don't get to see the intricate detail he has thought through. He builds these levels almost anytime he has friends over, but there are two friends with whom level building goes to an EPIC level. We had a play date with one of those friends this afternoon. My son and his friend can be in his room for hours, with no arguing, just building and playing levels. The reactions of moms when seeing my son's room after level building and/or playing has happen is usually, "Oh my!! It is such a mess, we can help clean it up." Or, "Oh my gosh! It looks like a bomb went off!" I on the other hand, am used to the look, so I am not as worried. I tell them that it is not a problem and my son will want to finish the level anyway, so just leave it. :-)
Today was a level of epic proportion once again. But the boys weren't able to finish playing out the whole level. They were planning the next one as his friend was walking out the door. (FYI, next time, it's an ice level.) My son didn't even finish it before bath time. We were playing other things this afternoon, so he didn't get to it. Tonight, I decided I would clean it up for him while he was in the bath. As I was cleaning it up, I was able to look at all the planning they had put into it. The bad guy teddy bears (these are actually meant to be a learning pattern aid, but my son loves that the 100 count bucket of bears never seems to end) were placed in just the right places. His Skylanders were ready for battle. The Star Wars guys were everywhere ready to take on both the Sith (bad guys from Star Wars) and the teddy bears. My Glo-Friends from when I was a kid were ready to take part too. Books were platforms, and blocks are bosses. Next time going to take pictures. I didn't think about it until I had taken most of it down. But the whole time I was appreciating the intricacy of it.
A fabulous part of taking it apart was that I know some of the secrets to his toys. Other people might not know to look inside the Millennium Falcon (a Star Wars ship, we like Star Wars, ok? ;-) ) or the AT-AT (another Star Wars vehicle). But by not knowing those secrets, others would had missed the little Han in Carbonite and Star Wars Angry Bird Han in Carbonite (I know, we are nerds, I am ok with that) that was hidden in a secret compartment in the Millennium Falcon. (This is even more awesome because it is Han's ship and the boys had Chewbacca driving the ship, which totally goes with the movies. It was a super cute nerd moment.)
It made me think that sometimes what we think we are looking at-a mess, a disaster- isn't really what we are seeing at all. But we don't always SEE, we look, but don't see. I want to see. I want to look at all of the details of things and understand. Not just levels, but other situations that I am looking in on. I want to get down and see why it is the way it is. I love my son and the things he teaches me. Thanks for reading. :-)
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Can't or Don't Want to?
So my running buddy and I were at the gym today. We did a ton of exercises using the weight machines. About an hours worth. We had wanted to run first, but all of the treadmills were taken (we had been afraid of that). So we decided to do the machines first. Great plan except for the fact that after the circuit training, our legs didn't want to run at all. So, we decided to just run a mile. I really wanted to try to push it, since we were only doing a mile. As I started to run and ramp it up more and more, what I really wanted to do was turn off the machine and sit at the end of it. But I had this mental struggle going on. I knew that I COULD do it, if I just kept going, but I really didn't want to.
There are times when I can't actually do something. Mile five into an eight mile training run a few months ago, my knee decided to not work while running. For the next week, I couldn't run. I hated it. I wanted to run, but actually couldn't. Today, I wanted to do anything but run, but I could. So I pushed it. It was hard. Which seems kinda funny since I just ran 13.1 miles in a row five weeks ago. But today, that mile was a mental struggle, a challenge, and I won.
I know there are other things in life that make us ask, "CAN I do it and just don't want to or am I actually UNABLE to do it?" Today, running brought that to my mind so clearly. For more than half of a mile, I told myself, "You can do it, you just don't want to. Keep running." There are times in life when we need to beat our mind into submission. When we don't stop even when that's all we can think about. When I am running, at those moments that I want to quit, I usually count my steps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. One, two..... At the half marathon I had miles off and on of that. Honestly, more on than off. :-) Then, there are other times that we need to listen to our body and mind and take a break. I want to get better at learning the difference. Thanks for reading. :-)
There are times when I can't actually do something. Mile five into an eight mile training run a few months ago, my knee decided to not work while running. For the next week, I couldn't run. I hated it. I wanted to run, but actually couldn't. Today, I wanted to do anything but run, but I could. So I pushed it. It was hard. Which seems kinda funny since I just ran 13.1 miles in a row five weeks ago. But today, that mile was a mental struggle, a challenge, and I won.
I know there are other things in life that make us ask, "CAN I do it and just don't want to or am I actually UNABLE to do it?" Today, running brought that to my mind so clearly. For more than half of a mile, I told myself, "You can do it, you just don't want to. Keep running." There are times in life when we need to beat our mind into submission. When we don't stop even when that's all we can think about. When I am running, at those moments that I want to quit, I usually count my steps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. One, two..... At the half marathon I had miles off and on of that. Honestly, more on than off. :-) Then, there are other times that we need to listen to our body and mind and take a break. I want to get better at learning the difference. Thanks for reading. :-)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Happy New Year!
Today was great. It was a stay in my pajamas until after 11 kind of day. But, I actually got a lot done this morning in my PJ's. I don't really get those that often (and if I do, many times I don't like to be in my pajamas that long), but it was nice today. It is the last day that my husband has off of work and my son has off of preschool, so the family just stayed around the house. Tomorrow things go back to "normal." Today I got the kitchen really clean, did a bunch of laundry, and played a ton with the family. :-) We all went on an adventure to take out the trash and get the mail. It was a great family day! I did a good job of doing my goals for this year so far. One day down, 364 to go!! Yeah! I hope that everyone gets to have a PJ day every now and then. When you do, enjoy it with the family. Thanks for reading. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)