Archives For Attitude

Faith: The Five Minute Challenge

April 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

At church now we are going through a series that is inspired by the book Soul Detox by our pastor Craig Groeschel. The sermon last week was about a restless soul. Now if your like me I wasn’t completely sure what that would mean and I definitely didn’t feel like it would be something that I would need to worry with. But, Sunday was just another one of those days where you are sitting listening to the sermon and you feel like God is speaking directly to you, and rather loudly in fact.

There are so many things that I worry and stress about. I pray and ask God to take control and I believe that I have done what I was supposed to do because I have “given it to Him.” But, then I realized that I might have prayed about it, but then it’s still on my mind through out the day. The point that really spoke to me was when my pastor said that we can’t truly focus because our mind is elsewhere, worrying, stressing or just thinking about that to-do list. Wow did that make everything clear to me. Just because I pray and ask God to take control doesn’t give me the freedom to still sit and stress and worry. I have to be able to pray about things and leave them with God and not try to carry them back with me.

He challenged us to sit for five minutes a day and think about nothing but God. Here’s a hint, if you don’t think you have a restless soul just try the five-minute challenge… you’ll be surprised at how many things you think about other than God… like doing the dishes, cleaning the house, cooking, finances or anything else that is stressing you or just on your plate. I have done this challenge everyday since last week and some days are harder than others, but I have noticed a major difference in my focus, my attitude and just my day. We have to be able to turn off our spinning wheels in our heads and focus it on the things that matter… the dishes will be there later, it’s all okay!

Photo Credit: Cristiano Betta

In Accountability, Attitude, Faith, Prayer, Spiritual Coffee, Worry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Thankful Thursday: Reminders

April 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

“What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven-and the future starts now!” 1 Perter 1:3-4 (MSG)

It has been one busy week here so I have unfortunately not had much writing time as I am sure you can tell from my blog. But, that is life and sometimes we all just get a little busy. With all that said today’s post is going to be a Thankful Thursday. What is my one item for today’s thankful list? With this weekend being Easter it reminds me of so many things I am thankful for and that all of us have to be thankful for, for example the life that I have because of what Jesus did on the cross, the empty grave that he left when he rose and the fact that we serve a living God! Because Easter is this Sunday these things are on my mind, today I am thankful for reminders!

It is super easy in our day to day lives to not think about all that God has done for us. We get busy in the routine of the day and the week and yes we might talk through out the week with God and read His word but we may not take the time we need to really think about all He has done and praise Him for it. But… we get reminders sent our way to regroup our thoughts and Easter does just that. What are you thankful for this Easter?

Photo Credit: Keoni Cabral

In Attitude, Blessed, It's a Wonderful Life, On a Whim, Thankful , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Perfection: The Art of Time Management

March 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

Time management. Enough said right? I have always been a person who manages their time and tasks right down to the tiniest detail, and then I became a mom and that particular quality has been challenged. I am sure you know what I am talking about right? Our jobs as mom are a 24 hour a day job, I literally can not have every moment of every day planned nor can I expect it to happen perfectly according to my agenda. Plus, I have to take a moment and look at the entire picture… yes I might need to dust, the folded laundry might need to be put away BUT my son also needs my attention as well when he is bringing me books to read or puzzles to put together. I have had to learn to “manage my time” so that those precious moments of reading books, finger painting and trips to the park don’t go missed. It can be easy to feel like we are not getting our jobs done as wife and mom when our attention is being pulled in nine million directions. But, that is not the case! Spend a little time putting laundry away and then dedicate all your attention to a fun book to read, save the dusting for another time. Not everything has to be done at once, take joy in the things accomplished in that day and not focus on the “failures” of what was not accomplished. Housework will always be there calling our names, how long will our children be little? Not long! Basically I think the biggest thing I have learned and would tell other moms experiencing this challenge is that “time management” as a mom is more about learning that not everything must be done right this second and that our children don’t stay little forever.

Photo Credit: Sean McGrath
In Attitude, Change, Raising Children , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Patience: Are We There Yet?

February 21, 2012 — Leave a comment

Road trips…. enough said, right? I remember growing up taking long road trips to California to visit family. The vacation once we got there was always a blast but the traveling just felt like torture. It never started out that way either, it was so exciting pulling out of the driveway and heading towards vacation, we would play games, listen to music, snack and of course talk. Eventually though these things would get boring and then the car ride fighting would begin. There was always the classic “your on my side” or “are we there yet?” My poor parents! Of course I think every parent heard a version of this.

Eli may not be old enough for the classic questions and fighting with siblings (of course he doesn’t have one yet) but even at his age he can still let us know how he feels about the long car ride. Last weekend we went with my husband’s family to visit his grandparents. We caravanned, a girl car and boy car with each car  having a baby, Eli and my nephew Mason. The trip is only supposed to take about 5 1/2 hours but with two cars, two babies and lots of adults it took much  longer, almost 7 hours. The boys really did do such a great job, they were real troopers but by half way into the trip heading home both boys were over the car and just wanted to be home. Eli was tired, my poor nephew wasn’t feeling very good and they were exhausted from all the fun they had at their great grandparents house. Eli wouldn’t go to sleep and none of his toys were making him happy, the one thing that made him happy was me rubbing his ear (he usually rubs his own ear when he is tired). Like I said earlier, he may not be old enough to constantly ask if we are there yet but he had no problem communicating his feelings with us. No matter what it was a good weekend with family and the boys really did such a great job. Flexibility and patience are the best thing for family road trips. There are so many road trips we want to take our kids on as our family grows so the vacation adventures have only just begun!

Photo Credit: Emlyn Stokes
In Attitude, Blessed, On a Whim, Patience , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Faith: Reminding Myself God is in Control

February 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

“God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” 1 Corinthians 12:6 (NLT)

Today was one of those days where nothing seemed to go my way. First off I have been waiting for a phone call from a doctor that I was referred to so that I can make an appointment, well they called and I got to make my appointment…. for four months from now. That’s right you read that correctly, FOUR months! That really frustrated me and it was at the beginning of my day. When I tried to see about getting put on a cancellation list in hopes of possibly having the chance of getting an appointment sooner they proceeded to tell me that they do not have one of those lists and to just call and check in with them. Lovely, I guess I get to just call daily and ask about any cancellations.

Then, while Eli was taking his nap I got on the computer to do some work and guess what… the software I needed to use wasn’t on the computer and I thought it was. It felt like the sarcastic little cherry on top of that frustrating ice cream sundae which felt like my day. My husband assured me that this evening he would be able to put the program onto the computer which is great, it just was not what I wanted to deal with at the moment.

While these two events were not the only part of my day they were still big issues that happened that really frustrated and discouraged me. I have to just remind myself that God is in control! No matter how frustrated I get or don’t understand, He sees the big picture and everything will work out according to His awesome plan! And for those that were wondering my day did eventually get better.

Photo Credit: Becky Wetherington
In Attitude, Faith, Patience, Spiritual Coffee, Strength , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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