Someone told me today that I haven't been blogging a lot lately and that they worry when I post a blog like my last (Regrets.)
Honestly, when I write I don't think anyone really knows the source of what prompted the blog except me. Like anything else, we can read what we want to in pieces of writing. All in all I'm thankful for all the broken roads that have lead me to this exact spot.
And while I'm being honest here, lately I've had a lot more on my mind than blogging. Imagine that!
I didn't mean for life to get in the way of something I love, but recently it has anyway.
My mind races all the time: How much longer until Jace arrives? What do I need to get now in order to be ready? Will I actually be able to handle life with three?
Then, there's work. Since I'm going on maternity leave you can imagine how busy I am right now cramming all I can in the next 4 weeks. And since teachers actually get rewarded for spending time with me, I rarely have an hour of down time. I love my job, but there are days that I know I could do a better job if I wasn't carrying around an extra person. :)
Truthfully, none of us should let life get in the way of relaxing, but we all do it. . . .
*bills
*work
*kids
*responsibilities
*worries
*caring for others
*volunteering
*cooking
*shopping
*cleaning
If we let them, theses things can take our joy away.
"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." - Sydney J. Harris
I don't know about you, but relaxing brings me joy.
If my mind is focused on any one thing, my heart and soul are not open to what my fingers could blog about.
Tonight, I've taken time to RELAX. My body hurts, I'm going on 5 hrs of sleep, and there's always tons to do, but I decided it was a must. If I don't make relaxing and reconnecting with my soul a priority, no one else will. I'm a MUCH better mom, friend, wife, and employee when I take care of myself.
Here are some things I enjoy doing to help me relax, many are things I did tonight:
*burning essential lavender oil around the house
*turning the lights low
*lighting a fire
*snuggling with the girls before bed
*doing yoga and breathing deeply
*listening to soothing music
*listening to Jason play xbox (volume turned down)
*taking in each raindrop that hits the window
What about YOU? What do you like to do to relax your mind, take a break from your day or rejuvenate your soul?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Over and over again. . .Regrets
Lately I've had too much time to think. I need to practice "being still" and "silent."
Saturday, as I sat waiting on Madison to get out of a birthday party, I heard this song again.
I heard it when it first came out and remember thinking that it was catchy and how surprised I was with Tim McGraw. I started really listening to the lyrics and thinking about regrets in general. Specifically, with the following lyrics:
I think about it over and over again
I replay it over and over again
(yea) And I can’t take it, (yea) I can’t shake it no
Through other blog reading lately, conversations with friends, or even my own life I see that even though we all mean to live without regrets, somehow many of us still end up looking back and realize we didn't do what we intended and now regret it. Or we look back and realize we did do something but the consequences of that were much greater than we expected.
-meaning to say goodbye
-meaning to go visit
-meaning to say "I love you more"
-meaning to forgive
-meaning to apologize for behavior
- meaning to be a better _____(you fill in the blank)
-saying something out of anger
-not saying anything at all
-not keeping in touch
- talking to those people that are really not good influences in life
- spreading rumors
-spreading negative attitudes
-judging others
************************************
Sitting in church yesterday I realize that we all are the same - maybe not at the exact time in our lives, but we all strive to live in the present. We all end up with at least a few regrets - big or small - not that it really matters - regrets are regrets.
Instead of thinking about them over and over again, we must move on. We must shake those feelings and live for now, love now, befriend now, help now, celebrate now, say what we mean now - We never really know how much time we have to do these things.
Don't let the past steal your present.
~Cherralea Morgen
Saturday, as I sat waiting on Madison to get out of a birthday party, I heard this song again.
I heard it when it first came out and remember thinking that it was catchy and how surprised I was with Tim McGraw. I started really listening to the lyrics and thinking about regrets in general. Specifically, with the following lyrics:
I think about it over and over again
I replay it over and over again
(yea) And I can’t take it, (yea) I can’t shake it no
Through other blog reading lately, conversations with friends, or even my own life I see that even though we all mean to live without regrets, somehow many of us still end up looking back and realize we didn't do what we intended and now regret it. Or we look back and realize we did do something but the consequences of that were much greater than we expected.
-meaning to say goodbye
-meaning to go visit
-meaning to say "I love you more"
-meaning to forgive
-meaning to apologize for behavior
- meaning to be a better _____(you fill in the blank)
-saying something out of anger
-not saying anything at all
-not keeping in touch
- talking to those people that are really not good influences in life
- spreading rumors
-spreading negative attitudes
-judging others
************************************
Sitting in church yesterday I realize that we all are the same - maybe not at the exact time in our lives, but we all strive to live in the present. We all end up with at least a few regrets - big or small - not that it really matters - regrets are regrets.
Instead of thinking about them over and over again, we must move on. We must shake those feelings and live for now, love now, befriend now, help now, celebrate now, say what we mean now - We never really know how much time we have to do these things.
Don't let the past steal your present.
~Cherralea Morgen
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Positive Thinking: A New Age Way of Thinking?
If you were to go back through this blog and my previous blog site posts, you would find positive thinking drives my life and I tend to try to always see the glass as "1/2 full."
This is not to say that I do not have bouts of negative thinking. I do. And for those of you who have been close enough to me for enough time, know ALL situations that could put me in that negative way of thinking.
Many times when I quote someone or something about being positive, it's more for me to hear than for those who are on the receiving end. Though I know that we all need that little "pump" especially on those rough days.
I've recently started 40 Days of Positive Thinking. Just like gratitude there were many reasons for me to start being positive and consciously stating it.
