Growing in Faith

One section in my notebook is entitled "Faith and Service."  This is an area I want to focus a lot of attention on this year.  It is my hope to grow in my faith, have a more Christ-centered household, and to find ways to serve through my church and other Christian ministries.

For most of my life I have gone to church regularly.  From the time I was in elementary school I sang in the choir and in middle school I became my church's organist.  I continued to participate in the music ministry at my church until I graduated high school.  Unfortunately, when I got to college I stopped attending church regularly despite attending a Catholic university.  I would attend my hometown church some weekends and sing for holidays and special occasions, but never on a regular basis.

After college, I continued to sporadically attend mass, but did not find my way back to worshipping regularly until we bought our first house and settled in.  We were both raised in Catholic homes and brought up going to church regularly, so since having children we have made an effort to be at church most Sundays.  We have had periods of time where it has been very difficult and we've stayed home, but I would consider us regulars at Sunday mass.

Attending mass is important, but truly embracing our faith and being faithful servants is even more so.  I'm not going to lie, some Sundays I feel like I've gained little from being at church.  The kids don't always cooperate and I have difficulty focusing on the readings when I'm helping someone every few minutes.  To grow more in my faith, I need to spend time outside of mass reading and following His word.

We were married by my childhood priest.  Either in conversation or in the card written to us that day, I distinctly remember him encouraging us to find a ministry at our church and be an active member. He encouraged us to be leaders and serve.  Though he is gone now and those words were shared many years ago, I have always held them close to my heart.  With young children it can be hard to be a leader and serve others, but just because it is hard does not mean we shouldn't do it.

This year I would like to find my niche in my church.  Whether it be music ministry or finally accepting the invitation to be a sponsor couple for others preparing to marry or both, I need to set my fear and reservations aside and step up to the plate.  It is time to be leaders in our church and model for our children what it means to be a good and faithful servant.  

    

Stop and Focus

The end of January is right around the corner.  It is hard to believe we are nearly through the first month of 2015.  Time is precious.  We cannot get it back, it comes with no guarantee, and, though not scientifically proven, it sure seems to move faster as we age.  It is simple truth that our years, days, and hours are limited.  We can choose to spend them wishing for something better, you know the grass is always greener theory, or we can choose to be grateful and accepting of our life as it is.

Why is it so difficult to choose the latter?  Perhaps because we live in a time where immediate gratification is desired and there are always the Jones' to keep up with.  Perhaps because we move through life racing ninety miles an hour giving little thought or attention to all of the beautiful moments we miss speeding by.  Why do we want to race to the finish line when the finish line means our time in this life is through?

How can we turn our focus away from what is not to what is?  By slowing down.  By being intentional with the use of our time.  To limit our commitments to those which leave us feeling fulfilled rather than those that weigh us down.  By choosing to surround ourselves with people who bring us joy and happiness.  Those who are not afraid to encourage us to stay focused on what is important in life.  By counting our blessings through the beauty and mess which we may find in our lives each day.  By being a faithful servant.

Today, while cleaning through a basket, I found a gratitude journal we started last year.  Ashamedly, we did not do a great job of focusing on and recording our blessings.  On the bright side, there are plenty of pages to fill up this year.  We will keep this near our dinner table and use it as a tool to guide our dinner conversation and recount and record our blessings from the day.  It will be a wonderful way to teach our children to be gracious and thankful for what they have and the positive experiences in life rather than focusing on the have nots and the negative.

I hope our family fills this journal in 2015 with not only the big blessings, but those tiny blessings we might miss if we're too focused on tomorrow and racing through life.  When the year comes to an end, what a blessing it will be to look back and recount all which we had to be thankful for in 2015.          

The Best Yes

Today I am feeling incredibly overwhelmed.  Do you ever have those days where you just don't know where to start, because everyone and everything seem to need your attention?  This has been brewing in my system for the better part of a week and the peak is upon me.  Finding a way to positively handle the situation is going to be the most challenging, yet most important moment in this particular life hiccup.

You see, when someone is this house falls ill, it seems to slowly find it's way in the other kids' systems.  I'm not quite sure what we're dealing with here, perhaps a hodgepodge of germs, but thus far strep throat has been diagnosed.  Couple this with a traveling husband, outside commitments, and keeping everything afloat at home, my brain and body are on overload.  It is time to figure out what can be let go for now.

