Simplicity, Health, Happiness, Gratititude, Love

07/15/15

This has the potential to be a long post.  Before you read go fix yourself a cup of coffee or hot tea and take time to just breathe, read, and relax!

No, really, go get a cup of coffee or tea first.

Okay, let's do this!  Yesterday I mentioned the book Essentialism.  I really can't quit thinking about it and life.  As I said yesterday I do love my life.  I have way more good in my life than I deserve!  Thank you GOD for grace and mercy!  Taking time yesterday to post was a really good thing!  It calmed me and helped me to realistically refocus and remove my frustrations.  Last night I was able to get most of my list that I made done and most importantly Brandy and I made homemade granola bars together.  

This was important to me for a couple of reasons.  First of all, we know making them is a lot more healthy than store bought.  I want Brandy to know that making things is really pretty easy and usually more tasty, not to mention again, more healthy.  Brandy has expressed an interest in helping in the kitchen - I need to encourage that curiosity!  Plus, we simply spent time together actually doing something valuable. This was the highlight of my day.

Back to the book.  Deep down I desire a simpler living.  A better quality of living.  I think I do a lot right and I think I have a lot of right motives but there is also a lot of room for improvement. I have been thinking about things that are most important to me.  We read and hear a lot about developing a type of personal mission statement and that anything outside of that mission statement we should probably avoid or say "no" to.  This has been hard for me because I don't like to limit myself or say no.  The words listed in my title are the things I think I need to focus on, really ponder and clarify what they mean to me.  Today, I am going to do just that in my blog post.  You get to be part of my brain storming!  Hope you are excited!

The first word is Simplicity.  I think this could mean different things to people.  For me it is the idea of "less but better" to quote the Essentialism book.  But it is also being in a state of organization that allows life to flow smoothly.  That may mean doing less to enjoy what you will do even more.  That means planning one grocery trip per week and not going 3 or 4 times during the week because you weren't organized enough to get it planned out.  That means having routines in place that keep my house clean.  Within Simplicity I also think of needing to declutter.  I have a lot of stuff.  You don't necessarily see it when you are in my house because its in cabinets and closets!  It's just stuff that has accumulated over time.  I either needed it at one point in time, but don't now or somehow I acquired it and have never really needed it.  Simplicity also means peace to me.

Health is the next word.  I think I have a ripple affect in what I choose to do.  Be it bad or good.  I want to use this power for good.  (That sentence made me giggle) I have made much progress over the years in the area of health but I am no where near where I want to be. I have been much bigger than I am now, but I am not at a healthy weight.  I have done things physically as a bigger girl that have encouraged other bigger girls.  I did at half marathon at 230 pounds!  I didn't die!  It was awesome!  We really don't realize how many people actually watch us, no matter who we are.  I want what they see in me to encourage them to be better!  My actions also directly impact those in direct contact with me!  I cook, they eat! Ha Ha! So what I cook literally affects their health.  In Brandy's case it will secure in her a healthier set of eating habits ~ which is extremely important considering her disorder.  My husband tends to make better eating choices when our meals are healthier too.  He also sees what I am doing different and picks up on things.  I also feed my parents usually on Saturday and Sunday and sometimes a night or two through the week.  Truth be told, it is probably their healthiest meals of the week.  We also have our daughters and sisters over too...my husband and I neither have any brothers...odd...okay, so, I know my eating choices and food preparations are noticed.  I want them to see a healthy way of eating is doable and is yummy!  I want to eat healthy most of the time.  I want to go several days in a row making solid healthy eating decisions.  To me there is not reason this is not attainable.  I also want to be active everyday.  Ideally, I want to run daily, get in some weight training 2 - 3 times a week and include some stretching.  I love to run, or in my case it is called wogging...a slow jog you know.  I love how I feel when I finish a walk or wog.  It's amazing.  It's even better when it is a fast paced wog.  Physically, mentally and emotionally it's the bomb!  I also want to be able to be very active as an older person.  What I do now affect that.

