Anti-Procrastination Day?

Do you ever find your mind and body are at odds? I think about Paul and his Bible times “Who’s On First” routine. In Romans 7:15 (ESV) he says, “I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” You got that? Yah, me either. I’m a procrastinator. The problem I run into is only my body likes to procrastinate, not my mind. This picture is motivational to me, but not in the way you are thinking. 

I heart laziness. I have a t-shirt that supports this as well:

But it's not as glamorous as it seems. When I procrastinate, my body lays prone while my brain runs a mental marathon. Some nights, when I have so much pending, or so much I am supposed to have done, I lay awake making a plan. But most of the time, that’s all it stays; a plan.

Sometimes I wake up and finally put some plans into action only to find I am trumped by God’s will. Which I want to say is fine by me, but really I furrow my brows, mull it over, complain, talk to other people, and THEN give in to his plan. Sometimes.

This morning hasn’t gone according to plan. I’m fine with that today. By this time, I figured I would be in my friend’s chair having my greys washed out like the defiant 30 something I am. Instead, she is finishing at the chiropractor, and I find myself bumping into a different friend, on purpose, at Starbucks. She’s way pregnant and way without enough to do. She was happy to meet me. It’s not a devastating turn of events for either of us. I am handwriting the first draft of this because I wasn’t a back up planner. Rather than anticipate change, I rolled out of bed and into my kerchief and sweats. But that’s ok, too. As I sit here, constantly second guessing my spelling, I am reminded that sometimes basics are better than grand advancements.  (She says as she looks up words on her dictionary.com app).

Basic is not a synonym for simple; I am learning as I go. Eating well and good for me foods is basic but not often simple. Using a pen and notebook is basic but proving to be more and more difficult. (Is advancements spelled correctly? Why does my hand feel crampy already? Is crampy a word? Why does my pen seem to only work in the margins? GAH) And while I am not a fundamentalist with a capital F, I would say spending time with God each day is a basic but not always easy.

It’s not that I don’t want more of God in my life, it’s really that I wake up with 50 directions as possible routes, and I forget I don’t really want any of them. They don’t have the life I am looking for. The capital L Life.

I need to choose. The end. I need to choose. And maybe take preventative measures.

Interesting fact(ish)s:

1.     I am less inclined to veg out on my phone and nonsensical social media and check my emails ten times if my phone isn’t in my room.

2.     I am more likely to read my bible if it’s next to me in the morning.

3.     Then again, I am more likely to stay awake and read my bible more thoroughly if I leave it on my coffee table.

4.     Even more so, I am more likely to want to come downstairs and read my bible and read it more thoroughly if I have coffee ready at the push of a button. That means I have to prep my coffee pot the night before.

5.     And most importantly, I am more likely to do all of this if I pray and ask God to work in me and mean it.

Matthew 7:7 (NIV) tells us to ask. ASK. "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Ask and keep on asking. I love that. It means that God doesn’t grow weary of our constant questions, our questioning, our doubt, our confusion, or our procrastination.

I suppose it’s important to point out that this is not written as a suggestion. It’s a command. Ask. There is no “maybe you could” or “this could work.” In fact “could” or “would” or “should” have nothing to do with this scripture. God says ASK, and then he names actions we can take that put us in the right spot to receive what he has to offer.

So, here is to anti-procrastination day! Ask and get moving. I’m going to get my coffee.

UPDATE: This is the baby that used to be an inny. He is an outie now. He's amazing. He is Maximus The Lear. I can't get his picture to upload. I'm quitting.

This Monday might be full of procrastination after all. But while we wait to see the final outcome, join me in linking up with A Mama's Story. She's giving away good stuff. She has good stuff to say.

Language Arts in Motion: skip the dittos

Today, Samuel(7) has to prove his phonics abilities through an alternative language arts lesson. Sure, he could show me by drawing a line from the letter to a picture. Sure, he could say sing song phrases such as "a uh about" or he could try this energy using, brain jogging, kinesthetic method which lends itself nicely with his need to move and visualize his learning. 

First, he has to line up his alphabet cards in correct order. Then. He hunts. He has to find a household object that begins with each letter of the alphabet and match it to the letter card. When I feel like he has this mastered, we will focus just on the ending sounds or the vowel sounds. 

An older variation? Try finding a set of rhyming words that begin with your select letters of the week. 