I have to carefully consider my options and find my best yes.  I'll be honest, the messiness of my house at times drives me insane.  It's the clutter, not the actual cleanliness, I just can't keep up with.  I know I have to declutter and organize this place, but right now it just cannot be done.  Keeping up with the laundry, the bathrooms and kitchen cleaned, and the carpet vacuumed is going to have to be good enough for right now.  The decluttering will have to wait (cringing as I type this!).

Finding a balance with my outside commitments is also going to have to be carefully analyzed.  I am involved in many things, but cannot give my full attention and effort to them all.  Creating a priority list of what must be done versus what I would like to accomplish may help to reduce some of my stress.  Ensuring I have time for fun with my family, husband, and friends needs to make the priority list.  Some of the meetings may need to be put off for now.

It's important for us to acknowledge we may have too much on our plate at any given time.  From my experience, we are not our best selves when feeling overwhelmed and stressed.  In time we will get to those items on the "can wait" list and more than likely, nothing or no one will be negatively impacted in the meantime.  It is hard to say no and delay things sometimes, but doing so without feeling guilty is okay.

There are times when life is unpredictable and we just don't have the time to get to it all.  For someone who is a doer this can be challenging, but I know it is in the best interest of my family and myself to just let some things go for the time being.  My health, sanity, and family will thank me later.

If you struggle with saying no, I highly recommend reading The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst.  It is a helpful and easy read.

A Wake-Up Call

Yesterday I completed the registration to view my online records through our health care provider. Once complete, I was able to log in and see my stats from each doctor's visit through in this network of providers.  It is a very convenient system and nice to have everything in one place.  However, there was one little statistic screaming at me:  my weight.

The records went back to the summer of 2012 when we first moved to the area.  I scrolled through everything in the system and looked at the number from the scale in August 2012 and wanted to just kick myself right there.  Granted this was before baby #4, in fact that particular visit was confirming my pregnancy, but still.  What the heck?!

It was a time when I was probably in the best shape of my adult life, perhaps my entire life.  Prior to moving to Iowa, I belonged to a wonderful health club with tough classes and great equipment.  I worked out five days a week for many months and in that time weighed close to what I did in high school.  I felt amazing and energized and vowed to continue this regimen once we moved.

The gym we joined just wasn't the same.  I tried for a long time to get comfortable and find the classes I needed to push myself and never did.  I got pregnant with #4 and really threw in the towel. After she was born, however, I made the commitment to complete the Couch to 5K program.  I ran all summer, lost a lot of weight, felt strong again, and completed my 5K goal.  That was the last time I had a consistent workout routine and boy, can my body tell.

So, now what?  It is time to get back into shape again.  Seeing those numbers climb through the visits in that system really irritated me.  The worst has been over the past year.  I am over it and ready to watch those numbers creep back down.

My big goal this week was to complete a yoga DVD I have had great success with 3 times.  Last night was the first and today I am sore, but plan to find another activity to get the heart rate up and get my mind and body into a routine.  Tomorrow I'll complete the DVD again and fit in one more day to meet my goal.  It is so hard to do this with no gym membership, four kids at home, and an inconsistent sleep schedule, but I am going to find a way.  Setting small, attainable goals helps.

The end goal?  Well, I have plenty.  To run three races this summer:  a 5K, 5 mile, and a 7 mile.  To fit into the cute clothes in my closet (new with tags) and to lose at least 13 pounds.  Oh, yeah, and be able to wear a bikini for our ten year anniversary trip wherever that may be!

My success will be dependent on my word for 2015:  discipline.  Somehow, some way, I am going to have to be disciplined and find a DVD or workout regimen I can do indoors until the weather warms up and I can hit the pavement.  I also need to be held accountable and encouraged.  My husband and I both have lofty fitness goals for this year, so I am hoping we can do that for each other.

I'm sure there are others of you out there trying to achieve similar goals.  It's not just about the weight, but of feeling strong, healthy, and energized as well.  It is about setting a goal and reaching it. I know the road may be long, but it will be well worth it.

Who's ready?!

Finding Joy in Serving Others

This morning I read a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Kristen Welch.  Her writing speaks so clearly to me and I look forward to each new post she puts out.  She is truly an inspiration and I love how her trip to Africa changed her.  She came home wrecked, but instead of burying the heartache and ignoring the pull inside of her to do something she chose to act.  I can relate to her, because I, too, have felt this pull.

I have this soft spot in my heart for children, especially those coming from low-income homes. When I taught, I had the privilege of teaching students on both ends of the spectrum.  While I cared deeply for all of my students, the years I taught in low-income schools had the most impact on my life.  I felt extremely connected to these children and knew the effort I put into teaching and nurturing them made a difference.

