unplugged

I'm going 'unplugged' for a week.  No internet, besides checking my email periodically, and no phone, except for phone calls.  

My daughter in yellow pretty much sums up how I feel about it.  

Adios!

out of the mouth of babes

Every Monday night, our family has Family Night... or Family Home Evening.  Sometimes Family Fight even works.  We reserve the night for our family to spend time together, pray, have a spiritual thought or lesson, have an activity (like 'duck duck goose' or Simon says, etc), and a special treat (thankfully a special treat for our kids can even be a handful of mini marshmallows or chocolate chips).

This last Monday we had a discussion on safety.  We were talking about what our family plan is in case there is a fire in our home.  Naturally, the kids started in on the "what if..." game.  Some were legitimate, some were silly.  We came to the conclusion that there could be a million 'what if's and that we'll just do the best we can if it ever happens.

And then my 7 year-old says in a giggly serious kind of way, "What if Mom is grumpy when we wake her up to tell her there's a fire?"...... (looking at me cautiously and still giggling)...."Because sometimes you are really grumpy when we wake you up."  We were all laughing..... because it's TRUE.  Okay, not always true... I can be really patient and kind and compassionate to my kids, but... apparently... that must be the exception.

It was funny, yes, and I still think it's funny, but it definitely made me realize that I need to do better.  I actually have been doing better, but I've still got a long way to go.  I don't want them to remember me forever as Ms. Grumpy Pants in the morning.  I want to help their morning be bright and cheerful.  When I'm up before them, I have time to fully wake up and feel ready to go... and I'm happy... most of the time.  ;)

My mom always tells me how grouchy I was when I was a little 3 year old.  Here is my 3 year old now.  I can see the resemblance.

four nothings

My cousin-in-law shared this on her Facebook wall a few months ago and I really liked it!  It's actually what got me really thinking again about waking up early and making some good changes in my life.  

This came from a 'life manifestos' blog... here.

The story is told of a sparrow and a dove perched on a branch in the winter.

“Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” the sparrow asked the dove.

“Nothing more than nothing,” the dove answered.

“In that case I must tell you a marvelous story,” the sparrow said.

“I sat on a fir branch close to the trunk when it began to snow. Not heavily, not in a raging blizzard. No, just like in a dream, without any violence at all.

“Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,471,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch — nothing more than nothing, as you say — the branch broke off.”

Like snowflakes accumulating on that branch, your life does not change, your greatness is not unleashed by monumental actions, but by small, daily habits.

Here are four specific habits whose value will accumulate in your life like “nothing more than nothing” until, after years of steady discipline, will break your limitations and emerge as greatness:

1. Read

Reading the best books immerses you in the thoughts of the best thinkers, saturates you with the courage of the greatest souls.

Whatever you put into your mind emerges as behavior. You can’t read C.S. Lewis without grasping for heaven. You can’t read Viktor Frankl and not exercise your power to choose more wisely. You can’t read Rabbi Daniel Lapin without changing how you think about and spend money.

Every great book read is a snowflake falling on the ceiling of your limitations. Read one per week for five years and watch that ceiling crack.

2. Meditate

You are not your body; you have a body. You are not your mind; you have a mind. You are the “I Am” that observes the thoughts in your mind.

Your mind is a fabulous servant but a horrible master. It tends toward negative thinking and is plagued by fear, doubt, and worry. It holds you captive to your emotions.

To access your greatness you must transcend the negative-thinking mind. Meditation is the single most powerful tool for doing so.

Sit still in a quiet solitude and meditate for just ten minutes a day and watch the snowflakes fall…

3. Change Your Morning Routine

Leadership expert John Maxwell said,

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

The most important thing you can change in this regard is your morning routine.

Make it a habit to get up an hour or even a half hour earlier than usual. Start your day with a prayer of thanksgiving. Meditate. Read. Exercise.

Do that every day for three years and you’ll feel branches of limitations snapping in your life.

4. Follow Spiritual Promptings

Call them whatever you’d like. Hunches. Intuitions. Sparks of inspiration. Whispers of conscience.

You feel them. Do you follow them?

You once had the thought to write a book. Have you written it yet? Something told you to stop when you saw that car on the side of the road with its flashers on. Did you stop?

The more quickly, courageously, and zealously you follow those promptings, the more of them you receive. The more you receive and follow, the faster your acceleration to greatness. Conversely, the less you follow these, the less you receive, the more you stay stuck.

Like the weight of one snowflake, the impact of any action taken one time is “nothing more than nothing.” But the impact of wise, daily actions cultivated into habits and lived for years is enough to break your limitations and change everything.

I really like all of these suggestions, but in place of meditation, I would say 'ponder,' which is basically the same thing.  I remember several years ago a lady who I really look up to was giving a presentation.  She is a brilliant woman and has studied the lives of many great leaders of our nation and church.  She said that one of the things she found they had in common was that they were all early-morning risers.  They would get up early and take time to pray and ponder before carrying on with the rest of their day.  

I have a long way to go before these things become habits for me, but I'm working on it.  Some mornings go well and some mornings are total flops (like this one today).  Tomorrow morning will be a good one.  

                                          The kiddies enjoying some morning Miami rain.

It doesn't snow in Miami, but it rains a lot, so I'll have to think of my daily habits as raindrops instead of snowflakes.

little gum adventure

This girl came home from Kindergarten today so happy she'd received a piece of gum from a friend.  Food = Happiness for her.  I'm the same.  Gum's not food, I know, but anything yummy in the mouth brings joy.

A few minutes after walking in the door, she comes to me with a little bit of an 'oh no' look on her face, and of course, I see the gum in her hair!  How in the world?  She told me she thought it would be fun to roll it on her forehead.  I had to take a picture before trying to get it out, because it was just funny and so typical of her... She is my mini me.

 Coconut oil took it right out, thank goodness!    

 Good as new.  Just a little greasy and tropical-smelling.  Love this girl!

10 wonderful years!

I just love this boy so much.  (And this baby girl... wearing her party-favor sunglasses for a moment.) 

10 years ago I tricked him into marrying me, and I will be forever glad I did.  

He is just my favorite person ever.  He has taught me so much about love, patience, kindness, service, selflessness, and parenthood in our 10 years of marriage, all through his example.  Not only is he sensitive and thoughtful and respectful toward me and our children, but he is a peacemaker and makes us laugh all of the time, even and especially when there's contention in our home.  He is rarely too busy to voluntarily help with diapers or dishes, fixing something, or whatever... even though he really is so busy. 

He is the greatest father to our children, blessing their lives with his example of wisdom and strong character... and his time.  He'll come home from work, stressed and feeling weighed down with work issues and pressured with many many things to do, but he'll put a smile on his face, take the kids outside to play with him or just hold them and talk with them or let them climb all over him.  He doesn't have much extra time, but he makes good use of the time he does have, because he wants to have good relationships with them and create happy memories for them.  It's no wonder 'Daddy' is the favorite in our home, and I love him for it.  

He is my inspiration behind the changes I am trying to make.  Just the person he is has always given me a desire to be a better person, and he still does.  He never ever makes me feel bad about my weaknesses or struggles; he always tells me I'm doing a good job... even when I'm not.  I just love him more and more all the time. 

I know I'm making him sound too good to be true, but he really is this good and so much more.  He amazes me and makes me so happy.  Like I said, I tricked him into marrying me. I know he knows it and I tease him about it all the time, but we sealed the deal, and there's no turning back now.  :)

Love you, my Clint.  Happy 10 years!!!