Let's skip happiness for now and move on to gratitude.  The past couple of weeks the practice of gratitude has made it to my radar.  I have a friend whose husband has been diagnosed with cancer.  Her first husband passed from cancer, her young son beat cancer and now this.  Just a couple of days after getting the news she had a wonderful post about gratitude!  Another one followed.  She was clear in the fact that right now she has every right to be mad, to be grumpy and hateful, but she was making a choice to be thankful.  That hit me right between the eyes.  Monday my daughter, almost 8 year old Brandy, after a pretty awesome day indicated that she wanted more.  So I asked her to instead of focusing on what else she wanted to tell me 5 things she was thankful for so far today.  Things that happened.  She could name two.  This is a HUGE momma fail!  I have not taught her how to truly the thankful.  We teach by example you know!  As I read my book as well I became more aware of the need to be able to express my gratitude.  Ultimately expressing to others and also journaling about gratitude.  It would be very easy to go off on a bunny trail here and tell you my plans for my calendar/planner next year...that needs to be another post though...let me just briefly say, I have plan to journal daily in my planner next year (because the one I have this year STINKS but I hate to buy another since I spent money on this one)...but I should not wait until next year to do this.  So I am trying to add this now without adding another notebook.  Not there yet.  I know one thing I plan to do is to continue to have Brandy tell me things she is grateful for.  It may not be daily, but it will be often.  It will only take a matter of time until she uses this on me when I am complaining about wanting something.  Iron sharpens iron you know. Proverbs 27:17.  I can only imagine the change once gratitude becomes a habit. If any of you actually already do this I would love to hear how it has affected you.

Let's move on to LOVE now.  I love passionately and deeply.  It can be dangerous at times if you challenge or hurt someone I love.  I also resist loving and showing love to those outside my circle of love because, well, it's painful.  But, I don't think God gave me this much love to hold back.  I know this is going to be a big thing over the next year or so, I have a check in my spirit as my spiritual mom would say.  God is preparing me to step outside my comfort zone.  Even in my comfort zone I can hold back.  Love is SO impactful.  I have to be able to share it better and more than I ever have.  I know the power of a hug.  I was in foster care for a period of time and my foster mom hugged me A LOT.  It's hard for me to even type that without becoming emotional.  I didn't really want to be hugged.  But she did it anyway.  She did it often and she hugged so good!  Looking back now, I know she loved me, I know she knew when they brought me into their home that she would most likely fall in love with me and that one day I would go back to one of my parents.  She knew there would be pain.  She did it anyway.  It changed me. As a result I hug and hugged my girls often...big like my foster mom Sue did.  As my big girls were growing up and they would have friends over they got hugged, if I ran into those friends around town, they got hugged.  I can tell you today I have 24 year olds that come up to me for their hug.  I have an emotional attachment to these kids now.  Sometimes I have joy and sometimes I have sorrow over them. Who cares?  They were loved and that's all that matters.  At church when I meet new people I tend to not shake hands, but rather, I try to hug.  It's not easy for me at all in this arena.  I don't tell you this to brag either...I tell you this to challenge you.  Are you being prompted by God to step out of a comfort zone?  Then hop to it!  Anyway, a hug means acceptance in my opinion.  It means love.  People in general have been hurt and rejected.  A hug goes a long way to ease the pain.  I think sometimes it is uncomfortable to hold love in when it is suppose to be poured out.  Even when the process is a bit uncomfortable, even awkward, then end result is usually relief.  Test me on this, I dare you!

Finally, happiness.  Everything I have already mention I want to do in order to honor and glorify God.  I believe these are desires He has given me.  Looking at scripture will simply reinforce this belief.  In all of these things I will seek God.  In all of these things I will grow closer to God.  I know God intends happiness for each one of us.  I did not say God intended a perfect frustration free life for us.  Hello people, satan is still out there and his main goal is to steal our joy!  You kid yourself if you don't realize or believe satan is active and on the prowl to keep you from becoming all that God would have you to be.  I believe through the things I have written about today we create happiness.  I do not believe others make us happy.  I do not believe happiness is necessarily "found" either.  I believe we create it!  Daily! When I think of happiness it encumbers all the things I have written about today.  

Whew! You got a lot of my heart today.  It has done me good to type this out!  Now, I am being prompted to share on facebook...so I will!

Lots of love to each of you today!  Please comment, I really love to hear from you!