More "Stuff"....

Ok, I've been working on the physical "stuff" that surrounds me and has a negative affect on me.. sufficating.. to be honest.. but as I was clearing away the "things" that surround me my mind started to think about all the other "stuff" that can bog me down or sometimes even suffocate me.

The first thing that comes to mind of course is our every day lives as women, or men, how we juggle the things layed before us and prioritize them. Once we get married and then add children we all know our life and our time is not our own, everyone's needs come into play. When my kids were younger and I had a career job plus helping with my husband's ministry I had this daytimer that I kept. Every day had every hour filled with "something".. most things I thought I had no control over they had to be done.. from the time I hit my feet to the floor in the morning until much too late into the nite...

Three years ago I spent a week in the hospital because my entire adreanal system shut down.. I had too much cortisol in my system.. the stress hormone. I didn't know it at the time but what I have come to learn is our bodies are not made to burn the "candle at both ends".. or our minds. Eventually it does catch up to you.

Thankfully God has given me a second chance and is rebuilding me physically as well as mentally. I'm learning that His priorities are mine and He's more than able to get everything that needs to be done done. I have to make a concious decision just like the physical "stuff" not to clutter my mind and time with the other "stuff" but rather to do only what He is expecting for me to do.. minute by minute...and after a while the days look after themselves! :)

Stuff....

Yep.. spring fever has hit..and I'm trying hard to make my minutes matter.. here's my deal..as we've talked about before, I'm a firm believer that we need to take back control of our lives minute by minute or we'll end up loosing the days and weeks.. eventually years..to all sorts of things..most of all regret and unhappiness.

So, here it is almost the middle of May, and I find myself sufficating in "stuff". For those of you that are old enough I was reminded of the George Carlin skit about "stuff", and how we obtain our "stuff", where does it come from and why.. he really did make something that gets under my skin quite funny, so this morning as I was getting a tension headache over the "stuff" I chose to think about his funny faces that he'd make as he'd go on and on about the "stuff" that over takes us in life.

After I regained my "joy" I took a half hour and cleaned up a few piles in my bedroom, which I will confess kept me up last nite just thinking about them.. okay I'm admitting to the world that I may have a little OCD tendencies :). You'd think that would have settled the inner voices in my head and let me get on with the other pressing things that have to be done today.. which by the way have to do with processing "stuff" at my desk .... but no.. all it did was bring out the greater need to acknowledge all the other little corners in the house where things are lerking.. piles.. of "stuff"..

So.. I began to think of ways to stop the "stuff" for future reference.. I don't really contribute to the "stuff".. I don't like brochures, although there are others in my household who do.. I don't even go out much any more.. but then I looked out the window and saw one of the main culprites.. the mail truck.. the deliverer of the "stuff"! Yes.. I go through it daily and throw out the junk and keep the necessary.. but still there is "stuff".

Then..in comes those that I love.. and what are they bringing with them from the gorcery store and school? "Stuff"... so.. once again I have a choice to make. Unless I decide to live in a vacuum.. there will always be "stuff"...so my choice is to be more deligent in keeping up with it so it does not rob my minutes of joy!! Guess it still comes down to mind over matter.. what do you think??

Mom Minutes....

Last nite I had the pleasure of celebrating Mother's Day with my incredible daughters and the loves of their lives. My oldest daughter.. spoils my other daughter and I because we are the "Moms" as she puts it by fixing us our favorite things for dinner. The men and children do their part as well to fill in so Moms can sit and "be still".

It's always a time I look forward to, and I'm sure any Mom will agree... it doesn't really matter what you are doing with your kids.. even though we had an incredible dinner.. it's what is shared while we are together. Every family unit is a "unique bunch" I believe. Someone can share one word or a look and the rest can break into laughter as the memories of the past will come back to life in an instant. This to me is a gift that I will never take for granted or get tired of!

Being a Mom can be a scary thing. When they put that baby in your arms the first time and you are overwhelmed with the knowledge that there's no turning back.. you're the Mom.. the one everyone looks to that has that invisible instruction book that was delivered along with the child.. but after that feeling of panic passes... and you get to the everyday life of being a "mom".. pretty soon those days turn into years and you look back and wonder where did the time go? Did I do all that I could do?

We all fall short.. but thank God for His grace and love.. and for the understanding of those we love and love us.. I can honestly say being a Mom is the most rewarding thing I will ever do..so here's to our Mom's minutes!!

Mom Minutes...

The other day we were thinking about our own Moms.. very important, no matter how old we are.. our Mom's are an intricate piece of our life long puzzle. Our relationships change through the years as we grow if we let them.

For those of us who are also Moms it brings about a whole other thought process. I can think of some of my "Mom Minutes" like some of them in my 20 hours of labor and swear to you that none of them were only 60 seconds long! When some others were when one would sing a three minute song and I would want those minutes to last forever.. or when the other would dance and those minutes would seem like seconds. It was a matter of my heart and how happiness makes those minutes timeless.

I've come to the conclusion in life that we all have choices. We can choose happiness or we can choose other emotions to rule our lives. I've also come to the conclusion that whenever relationships are involved it takes work to achieve happiness.. because unless you've found a spot on the planet I haven't seen of heard of there will always be disagreements and confrontations in any relationship. The real test of good relationship is how you make it through those bumps in the road not in how you avoid them.

As this is a week that we've set aside to think about our Moms and being a Mom I'd love for you to share some of your thoughts as I know allot of you have some very rich heritage and wisdom that we all could learn from.

"Mom Minutes..."

