It's 7am, and thanks to my personal little alarm clock, also known as "Max", I've already been up for at least 1.5 hours. I can't say that I mind too much, but I am hoping I get a little nap later today.
We've been having a wonderful time with the Murrill family here in Kansas City. Stephanie and I brought the littlest ones, Max and Monroe, with us on Monday. Mike, Mark and Mason drove out on Tuesday evening. We celebrated Stephanie's 30th Birthday with a surprise dinner with friends at California Pizza Kitchen and some shopping and fun to follow. There were two "celebrity" sightings during the celebration, we saw Sasha Kahn of the 2008 Champion KU Jayhawks, and Michael Tait, of the Newsboys and formerly of D.C. Talk. The birthday girl even got her picture with Mr. Tait!
This morning we'll head to church and we're looking forward to seeing old friends. There's just something about Sabbath. I'm so glad it's here. I'm so glad to have the rest and time-out from everyday life!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Shabbat Shalom!
Happy Sabbath, Dear Friends! I hope you are enjoying rest and taking time for the important things in life. I am already getting into the Thanksgiving spirit, I suppose, because I've been thinking about things I'm thankful for. Lately, I have been overwhelmingly thankful for my family, and today I'm going to tell you why.
My littlest boy, Max, is now a big one year-old and he has been dubbed by some, to be a "mini-me". People say his eyes are just like mine and that he resembles me very much. I'm so thankful for him, for how he has opened my heart up even more to learn how to love. He makes me feel needed, wanted, and very important. He also makes me feel like I'm doing a good job when he gives me his big toothy grin!
My oldest son, Mason, is a very busy 2 1/2 year-old who is looking more like his Daddy everyday, except for the little guy's amazing head of red hair. I'm so thankful for Mason because he taught me how to be a mother and how to love like one. Every time I hear his hearty little laugh I can't help but smile. He is forgiving and loves me unconditionally.
My husband, Mike, has been in my life for 9 1/2 years, with 7 1/2 as my husband. That's long enough for him to realize that I am terribly flawed. He's been the receiver of my selfishness, my thoughtless remarks, my controlling habits, and the many negative effects of my insecurities. Somehow he has loved me in spite of these things. He is still the only person I ever want to spend my life with, my best friend, the only one who really "gets" me, and the one I still believe God planned for me. He is an incredible man of God whom I aspire to be more like in many ways.
This thanksgiving, I'm more thankful than ever for the amazing blessing of my immediate and extended families.
So...I weighed in yesterday morning at 165.0 lbs. I would like it to be much less. But, it's not. Enough said.
I wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Fasting
My media fast seemed to be so effective, that it even kept me away from my blog for quite a while! Renee and I had quite an experience cutting media out of our lives for those two weeks. We went through a range of emotions and phases including excitement, denial, frustration, anger, acceptance, and finally happiness.
We learned that movies, TV, magazines, books, the internet (yes, even facebook), and other media sources are not necessary to living a happy life and more often that not, (at least for us) were more detrimental. We realized we needed to learn to create better boundaries if we choose to partake in anything media-related or it can easily overwhelm and overtake our minds, taking our focus away from both our families and from God, which are much more important to us than anything else.
Personally, I learned that I was living without true peace as I had not been taking any time for personal reflection or worship. After my fast, I feel much more engaged in the lives of my boys and also with my marriage. I haven't watched any TV (except a little sports with Mike), but I have watched one movie, read a few magazines, and have been online some, however it's been significantly less than my former ways. I feel happier, more at peace, and generally less stressed.
I think two weeks was a crucial timeframe for this experiment. One week would not have been long enough to change our habits. After one week was over, we were annoyed and agitated as we felt the loss of our "media habits", but hadn't filled the hole with anything else. It was the second week where the growth occurred. In fact, I chose to fast from a couple of other things just to make sure that they too weren't more important in my life than they should be.
Now that it's over, I wish I could say I read my Bible everyday and spend lots of time in worship, but that wouldn't be true. What I can say is, that I'm doing better with it now that I've created some space in my life for time with God to exist, but changing your lifestyle or habits isn't easy and it isn't immediate. I know I have work ahead of me to put my relationship with God where it needs to be, but He is faithful and will guide me each step of the way.
We learned that movies, TV, magazines, books, the internet (yes, even facebook), and other media sources are not necessary to living a happy life and more often that not, (at least for us) were more detrimental. We realized we needed to learn to create better boundaries if we choose to partake in anything media-related or it can easily overwhelm and overtake our minds, taking our focus away from both our families and from God, which are much more important to us than anything else.
Personally, I learned that I was living without true peace as I had not been taking any time for personal reflection or worship. After my fast, I feel much more engaged in the lives of my boys and also with my marriage. I haven't watched any TV (except a little sports with Mike), but I have watched one movie, read a few magazines, and have been online some, however it's been significantly less than my former ways. I feel happier, more at peace, and generally less stressed.
I think two weeks was a crucial timeframe for this experiment. One week would not have been long enough to change our habits. After one week was over, we were annoyed and agitated as we felt the loss of our "media habits", but hadn't filled the hole with anything else. It was the second week where the growth occurred. In fact, I chose to fast from a couple of other things just to make sure that they too weren't more important in my life than they should be.
Now that it's over, I wish I could say I read my Bible everyday and spend lots of time in worship, but that wouldn't be true. What I can say is, that I'm doing better with it now that I've created some space in my life for time with God to exist, but changing your lifestyle or habits isn't easy and it isn't immediate. I know I have work ahead of me to put my relationship with God where it needs to be, but He is faithful and will guide me each step of the way.
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