New Trends

There are trends and happenings and goings on around me that I don't totally understand. I will admit that there are a few times, when listening to teenagers, I feel old because I don't totally understand what is playing out. For instance, Gangnam Style.

There have been plenty of opportunities for this song and dance style in my life, but they were all mocking. Was I supposed to really like this song? I feel like the only one who got the joke, but maybe the joke is really on me because that music is off the chain. I don't even know what I am saying now. Totally grasping at straws to seem rad… no? Too soon?

Another trend that befuddles me is the return of mom jeans. Seriously, people who make clothes popular?? Yah. Im talking to YOU. Why would you do this? It's cruel. Our teens look weird. Mom jeans are NOT the same as high waisted pants. Classic women from decades past have brilliantly pulled off high waisted shorts, pants, and skirts. This isn't what you are doing. You are buying the most mocked jeans of the century, and then you cut them and make them what will likely turn into the most mocked shorts in history. No ones pockets should be that high. There should NEVER be pleats in your jeans. And you shouldn't create hips because you managed to cinch your belt. (Which actually creates pleats and gives me heart issues). If Saturday Night Live has done a comedy sketch simply to make mock of a clothing item. I think that's a good indication that we need to let this trend die. Do it for the children. Do it for my eyes.


No.

 Yes.



















THESE ARE NOT CREATED EQUALLY.

One last thought, which isn't really a trend at all, but a reoccurring happening is my morning sneezes. About ten or fifteen every morning. What. Is. HAPPENING? Seriously. I am waking up because I am sneezing. I'm asleep. And then I sneeze. And then I wake up. How? Why? What do I do? Oh. And it's at five EVERY morning. Five. In the aye em. An hour and fifteen minutes before my alarm. This trend is just rude. 

Did I miss something? Are there other trends that make you want to punch a kitten? I didn't even bring up Honey Boo Boo. The previews gross me out. I can't even watch the previews. 

Reno Moms' Blog: Guest Poster

18 Christmases just isn't enough. But that is really all we get.
 
I have a dream that has almost as much to do with the character of my children as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech fifty years ago. Well, sort of. I want my children to be well-equipped. The situations they experience whilst in my home give them the opportunity to build this character. This paired with the fact that I. LOVE. LISTS (seriously people, it's out of hand) means that I have a bucket list for my kids before they move out. For some of them, I have what seems like lots of time. But then I think of my high schooler, and I realize I have three Christmases left to have everything checked off. That's it. Three Christmases. here we go:

• Love God; love others
• Sew on a button
• Do laundry; all sorts
• Make a good pot of coffee
• Always offer a guest a drink and/or something to eat
• Leave a place cleaner than you found it
• Roll with the punches, even the sucker ones
• Communicate with strangers, adults, peers, even when it's tough
• Shake hands like they mean business
• Set, work toward, and achieve goals
• Cook something- anything
• Sit through an interview and score a win
• Offer the big side of the cookie to a friend
• Quote a movie poignantly even if they are the only one who will laugh about it
• Follow a sport like a real fan
• Clean a toilet and sink properly
• Function at a restaurant properly from hostess to tip
• Understand that there is always another side to the story
• Confess
• Sit through a wedding and a funeral....

And so many more. I add to it all the time, and revisit it often. Recently, I was able to cross one of these off of all five of my kids' list at one time. A funeral. Yeah, you heard me.

We spent a week gearing up, shopping for proper attire, conversation after conversation.

Read the rest of our unforgettable experience over at Reno Moms Blog

Guest Posting: Missing the Good Stuff

Are you goal oriented? If yes, I would probably get you completely. Even if you are abrupt and cut throat about it. If no, I'd like to think I would stay your friend, but really, I won't understand. It's not you; it's me. I am SO goal driven, if I weighed 400 pounds and made it onto the Biggest Loser I would be more focused on winning than changing my life. There's a good and bad side to all walks of life.


To combat this epidemic, I will eat Ben and Jerry's frozen yogurt. Um, before you nay sayers count me out, you are not doctors or trained in the physics of frozen yogurt powers; I will not believe the drivel you present unless, in fact, you agree with me on this point. While we work through this (I eat yogurt, and you think of a witty comeback, I would like to invite you to read me at Just For You Mom.

This week, I am talking about Missing the Good Stuff because we are caught up in the Nonsense.*

*This writer obviously supports Nonsense. So much so that she is choosing to make it a proper noun.

Click here to read more.