A New Day (TTT143)

Yesterday was insane. I woke up at 7. I was supposed to get up at 6. School starts at 7:50. My house was a scene of mayhem. I was surprised and relieved when I managed to get the kids to school on time.

Wednesdays are early release days. I told the kids on Tuesday that they would have to clean their room on Wednesday. It should have taken 30 minutes tops. It was a long afternoon. They started at 1. There were bouts of wrestling (not the playful kind), crying and tattling on each other. At 4, I told them that they had until 5 to finish the room or else there'd be a punishment. Motivation and determination followed my speech and they finished by 4:30.

Last night was Back-to-School Night. All 3 boys were excited about me visiting their classroom. It was insane. I had to make it to 3 classrooms (with an extra speech for the 4th graders in the cafeteria) in an hour. We made classroom fly-bys. I didn't get much out of it but the kids were happy I made to it each of their classes.

After the kids got in bed, I tried to relax. But, something happened and I ended up in tears.

Pure exhaustion.

And then I had to do the dishes.

It was one of those days.

But, ya know, I woke up this morning ready to face a new day.

"Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3:22-24

I am thankful for today.

I'm focusing on the little joys of my day today:

• listening to my boys laugh at breakfast
• coffee
• a great talk with a friend
• laughing at and with my daughter

and on and on the list will grow as I go through my day...

Have a great Thursday and take time to appreciate how you've been blessed.

Driving with the Parking Brake On

A few months back, I had a terrible habit of forgetting to release my parking brake. I would get just a tiny bit out of the driveway and realize my car was moving too slow. I would back out of a parking place at the grocery store, start to pull forward and realize my brake was still on.

The worst times were when I didn't realize my car was driving sluggish until I went a few blocks.

Driving with a parking brake on is bad for a car. It not only slows the car's speed, damage can be done to the car.

You can't put words back in your mouth once they come out.

Recently, I've heard this truth portrayed a variety of ways.

• When you pull a tooth, you can't put it back in your mouth.
• When you pull all of the leaves off a branch, you cannot put them back on. Even if you tape them, the leaves aren't really a part of the branch any more.
• If you squeeze all of the toothpaste out of the tube, you cannot put it back in.

These simple illustrations have reminded me to be slow to speak.

My heart cries:

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14.

But what about when I'm hurt by words from others?

Often enough, I go through my days sluggishly with the hurtful words (or my perceived opinion) of another weighing me down.

I know so many people that are hurting due to the actions or words of others.

The flip side of the "watch what you say" admonishment is: "watch what you take to heart."

When I let the words of others tear my self esteem down or hurt my feelings, I fail to appreciate the goodness in my life. I cannot see past the pain and be thankful.

When I accept hurtful words from someone else, I essentially lift up a brake and slow myself down emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I may just seem to be having a hard time having a good attitude, but in truth, I am taking on a weight that is doing internal damage.

It's so easy to let other people affect me.

I had to encourage my son tonight after some other kids said hurtful things to him. I wanted him to realize that pressing on without taking the words to heart is what's best. But, the words hurt. Kids can be so mean...

And so can adults.

I want to submerge myself in this practice- even when other people don't know there's an issue:

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against each other. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

I want to live without the unnecessary weight of unkind words. I want to live as if I am driving and I don't have to put on the parking brake when unkind words and actions fly at me.

I'm not sure I will ever fully achieve this. I do believe the more I can do this, the less anxiety I will feel. The less I take harmful words to heart, the more I can cultivate a thankful spirit.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phillippians 4:6

Miscellany Monday

Miscellany Monday is just what this blog needs.


1. Dinner. I tried two new recipes tonight and they were both incredible. Oh my. I've been trying to cut back on sweets. I ever forwent a Starbucks this afternoon when I had the chance and opted for water. But, tonight, Paula Deen single handedly defeated all of my healthy efforts in one meal.

2. Christmas. I don't shop much. It seems I don't get out much. Anyway, I had to go to Target today to get a prescription filled and there were shelves full of Christmas lights and Christmas decorations. Christmas? Really? It's still September. Has this been happening for years?

3. Student of the Month. My 2nd son was Student of the Month for his class in September. I am super proud of him. I have to admit, I was surprised. Oh, I know he's amazing. He surprises me all of the time with his academic ability. But, he's a talker (like his dad). That's why his award surprised me.

4. Sweet Tea. It goes really well with Paula Deen recipes.

5. Birthdays. I am super, super bad at dates. It's ironic. I love celebrating birthdays and special events. However, I am really bad at time management, planning ahead to shop and mail gifts. I'm feeling bad because I've missed so many birthdays this year... mainly all 1000 of my family and friends that don't live near me. (yes, yes, I know... not 1000. But it feels like I've missed 1000 birthdays.) I started thinking about this today at Target when I realized how behind on shopping I am and... apparently Christmas shopping is right around the corner-from the Halloween candy.

6. I don't know. Some well-meaning, wonderful people have asked how I am doing. I don't know. I really don't know how to answer that question. I am trudging along, making it through each day. I've been more stressed than normal. I'm sure that's normal.

7. Saturday is a big day. For the Tide. We play Florida. I'm already anticipating watching the game.

8. Multitasking is difficult. Last Saturday, I was trying to watch 2 kids play soccer (same time, different fields), keep tabs on a roaming 2 year old and busy 7 year old, AND check the score of the Alabama football game. Seriously, getting the Bama's behind scores about did me in. Thankfully, Alabama pulled that one out in the end.

9. Pushups. Make my arms really sore.

10. Kissing. Kissing is a funny topic for my boys these days. I overhead my 5 year old telling his brothers what he wanted to be when he grew up. He followed that right up with, "I am not going to kiss when I am a grown-up." I laughed so hard. I asked him why and he said, "because it's yucky". Of course, my 7 year old son said, "I think you'll like it." Meanwhile, my 9 year old was pretending to throw up.

11. Grocery List. I've got to go make a grocery list now.

Wordless Wednesday: Diet Coke, Anyone?