* I have 10 weeks before the next break from work - Spring Break
* January and February tend to drag by for me each year
* The last few months of pregnancy (10 weeks) is the hardest, most uncomfortable of them all
* I need to focus my mind, body, and soul before this baby arrives
* My being a positive force in my family helps my husband and children
* Being positive helps me stay present and in the moment - the only way to live
I know there are naysayers out there who believe that positive thinking has no power at all. To them, I say; I challenge - TRY IT. Decide something you will be positive about and state it at least once a day. It has happened in my life time and time again. If I listed the instances, you'd think it was "cheesy" and say I made it all up......
For those who say positive thinking is just a "New Age" way of thinking......
I ask you to read this:
"If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23 (NIV)
If you expect the best, are faithful in the best, and state the best - you will get the best that God has to offer you.
Again I say - positivity doesn't just happen. You have to put the effort into it just as you do a diet, a new fitness plan, parenting, friendship, marriage........We were expected to work for things in life, not have them simply handed to us:
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Our words leave a very lasting effect whether we say it in person face to face, on Facebook, in an email, or say it to yourself - so if you set out to be negative know that it is affecting more people than you know - Don't give those negative words the power of putting them in writing. There is enough negativity floating out in the world without our help!
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Help me build each other up - we all need it - join me in passing on positivity for the next 40 days!
This is not to say that I do not have bouts of negative thinking. I do. And for those of you who have been close enough to me for enough time, know ALL situations that could put me in that negative way of thinking.
Many times when I quote someone or something about being positive, it's more for me to hear than for those who are on the receiving end. Though I know that we all need that little "pump" especially on those rough days.
I've recently started 40 Days of Positive Thinking. Just like gratitude there were many reasons for me to start being positive and consciously stating it.
* I have 10 weeks before the next break from work - Spring Break
* January and February tend to drag by for me each year
* The last few months of pregnancy (10 weeks) is the hardest, most uncomfortable of them all
* I need to focus my mind, body, and soul before this baby arrives
* My being a positive force in my family helps my husband and children
* Being positive helps me stay present and in the moment - the only way to live
I know there are naysayers out there who believe that positive thinking has no power at all. To them, I say; I challenge - TRY IT. Decide something you will be positive about and state it at least once a day. It has happened in my life time and time again. If I listed the instances, you'd think it was "cheesy" and say I made it all up......
For those who say positive thinking is just a "New Age" way of thinking......
I ask you to read this:
"If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23 (NIV)
If you expect the best, are faithful in the best, and state the best - you will get the best that God has to offer you.
Again I say - positivity doesn't just happen. You have to put the effort into it just as you do a diet, a new fitness plan, parenting, friendship, marriage........We were expected to work for things in life, not have them simply handed to us:
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Our words leave a very lasting effect whether we say it in person face to face, on Facebook, in an email, or say it to yourself - so if you set out to be negative know that it is affecting more people than you know - Don't give those negative words the power of putting them in writing. There is enough negativity floating out in the world without our help!
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Help me build each other up - we all need it - join me in passing on positivity for the next 40 days!
Friday, January 1, 2010
A 9-year-old list....resolutions? Nah......
While most people were busy starting their new year with a long list ( or a short one for that matter) of resolutions, my nine year old was making a list of what she wants in a boy.
I've mentioned on this blog before exactly how important I think it is for the parents of girls to start early and instill in them what to look for in a boy/man as they grow into strong, independent women. I call a list like this non-negotiable items when it comes to relationships. And while her list make grow and change with her, Lord knows I wish someone would've sat me down and had me think through a list like this, even at 18.
******************************************
Here's her list that I, by the way, did not help her with......all items she came up with herself most probably based on her experience with me and her dad compared to Jason and I. Kids are perceptive, I say, more than you could ever imagine.
1. funny
2. will stick up for me
3. a great personality
4. will love and respect me like Jason & mama
5. not clingy
6. have his own friends
7. be able to laugh all the time
8. has a good memory (like for birthdays and stuff)
9. lets me be independent and not force me to do "his stuff"
10. not agree with me all the time
11. not secretive
12. be his own person but still a good dad/husband/boyfriend
13. don't disregard others
14. has to be honest and truthful
15. good with money and saving
16. has to protect me
17. should not be embarrassed by his love for me
18. had to be trustable
******************************************
I'm willing to bet that there are some people out there MY AGE who have many of these things on their NNL, too. :)
I've mentioned on this blog before exactly how important I think it is for the parents of girls to start early and instill in them what to look for in a boy/man as they grow into strong, independent women. I call a list like this non-negotiable items when it comes to relationships. And while her list make grow and change with her, Lord knows I wish someone would've sat me down and had me think through a list like this, even at 18.
******************************************
Here's her list that I, by the way, did not help her with......all items she came up with herself most probably based on her experience with me and her dad compared to Jason and I. Kids are perceptive, I say, more than you could ever imagine.
1. funny
2. will stick up for me
3. a great personality
4. will love and respect me like Jason & mama
5. not clingy
6. have his own friends
7. be able to laugh all the time
8. has a good memory (like for birthdays and stuff)
9. lets me be independent and not force me to do "his stuff"
10. not agree with me all the time
11. not secretive
12. be his own person but still a good dad/husband/boyfriend
13. don't disregard others
14. has to be honest and truthful
15. good with money and saving
16. has to protect me
17. should not be embarrassed by his love for me
18. had to be trustable
******************************************
I'm willing to bet that there are some people out there MY AGE who have many of these things on their NNL, too. :)
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