Sparkle and Fizz

Today was my MOPS Day.  MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers and this year, I'm the Coordinator for the Council Bluffs Group.  It's been a ton of fun, but it's also a lot of work.  And a lot of dedication.  We had planned for today's meeting to be our Annual Service Project and this year, we decided to center it around "gratitude" and "community".  We decided to make Thank You's for some of our Community Organizations who put our city and our families at the forefront of their missions.  And then we were going to deliver them. When I got up this morning, I was greeted with a "Mommy, I don't feel well.  Can I stay home with you and not go to school?" from my 4-year old son.  I felt his forehead.  He was burning up.  30 seconds later, our thermometer confirmed his statement---he had a temperature of 101.2.  Great.  No MOPS for me. But, as the Coordinator, I felt an obligation to my group!  This was our Service Proj...

Well, clearly I have been slacking.  Apparently I wasn't quite as committed to writing out my gratitudes as I thought I was.  Sorry.  I literally thought out my gratitudes, but failed to get them written down.  However, part of that was because we were gone, spending some much needed quality time as a family with friends who are like family over the weekend.  And I'm just now getting back into the swing of life again... So, here is what I was thinking about over the past four days... Day Four: I am so grateful for laughter.  According to www.psychologytoday.com, "Laughter reduces pain, increases job performance, connects people emotionally, and improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain."  And let me tell you, Saturday night was definitely not lacking in the laughter department!  J and our friends played a game, very similar to Apples to Apples, and the laughter that ensued was unreal!  We're talking, sides aching, tears rolling...

I am constantly an "on the go" type person.  I generally always have a to-do list about sixteen pages long and throughout the day I usually add twenty more!  I do multiple things at once and I never seem to slow down.  But today, I am grateful for time.  I take for granted time since I'm always trying to do more .  I want to burn both ends of the candle and before I know it, I'm tired, cranky, and sometimes hangry (I do occasionally forget to eat!). Today, because I was able to accomplish so much, I took the day to just be present  with my husband and my kids.  We enjoyed good food, we laughed, we talked, we smiled, we hugged, we kissed, we loved.  And I cannot tell you how wonderful it was.  We didn't have anyone saying "I'm bored" or trying to rush from one thing just to slide into another.  We just---were.  And it was glorious. We didn't get on each other's nerves because there was no real agenda, just being present with each...

Today's post is brought to you by...COFFEE.  I'm not going to lie, I really did consider giving up coffee for Lent, but when I mentioned it to one of my best friends, his response was "well, I'll see you in 40 days!"  I was kind of shocked at his lack of support, but then I read a post that was shared with me regarding Lent and some "food for thought" and one of the bullet points read "Don't give up coffee. Jesus will forgive you, but your family might not."  Well---I heard God loud and clear on that one.  Don't give up coffee.  And I'm so very glad I did not. See today, I had a TON of things to accomplish.  We're gearing up for a big weekend and I had quite the laundry list to do.  Not only was my laundry list (and my laundry basket) huge, but I didn't sleep well last night.  I had a very restless husband, so I put myself out on the couch.  Which wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly great, either.  So I already ...

Every year, for as long as I can recall, I always gave up something as a "penance" for Lent. It has been as simple as giving up soda to as challenging as giving up all meat. This year, I struggled with a new "penance" to Fast for Lent. I couldn't think of something I could really sacrifice for Lent. I considered doing meat again, or alcohol, or even coffee (my family vehemently said NO!) but those weren't really true sacrifices (well, the coffee would have been, but I imagine even God will forgive me for that one). While I struggled and I saw that Ash Wednesday was rapidly approaching, I did the only thing I could think to do--I prayed. I prayed for guidance on what to Fast this year. And the answer that was placed on my heart was incredible. Intention. It means to do with purpose and intent. Purpose. What is my purpose? My purpose is to do God's work. But how can I effectively and INTENTIONALLY do God's work if I'm not spending time WITH God a...

How many of you feel like you're on a never-ending hamster wheel, just running and running and running?  Do you blame the wheel for moving too fast or too slow?  Do you blame the cage for not having any space?  Or do you figure out that you need to stop, get off the wheel and get out of the cage to endless space? I think we all have those seasons in our lives where we easily blame the wheel or the cage.  And the difference between staying on the wheel and blaming it for staying on it and stopping, getting off and getting OUT is our ability to take accountability. Take a listen to this week's podcast and let me know if it inspires you to stop running on the wheel and instead, figure out how to stop, get off the wheel, and get out of the cage.