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The Little Things

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The Little Things…

Thankful In the Little Things

Over the past 13 ½ years, I have gone from working mom, to student, and then to stay at home mom and back to student/SAHM again.  When I look at the standard that the world sets, I realize am supposed to be able to do it all and still live a healthy life as a wife and mother.  However, I have found this to be a task that I have not successfully achieved in all of my adult life, to the degree that I desire.

When I attempt to tackle too much, I find that I am overwhelmed by the daily tasks and expectations that are set before me.  I want to be, both, a great wife and a great mother, but when working hard at achieving these two goals and then trying to juggle a full-time job, it seems that I end up dropping the ball and despising one aspect of my life.

For that very reason, I decided to give up the 9-5 for a while.  I decided to  focus on my education, which will afford me the opportunity do work a more flexible schedule while doing what I love.  In the mean time I focus on being thankful for the little things.

What little things? You ask…

  1. I am thankful for the conflicts that my husband and I have.  They remind me that I am in a healthy relationship where my spouse is willing to challenge me.  He helps to sharpen me like iron and he makes me better.  I am married.
  2. I am thankful for the mandate that I have to balance my roles as mother and wife with other roles that I have. They remind me of how important it is to me to be a mother and a wife.  These challenges show me that somethings will come up against my most important human relationships, but resilience and reevaluation are the keys to getting things back in line. I am a wife and a mother.
  3. I am thankful for the mounds of laundry that I tend to have. We have six people in our family and those mounds of laundry remind me that God has blessed us with tons of clothes and choices of what to wear. We have clothes to wear.
  4. I am thankful for the dishes in my sink. I have to take the time to wash them, either by hand or by dishwasher, but they remind me that we have all eaten and do so daily. We have food to eat.
  5. I am thankful for the toys to pick up off of the floor. They remind me that God has blessed us with an income to provide for our children’s pleasure.  They get to play with things that they enjoy. We have a steady income and material things to enjoy.
  6. I am thankful for the time that I have to manage wisely. As a stay at home mom, I have a certain amount of time that I have to manage in order to be productive, while my family is away at school and work.  This could feel overwhelming at times, but it is a blessing to have that time to decide what I would like to take care of and how I would like to do it.  I am still alive and can manage my time.
  7. I am thankful that I have to tell my kids to stop running around the house or being so loud. I grew up as an only child in my house, so I having four children actively running around and playing are things that I had to get used to.  However, their noise is a very pleasant reminder that they are healthy and adventurous.  Their noise and lively activities remind me that I have been blessed with children and I am thankful.  I have children and they are healthy.
  8. I am also thankful for the school work that I have to complete and the books that I have to read. They are reminders of the fact that I am receiving an education that will prepare me of various opportunities in life.  I have the opportunity to be educated and make the best out of life.  I have a sound mind.

I have a long list of things that I could discuss, but I think you get the jest of what I’m saying.  It is very hard to forget our blessings, especially when some of our struggles come from those very places.  We could all take a look at the things that we complain about and realize that they are simply a blessing that we must learn how to manage.  I hope that you have found this post encouraging.

Do you have various areas of your life, where you tend to complain, but after reading this post, realize that you have more to be thankful for than to complain about?  If so share them with us.

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Reflecting and Preparing

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Have you ever had a situation in life that you did not want to deal with?

Maybe you felt like you could just wait it out and time would bring a solution…

Let me be the first to say that I know that feeling.

I’ve dealt with somethings in the past few years that I, honestly, considered burying deep within my heart and a secret treasure box somewhere.

Yet, I found that the more I considered not dealing with it, the more it changed me.

Now this wasn’t a single occurrence. It was something that happened a few different times in various situations.  As it happened, I kept wondering how I was supposed to handle the problem.

What I found was that I had to deal with it. I had to take the time to allow myself to feel the emotions. Those feelings became the beginning of my process.

From there, I had to talk with someone I trusted. This was someone who I knew would not only listen, but also pray for me and encourage me along the way.  I had to begin to reflect on my life so that I could grow and change.

Reflecting

Reflecting, not simply on the occurrences of the past, but also on the situations that had transpired within me. I had to bring myself to a place where I knew how the things that were said and done affected me.

