So you might be asking yourself where in the world is she going to start making these changes. I'll tell you that they'll be subtle and slow but hopefully permanent and life changing for all of us. I hope you join us, not just by reading my blog but in your own personal lives.
* What goes in our eyes, goes into our minds and hearts, and comes out our mouths. So we are starting with the entertainment in our lives - TV, phone, movies, and internet. I'll be using my phone to answer calls and texts but nothing else and I'll be using the internet for my blogging, by pouring my thoughts and heart out for ya'll to read. Some of my friends would admit that this is a bit crazy. But they know that I'm just crazy enough to experiment with it. Who knows. It might just change our lives. So that's what we're doing. Starting today. My oldest has already asked me three times to watch tv. It's only 10:00 in the morning. This has to change. I told her that she had a room full of toys, a closet full of project stuff, and the top of the closet is full of games and puzzles. I also told she needed to make a choice. We can get rid of everything in your room except her bed and clothes and watch tv or we can get rid of tv and keep everything else. As most of your know, when I give an option, I'm dead serious and I don't waver on acting on that decision. Of course everything in me hoped she chose the second option, but you never know. Ding! Ding! Ding! She chose option two. That was a close one! Wise child she is! I explained to her that we are on a new adventure and relationships are more important than wasting our time with useless information.
* Relationally: As I mentioned before, I want a true connection with people. Please don't hound me, but I'm really bad at saying let's do something and not remembering or canceling for this reason or another. Life happens so there is grace but I want to have time to spend with my friends and family. Which means I have to use my time different.
My Best Friend: I want to spend more time with my husband. He's my best friend and I cherish that relationship. I love him with every fiber in my being. I'm making room to do this first.
My kids: I want to "date" my kids. I want to shape and mould my kids into young adults who can be mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy and be successful at life. I want to give them a home-base and safe place. So that when life happens, and it will, they can come "home" to recover and be encouraged. I want to know them so well that I can answer their questions before they know the question. How am I going to do this? Spend time with them. Play with them. Be with them. And do it all over the next day then the next.
My friends: I love them and cherish their relationships I have with them. But as many of you know, I like being alone. I like silence and I am completely okay with being with myself, alone. However, we were not created to be alone. So as much as it will get me out of my comfort zone, I'm going to invite people for coffee, lunch, play dates, etc.
My family: My parents, in-laws, etc. Some I talk with on a regular basis and some I haven't spoken to in months. That's not the way to have a relationship. I take partial responsibility in the fact that I have not spend my 24 hours in a day very well. I also cherish these relationships and I vow to try harder at getting to know them. You are definitely going to see more of me. Are you ready?
What changes can you make in your relationships? Where can you invest your time better?
* Food: This is going to be a hard one. As Americans we have been brainwashed into thinking we need to eat grains in order to get our B vitamins and folic acid. But what happens when you feel yucky eating grains? You then ask yourself, why eat them? Is it a habit? So what happens when you stop? So our first step is to slowly, I mean slowly, eliminate grains, except rice. So that means changes for all of us. Here we go! My entire menu and way of grocery shopping will need to be updated. All of our meals including snacks will need to consist of vegetables and fruit. Usually with the elimination of grains usually means the elimination of sugar. But let's take one step at a time. I still like my occasional piece of chocolate and coffee creamer. :)
As for me personally, I love food but not so much to call myself a "foodie". I think that's such a strange term! However, in my discovery for my love of food, it makes me uncomfortable and miserable about myself to eat certain things. So for me, I'm being conscience about eating to live and not living to eat. Looking at everything my body intakes - drinks, food, vitamins, etc. Listening to my body to see what it likes and what it doesn't like. Food is only a life source to sustain us and it's not for us to indulge in to the point of it hurting us.
So to sum this up. I want to make investments into things I know will be beneficial to us, to me, and not tear us down. So by spending time with the people I love and cutting back on those things that don't matter, we will simplify our live yet it will become enriched with those things that matter most to us.
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