My experiences in the classroom have certainly played a significant role in the creation of the programs we provide through From Cover to Cover.  My heart is full when I meet these children and share the gift of reading with them.  I believe, for now, this is my calling.  While it brings much joy to my life, it is not always sunshine and roses.

There are times when it becomes overwhelming.  We have been blessed with many supporters and financial gifts, but if we want to achieve our goals and reach even more children in our community we have a lot of work to be done.  A huge chunk of this work is finding more supporters and naturally, more money.

There are days when I feel defeated and discouraged, but then I read something inspirational and feel invigorated again.  Determination and perseverance eventually prevail, but some days it is just.so.hard.  It is so hard to be patient when I want everything to fall into place now!

One of the biggest goals I have for 2015 pertains to From Cover to Cover.  We are exploring becoming our own 501(c)3 in order to be eligible for many more funding opportunities, especially at the local level.  This is new terrain for us both and will be a road filled with bumps along the way I'm sure, but it is our hope to have this finalized by the beginning of the next school year.  Once it is done, we will be expanding the geographic area we serve.

This goal is lofty and has the ability to have a tremendous impact in my community.  I pray it all works out and I, along with my friend and co-founder, have the courage, patience, and knowledge to see it through.  This is an exciting, yet frightening, time and I hope by the time The Year to Get Sh*t Done is complete, I can check this goal off as completed.

Until then, I will continue to serve these awesome kids and teach my own children about the gift of helping others.  No matter the outcome, this has been an amazing journey and I know it will continue to bring joy and purpose to my life.

 

 

  

    

Waiting Until the Last Minute

For this not-so-little project I've embarked on, I have devoted an entire notebook to writing down my thoughts, ideas, and goals.  Every week or so I take the time to check in and look through the pages I've written on.  I am a self-proclaimed Type A person, so all of my thoughts are organized into their respective categories.  Each week I have taken a few of these goals and put them on my weekly to-do list.  At the end of the week, I am tracking my progress.  So far, so good.

Last week we tackled the unpleasant task of cleaning out the refrigerator and embarked on our journey to become debt-free and live on a budget.  Bet you can guess which task I saved for the last-minute:  yep, the refrigerator.  Not my favorite activity, but my husband pitched in and we were done in no time!

I've set my weeks running from Sunday to Saturday.  Within that time frame I will achieve all I set out to do that week.  There really are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  If I'm going to get sh*t done, I need to follow through with my goals.  Given the unexpected now four-day long baby illness, I'm behind but I know I can finish.

Tonight we're going to tackle the biggest and most important project on my list this week:  my daughter's fleece tie blanket.  The material has been sitting in the closet for a year, she's asked me numerous times to make it, and darn it, I'm going to make it (with a little help from my husband I hope!).  Tomorrow morning when my daughter wakes up I'm going to surprise her with that blanket.
I can see the joyous look on her face already!

If you're struggling to meet your goals, set which days your week will run from and create a realistic list of goals you can achieve in that time frame.  Don't let anything get in the way of meeting those goals.  Lighten the load and let the guilt, regret, and stress go.  We're going to have an amazingly awesome year of meeting our goals, no matter how big or small!

Unpredictability

Y'all it is hard to get it done when your baby has been sick for days on end and sleep has been hard to come by.  I'm giving myself some grace this week as it has taken every last ounce of my energy to care for her all day and all night.  I am praying this doesn't spread to one of the other three.  If it does, we'll be out of commission until February!

This unpredictability is just the norm when you're a parent.  I have found things can drastically change from one hour to the next.  Jeez, I suppose this could be reduced to minute by minute.  It can make life a little more challenging, but this too shall pass. There are times I sadly think of the days that will come several years from now when I will miss the chaos and craziness of having my children at home.  When we're in the thick of it, though, it is hard to imagine that day will ever come.

The important lesson in all of this, though, is to not let the bumps in the road completely derail the journey.  No, I have not made a dent in what I wanted to accomplish this week, but it's okay.  There is always tomorrow.  This week my baby needs her mommy and when there's a rare quiet moment I need rest.

While no one wants their children to feel miserable, there have been treasured moments to be found. It has been ages since I've held my sleeping baby and the snuggles have been aplenty. In no time at all these days will be gone.  I have soaked up every last one of them this week. Sometimes there is beauty in the mess if we open our eyes to find it.