Since Jackson recently made the leap from two naps a day to one (the horror!!), I am reluctantly adapting my own schedule. Sadly, I have found myself sitting around in work out clothes until lunch time recently. (One of my workout “tricks” is to change from pajamas to an exercise outfit first thing in the morning.)
This means that some days I don’t out of the shower until 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon. Ugh!
Lately I have been waking up extra early, usually by 6:00 a.m. to drink a little coffee, work out and shower before my little man wakes up. Some days I even have enough time to read something inspirational before he makes his first peep.
What a positive way to kick off the day!
And…I can’t believe how much better I feel! It gives me a chance to gather my thoughts, work out, and reflect before I am thrown into my busy life with a toddler.
Rather than waking up to the sounds of the monitor, I rise to my own alarm. You can press “snooze” with a machine, but it doesn’t work so well with babies.
If you are a mom who is feeling a little winded before 8 a.m., I would highly recommend a morning routine with equal parts of sweat and solitude.
Moms, what other “tricks” do you have up your sleeve to keep your day positive and energetic?
My husband says that I could manage to stress myself out by running a lemonade stand! Whenever he throws around that line, I am usually annoyed because…he’s right!
When I was a teacher, even after a couple years of experience in the classroom, my car was always the last one to leave the school parking lot each night. Many nights have been spent preparing, anticipating, completing and, yes, worrying.
I’m not sure why, but I have a terrific knack for allowing small things in my life to become big things. They expand until I start to feel stress. Not to belittle what I do, but the life of a a stay-at-home-mom (with one child) should not be stressful. But sometimes projects like cleaning our garage, finding a dentist, ordering new contacts or cleaning out our new nursery take on greater weight than they should.
Until…I read something a few nights ago that has really helped to put things into perspective. It is helping me to keep the little things just that: little.
In Donald Miller’s book “Blue Like Jazz” he describes this man who runs a bed and breakfast for people who are in San Francisco for ministry work. Miller talks about the man who runs the b and b is often cooking and cleaning for an audience of people. He noticed that many guests did not wash their plates after a meal and few actually thanked the man for his cooking.
Struck by his patience and goodwill, Miller asked him how he kept such a good attitude with so many people abusing his kindness. The man responded, “Don, if we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus.”
While reading that last line, it was as if the needle was pulled across the record. Then the chatter in my mind became quiet.
I desperately need to force myself out of the center of the universe (oh goodness!), and allow God to guide me. If can die to myself and live with a heart of service, God will help me to manage the areas in my life that cause stress and heart ache.
Have you experienced something like this? Read a book or story that inspired you to step aside and allow God to take the steering wheel? I’d love to hear about it!
There is inevitably a point in marriage where the majority of conversations switch from passions, hopes, dreams for the future to something much less inspired: admin. If you have been married for a few years–especially if you have children– you know what I’m talking about.
Insurance, bills, appointments, taxes, maintaining cars, gadgets, toys, price hikes, discounts, occasional gossip—you know the drill.
Before my husband deployed, we often tried to take a day trip on weekends to reconnect. We loved getting out of our little Army town, and always loved the great discussions that only seemed to surface while driving. The conversations remind me of the ones we had when we were dating.
Now that our phone bill has dramatically spiked since he left, we can’t spend as much time on the phone. Our conversations are shorter and inevitably the admin issues are discussed first. Since I believe that talking is the way women emotionally connect to men, I have struggled with not being able to talk, at length, with my husband.
So I proposed the idea that we pick a book on marriage (he has a Kindle, so he can order them online easily) and we’ll read a few chapters a week, then discuss it and see how we can improve. (Yes, my dear husband has allowed me to lure him into my little book club!) In theory, our relationship continues to flourish and we get to talk about some things that truly excite me.
Our first pick??
We’re going to go with “Love and Respect” by Emerson Eggerichs. Recently, two friends have raved about this book and the impact it had on their marriages. Since it’s available on Kindle, the choice is pretty much a no-brainer. I’ll let you know how this goes and if it helps me to feel closer to my husband while he’s away.
Do you have secrets for reconnecting with your spouse? Date nights? Talks out on the porch? I’d love to hear more ideas!