This process of reflecting was not an easy one. There were times, during reflection, where I wanted to avoid the pain of remembering what happened. For the memories seemed to harvest the feeling that caused me such great pain.

Although I did not want to go through the process, I knew that I would have such great freedom after I did.

Cast your cares on God, for he cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:7

One of the reasons why reflecting and self-reflection are so important is that you cannot cast upon God, what you do not know exists.

See, when we give our concerns, fears, anxieties, heartaches, and heartbreak to God, He will take care of them. However, when we do not know or refuse to identify the cares that are driving us crazy, we also choose to hold on to the cares. We decide that we are more powerful alone and don’t need God to solve the problem.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.  ~Psalm 55:22

If you can see this clearly, reflecting is a tool of freedom. Without it, we are unable to see primary aspects of ourselves, needed for liberty.  Without seeing those areas, we cannot submit our selves to God so that He can free us.  Our hearts have to go through the reflection process in order to begin preparing for what is next.

Preparing

After reflecting on the situation and coming to terms with the emotions, thoughts, and feelings that have been experienced, it is imperative that we begin to prepare ourselves for freedom.

Freedom is a choice.

That statement is the first one that we must accept as we prepare ourselves for liberty.  See, we can each choose to be prideful, stubborn, hard-hearted, impatient, and fearful. No one will stop us from feeling this way.

Honestly, it is our right to feel anyway that we desire.

However, if I am to move forward on my journey of healing and freedom, I must choose to be humble, tender-hearted, patient, willing, and full of courage. You have to make the same choice if you want freedom.

Freedom will also require us to forgive others.   Although it is very hard, each of these choices will unlock the door to our future and prepare us to walk in the place God calls us to.

Now I started this conversation with you by asking if you had ever found yourself in a situation that you didn’t want to deal with. My question for you now is, do you think you are a little better equipped to deal with it, after reading this?

I hope your answer is yes.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it helpful.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Please share them with me in the comments section.

2014 Goal (Reflection)

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Tonight, as I bring my 2014 year to a close, I am reflecting on my goals.

2014 Goal Reflection

At the beginning of this year, I sat down and wrote out some goals.  There were some that I accomplished that were personal and…well, some that I didn’t.  I also made a list of goals that I shared, on this post.  These were things that I wanted to do for the 2014 year.

I must admit, there were a lot of goals that I had that I didn’t accomplish.  Still, this has helped me to see what’s important to me.  I am going to continue with this because I believe it is important for me to see the goals that I have and to hold myself accountable for achieving my goals or not.

2014 was a year of growth for me.  There were things that I had stopped doing that I began to implement again toward the end, like using my planner regularly.  There were also things that I had to stop doing because they didn’t fit into my life.

I don’t know about you, but that’s how life is.  You have to learn what works for you and what doesn’t.  Overall, I am proud of myself for learning how to overcome certain situations in my life.  I am excited about my new adventures and I can’t wait to see what the end of 2015 will being.

I hope you are able to reflect on this past year and smile with excitement as you see the great opportunities that 2015 will bring.

Be safe and God bless…

A Moment In Time

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As I sit here this morning listening to the sound if the rain outside, breastfeeding my baby, I am filled with a peace and joy that is hard to explain.

Have you ever had a moment like that? A moment where things are still and quiet, where you are able to reflect on the things inside you and around you. A moment where you can hear The Lord tell you that He loves you?

As a mom, these moments don’t happen all of the time. I have to create moments like this. What do I mean?

Well, it’s 6:45am. That’s right! I’m up before my kids…and I’m doing nothing.

We had our prayer call this morning and I was encouraged to walk in love. Now I am preparing myself mentally for my day.

As mothers we are needed dearly by our children. Yet we can’t be what they need us to be, if we aren’t ok. We have to find out what it takes for us to be well, at peace within ourselves and to have joy.

That may mean having quiet time during the day, a bit just for mom, but for the kids too. I am finding that this idea of quiet time is new for many moms. Outside of nap time, there is no quiet, personal, alone time for both the children and the mom. Yet, this is how I have learned to stay healthy.

Quiet time is good for both mom or dad and the children.

We have to decide when and how to do it.

This is how I am doing it today. Sitting, listening to the rain…experiencing the peace if God within me.

I hope that you find time to have a quiet moment today.