That's right..we all have them, because we are Moms or due to our own Moms...some are happy, some are sad, but no matter what they are, by the mere definition once you think about a "Mom Minute" our emotions are stirred.

Seeing as how we are coming up on Mother's Day, I wanted to take this time to stop and think about something we all have, a Mom. Which means we have Mom Minutes to remember...and hopefully share.

My Mom and I have had a lot of fun through the years, we had a different relationship due to the family dynamics we were more like friends than parent and child. At times when I was younger this was hard for me but now that I am in that "sandwich generation" as they call it and she is enjoying her second year of marraige to a wonderful man, there's no problem at all..we have a lot of laughs.

The thing I've learned from my Mom is that be faithful in what God gives you and He will replace what the locust have eaten. I am so encouraged by seeing all that God has brought back to her as she has remained steadfast. My Mom has lived through a lot and with a lot and I confess I often asked myself "why?". She never felt released and now I see how God is giving things back to her ten fold.

One of the greatest memories I have of my Mom is when I watch her with my girls. She used to take them for a couple weeks in the summer and a week in February while I was working. The connection she had and has with them was something I'd never seen before... there's a lot to be said for that relationship between grandmother and grandaughters!

Worth Your Three Minutes....

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Are We Wasting Our Minutes?

I really enjoyed what Jen mentioned in her last post regarding what we all deal with in the "weight" department. Body image is such a huge part of our lives.. whether it be too many or too little pounds that we carry or the parts of our body that we obsess over ie: nose, mouth, chins, eyes, thighs, stomachs.... I would hate to think about how many negative minutes we have each spent thinking or talking about our bodies... or is it just me?

There's no question that it is an excellent use of our minutes to use our time wisely and make a place in our day for working out and making better food choices. But.. all too often that's not the case.. we spend too much time obsessing about the body that we think we should have, the clothes that we should be able to fit into, the hair styles that we dream of that would never work on the hair God gave us, and then.. there's the never ending food debate.. should I or shouldn't I.

Makes sense when we read it right? Yet when we are getting ready to pick out an outfit or planning for an event where does our mind go? To what we don't have rather than what we do...

I once had a job where I helped people pick out clothing. It was so rewarding at times. No matter what shape or size the woman were if you put them in clothes that fit and showed off their positive qualities.. something happened to them inside and their inner confidence came out.. and their happiness level climbed rapidly1 It was great! All that had changed was a few outward things but mostly their outlook about themselves. Major transformation.

So..I'm thinking.. now that we're making a move to make our minutes count.. I'm going to use my time to take care of the body God has given me.. not put it down because it may not be exactly what I think I want at this moment. It can always get better, healthier, stronger... but not if I continue to have shame and guilt on the inside for things I don't like. How bout you?

What I learned Yesterday...

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a family gathering which included all 5 generations that my family is blessed to have. I have to admit though as I'm moving up the "ladder" of the generations and getting closer to the top.. the ones ahead of me are in their 80's.. it makes me think. I have such wonderful memories of when we were all much younger and doing such different things at these gatherings but no one escapes the wrath of time.. we all get older and pass into different stages and I've come to find out there's no votes asked for on if you want to "move up"!!

All this to say.. what I came away with is this.. on the ride home and today.. I started to think about how easy it is to think about my Mom, my aunts and uncle and their "legacy" and all of my fond memories of times past.. how certain ones were the ones who took the time to spend with us while others always were busy with their daily lives and while I knew they loved us I really never had that quality time with them to look back on and remember.

I'm sure by now you're on to what the next step of my thinking was.. what is my legacy going be? Whether I have a week or 50 years left.. my minutes have been spent for making imprints in some minds and I think about what will they remember? Will they remember me as being the woman that was so busy filling every minute of every day with "things" so that I felt productive? Or did I spend any quality time doing things that mattered in the long run?

I have vowed to be much wiser with my minutes.. because even though it's not like the cell phone companies and I'm not being billed for them... in another way.. I really am. Based on my choices on how I spend my minutes.. I am writing my history with those I love.. and what do I want my legacy to be? How bout you?

My Minutes Matter....

My Minutes, Your Minutes.. it's the minute part here that matter. Some of us have this feeling in the back of our heads, or maybe the front, that due to our age, position in life, or any other difference that one minute is more important than another. For instance.. does the President of the United States' Minutes "matter" more than yours or mine? I think that we have the misperception that because he is considered one of the most powerful men on the planet that his minutes matter much more than ours, and therefore what difference do ours really make?

Here's what I was "pondering" yesterday as I was hit by this. When I was a little girl, my wise Grandpa who lived to be a very healthy age of 96, and was loved and respected by all used to tell me "take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves". This has never let me down in the finacial world, so I thought about applying the principle to other things in life. If I began to make the conscious choice to steward each and every minute without giving in to worry about things in my future or fret about things in my past, would the hours and days turn out okay too?

Because I have been blessed to talk to people from all walks of life and from every age group I find one thing in common, the teens are wishing they were adults so they could have freedom, the young adults are wishing they could go back so they could escape responsibilities, young parents are wishing the days would end so that nite could come only to find that nite passes oh so quickly only to do it all over again, and the middle age are looking back wondering where the time went and if only they could do it again so they could take the time to enjoy their children and younger years. I find it's one age group that has found the value of the "now" and that's the oldest.. for they realize that they are living in a time frame where their tomorrows are not quarenteed.. but then why is it that any of us at any age think we have that quarentee of time? All we have is this heart beat, or this minute.

So you can see.. I think our minutes matter.. what do you think?