Back in January I established four 2011 resolutions. Thought I'd take a look back on how I'm doing...
SPIRITUAL - Have a daily quiet time. Well, the daily might be a bit of a stretch, but 4-5 times a week is working. A few (highly recommended) books I've been using:
"A Diary of Private Prayer" by John Baillie. Penned in 1949, with prayers for each morning (Praise/thanks) and evening (confession/supplication) and a couple extra for Sundays.
"The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian. Without bashing men or guilting women, let me just say that I think a wife has the determining role in the climate of a marriage. She chooses to build up her house or to tear it down and prayer is a great way to build it.
"Principles of Spiritual Growth" by Miles Stanford. Written as mentorship letters, each chapter addresses...a principle of spiritual growth! (You didn't see that coming, did you!)
"The 17:18 Series" published by Full Quiver LLC. The coolest Bible study book I've ever found. You word-for-word handcopy books of the Bible on the right-hand pages. Left side is primarily blank, for your notes, study, word definitions, reflections, whatever. Any pace you like, as deep or shallow as you choose.
EMOTIONAL - I want to be more gracious. This one is a little uncomfortable right now. I'm convicted of some long-standing unforgiveness in my heart. As much as I desire to forgive, humanly, I am finding that I can't. How do you forgive someone who just keeps hurting you? Without going into details to explain, let me just say that this is a friendship I am called to continue. (No, not my husband, family, or even a close friend!) So I find that I rely on God to give me grace for each encounter, and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to change my heart since I can't.
MENTAL - Still reading "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. I decided to underline quotes. And, of course, I couldn't start underlining halfway through the book! So I started over. Still good. :)
PHYSICAL - Tried Yoga Thursday night and even this morning. (9am - not ideal, so it may not last.) A little bit sore, but glad to be doing something again. I'm aiming (not obsessing) for 1600 calories over five meals per day. So far, so good - I still feel like I'm getting enough food. (That is the determining factor in any diet - not a fan of being hungry.) Did you know that you can eat about 30 cups of raw spinach and still only consume about 300 calories? Think you'd be full? (I have neither tried this, nor recommend it. 30 cups of anything green in one meal is overkill. Just my opinion!)
~Stick to it!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Stay at home wife, pt 2
Last week at this time, I was driving home from work, relieved to be at the end of an era. (At least in the short span of my life. So it was, relatively speaking, a very short era...) Today at this time, I'm pondering my character flaws. I have discovered that my lack of time was NOT the reason why so many tasks remained undone in the past. No, truth be told, it's because...not sure exactly. But now I have plenty of time and that box labeled "Things to sort before we move AGAIN!" is still only half sorted. (The first half of sorting was a bit of a fluke. My Better Half (MBH) was home and I think I was trying to impress him with how beneficial it would be to have me at home full-time!) I keep moving it around, hoping that the contents will settle a bit more and not look so daunting. My favorite place for it was in the closet, but I knew that was not the RIGHT place for it. Pretty sure it's old tax papers that need to be sorted, filed, shredded, or otherwise dealt with...
And then there's the grunge in the tub - someone should probably scrub that. And the floor. And vacuum. And remember all those deep cleaning tasks that should be done when you move in, or seasonally? Let's NOT remember. (I also have several projects I want to accomplish, but they're fairly large. Better not start them til I have everything under control and can just focus on projects for a couple weeks...) Maybe...I think this week should be my organizational week. You know, the time when I make lots of lists so I know what to eat and when, how to exercise and where, which errands to run and why - then NEXT week I can actually start doing stuff. Besides, I just retired! Shouldn't I have a week or two (or maybe a month...) to relax and revel in my new-found freedom? Who knew four channels of cable (four cause those are the free ones) could keep one so occupied!
Lest you think that I have become a stereotypical bum wife - in my defense, I only watch TV at night. I have too much self-respect (and too high of an IQ) to watch soap operas all day. (And if you are an avid soap fan, you can just be offended because they are junk.) Or maybe a movie a day. (Netflix streams through the Wii - big screen and unlimited...) When MBH needed a runner for one of his jobs - I was available. He has had a full cooler of home-cooked food to take to work every time. I started counting calories and practicing the piano. (Don't tell my students - I hammered on them too much to admit that I didn't ever practice myself!)
There's a free Yoga class tomorrow night - think I'll try it. It was last Thursday, too, but it started at six and at five I realized I didn't have a thing to wear. So I ran to the store, tried on every single Yoga top they had in all four different sizes and five different colors, bought the two that were the best, got home and still couldn't decide which one was more modest, so chickened out at 5:59. When MBH got home I made him evaluate them and planned to wear my final selection on the following Tuesday. But Tuesday afternoon we decided to go to a 4:15 movie. It was two hours long. Oh, shucks. Missed Yoga again...
It's 9pm and I think I'll read a little and head to bed. Rereading "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. I need to remember that this marriage, this life, isn't about being happy. (Tho I am very!) It's about fulfilling the purposes for which I exist. One of which is to imitate the God who sticks to Who He is and what He does.
~Stick to it!
And then there's the grunge in the tub - someone should probably scrub that. And the floor. And vacuum. And remember all those deep cleaning tasks that should be done when you move in, or seasonally? Let's NOT remember. (I also have several projects I want to accomplish, but they're fairly large. Better not start them til I have everything under control and can just focus on projects for a couple weeks...) Maybe...I think this week should be my organizational week. You know, the time when I make lots of lists so I know what to eat and when, how to exercise and where, which errands to run and why - then NEXT week I can actually start doing stuff. Besides, I just retired! Shouldn't I have a week or two (or maybe a month...) to relax and revel in my new-found freedom? Who knew four channels of cable (four cause those are the free ones) could keep one so occupied!
Lest you think that I have become a stereotypical bum wife - in my defense, I only watch TV at night. I have too much self-respect (and too high of an IQ) to watch soap operas all day. (And if you are an avid soap fan, you can just be offended because they are junk.) Or maybe a movie a day. (Netflix streams through the Wii - big screen and unlimited...) When MBH needed a runner for one of his jobs - I was available. He has had a full cooler of home-cooked food to take to work every time. I started counting calories and practicing the piano. (Don't tell my students - I hammered on them too much to admit that I didn't ever practice myself!)
There's a free Yoga class tomorrow night - think I'll try it. It was last Thursday, too, but it started at six and at five I realized I didn't have a thing to wear. So I ran to the store, tried on every single Yoga top they had in all four different sizes and five different colors, bought the two that were the best, got home and still couldn't decide which one was more modest, so chickened out at 5:59. When MBH got home I made him evaluate them and planned to wear my final selection on the following Tuesday. But Tuesday afternoon we decided to go to a 4:15 movie. It was two hours long. Oh, shucks. Missed Yoga again...
It's 9pm and I think I'll read a little and head to bed. Rereading "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. I need to remember that this marriage, this life, isn't about being happy. (Tho I am very!) It's about fulfilling the purposes for which I exist. One of which is to imitate the God who sticks to Who He is and what He does.
~Stick to it!
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