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Five Minute Friday: Perspective

  • Posted on May 18, 2012 at 8:53 am

On Fridays, Gypsy Mama holds a blog carnival where we all stop and write for five minutes – no editing, no over-thinking, just write. Care to join us?

This week’s topic is: Perspective.

I had given up.  I told Chad earlier in the week, or the end of last week – the days run together when we’re busy and the hosue is a mess and everyone is sick – I had told Chad that I was done looking for a Life Group.  We had tried so many times since coming to our current church.

It’s like we’re not meant to be part of one, I told him.  See, Life Groups all meet on Sunday night.  But I teach Awana Sunday night – something I’m not really lookign ot give up.  Every time I mentioned it to someone at Church, while looking for Life Groups, I would get a response like “oh, that’s too bad.”

I felt like they were saying, “If you really wanted to connect with us, you would give up your other ministry”.  We thought about joining in the summer, when I have no other Sunday commitments – but Sundays are already hectic, what with Church and getting ready for the week and being home with the kids… and the thought of going for two months, only to be relegated back to the shadows during the school year grated on me.

We just won’t try this year, I said.  Why bother?  And finally – I felt peace about it.  Not bitterness that I wasn’t allowed in the group, not stress about whether I was being punished for my choices, just peace.  That’s it, I thought, we just weren’t meant to be there.

Then out of the blue, I got a message from a girl in my bible study, asking if she could steal my away from whatever life group we were in, because she thought our kids would play well together and wanted more young families in hers.  Here we go again, I thought – I’m not meant to be in a life group.  But I messaged back, and said I couldn’t meet on Sunday nights, but that we could maybe come through the summer if she wanted.

So it turns out, they don’t meet on Sunday nights at all.  Random nights of the week right now.  But probably never Sundays.

Suddenly, “God doesn’t want us in a Life Group right now” turns into “Maybe He just wanted us to wait on this one”… and we’re going to join them for hot dogs and fellowship tonight.

My perspective, is not always (in fact often not) God’s perspective.  But it’s nice when the perspective changes, and I can see a little of His direction.

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7 Quick Takes

  • Posted on May 18, 2012 at 7:55 am

— 1 —

You guys.  My life is crazy right now.  I mean, it’s crazy all the time, but it seems extra crazy right now – like the merry-go-round is spinning way too fast – and I can’t quite put my finger on why.

Brianna was sick this week.  A stomach bug, that cancelled her ear tube removal for the third time (first time was hand, foot, and mouth.  Second was scarlet fever).  But! She may not need it done after all, now that’s we;ve put it off so long, so we’ll know more about that later next week-ish.

I think I’m getting sick. Or maybe it’s from sleeping on the couch for two nights so I could hold a bucket out for Brianna to puke in.  Or maybe it’s just stress because, work, life, parenting, hello.

My house is in disarray, which stresses me out.  But all the puke laundry was done yesterday, and an extra load to boot, so I’m not that terribly far behind. I just *feel* behind. If I keep reminding myself I’m not, maybe it will stick.

Meanwhile, here’s some interesting diversions:

— 2 —

No really, my mother’s day was great.  I took a 6 hour nap(!) on Saturday, and an extra 2 hour nap on Sunday.  That’s like, as much sleep as I get in two days, people. Which is why I needed those naps, ha ha.

We went out for dinner Saturday, and Chad ordered take-out on Sunday, so I was super spoiled.  And the kids made me a paving stone with their hand prints, and Brianna’s design sense, and it looks awesome.  And Brianna signed her name, with all the letters in order, in my card, right above Benjamin’s crayon scribbles.

I love my kids.  Even when I’m stressed out.

— 3 —

I spend a lot of time worrying I’m not the right kind of mom. I mean, there’s a ton of stuff I don’t do.  All the time.  I haven’t had Brianna start Bible memory verses, even though she can quote Mother Goose like no tomorrow.  I had completely neglected to work with Benjamin on colors, which Chad helped fix this weekend.  I feel like I should be teaching more, working more with them on skills and emotions and chores and… and… and…

And I’m so often overwhelmed by it. So often. And especially this week, as my feelings of not being good enough tend to increase as my other stress does.  So this post came at just the right time for me.

My constant struggle is to be in the moment.  I just need to keep on – being in the moment.

— 4 —

So I was chatting with a friend this week, and mentioned reading the Bible on my phone.  No joke, the YouVersion app is what keeps me on a reading plan.  And I think that’s kind of awesome.

But my phone is fast becoming an integral part of my life.  I use it to schedule, connect, track, and maintain almost every aspect of what I do.  And that is kind of scary, and kind of awesome, all at the same time. Just a thought.

— 5 —

I buckled down on the diet today.  Seriously.  I went to the doctor last week, and while she had mixed news on what could be done on improving my health concerns in general (nothing serious), the most depressing part of the visit was stepping on the scale.  Looking into the possible things I’m having problems with – none of them are due to weight, but weight plays a factor in making them worse or more difficult to treat.

So.  Eating healthy(er), again.  Which means I have to curb the emotional eating, because yikes I have a lot of emotions, and they all seem to crave carbs. Wish me luck!  Also hope to step up the exercise again, when my xBox hard drive returns from the nether (where it’s being replaced).  And, we might get a Rec Center membership, if Chad and I can ever find the time to go.

— 6 —

This is old, but it still makes me lol: 100 Essential Skills For Geeks. I have an embarrassingly awesome number of these skills, which totally makes me a geek chick, which we already knew.

— 7 —

I totally read The Hunger Games in one sitting.  Due to my awesome cousin, I’ll be reading the second book this week, and probably the third shortly after.  I haven’t decided if I’ll review them all at once, or one at a time, but a review is definitely forthcoming.  I love reading, and I love that my Kindle (and my phone, lets be honest) help me work it into my everyday life – when I really don’t have time to read at all.

As a funny note, my requirements for a purse no longer include fitting a TI-89 (like in college), but now include fitting my Kindle (which is thinner, but wider).  My current purse (a 5 year gift from my company, and the only name brand purse I’ve ever owned) works wonderfully for this. If I ever get a MacBook Air, though, I will totally need to upgrade my purse.

That, if nothing else, should cinch my geek girl cred. My purse size and shape is almost entirely dictated by the technology I feel I need to carry.

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