Happy 5th Birthday!

I can't even tell you how much I love this kid!  

Happy Birthday Caleb :)

Thirsty?

Want some water?

Water.  So simple, yet so beneficial.  When you don't drink enough water you get dehydrated and that leads to less energy (we could all use more energy, right?).  A large part of our bodies are made up of water and because of that we need to replenish.

Here are some other bits of information I have learned about water:

  *  Water is required for digestion & absorption of food

*  Water in the bloodstream carries nutrients and oxygen to cells

*  Water helps to improve exhaustion, headaches, asthma, hypertension...

*  Water flushes toxins out of vital organs

Now I'm a pretty descent water drinker, but I'm also a pretty descent Coca-Cola drinker and one should significantly outweigh the other.

So, I will continue to grab my sunflower cup (isn't she pretty?), fill her up and drink away.

Side Note:  I got 4 our of 5 things done on my Top Five list (this post was the fifth item).

Top Five

I am sharing with you a little copying that I have decided to do starting today.  I was recently reading Mel's blog and came across a post where she refers to her friend Erin's Top Six.  I was immediately intrigued.

Since I am working on taking baby steps (hi Rach!) regarding purging and getting myself together, I thought this would be a great way to break down the master To Do list that we all burden ourselves with daily.  It does not take long to sit down with your planner (or notebook, sheet of paper, napkin, smartphone...) and make out a list of a few things to get accomplished each day.

So tonight I sat down with my planner and came up with a Top Five (I need to start simple and 5 just seemed more doable than 6...not sure why).  The pic is a little fuzzy, but you get the gist.  I would like to do this each evening to prepare for the next day.

Baby Steps :)

Expectations & Grace

Expectations...we all have them.  We expect certain things of ourselves, of others & of situations.

At times expectations can be set too high.  This is something I have been known to do with my children and it is an area that I need to purge.  This is not to say that I should not have expectations of my children, but that the expectations should be fitting for them.  I tend to see what other kids are doing and think my children should be doing the same.  Or my expectations have more to do with what is convenient for me rather than what is beneficial for them.

I am praying about what expectations are beneficial to them and giving them grace at times when expectations are not met.

I am listening more and having more discussions with them.  They need to feel that my love is unconditional and not based on whether or not they meet a goal I set for them.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9a

Why Purge?

As my ponder and pray about my 2012 Word I realize that it needs to go beyond just one post...it needs to be totally incorporated into my entire life.  I think before I would pick a word, post about it & then...**crickets**

First, I need to get to the reason for needing to PURGE.  I need to PURGE in order to be closer to HIM..to be able to listen to His guidance without distraction...to discern what He has in store for me, not what I think He has in store for me.

I need to PURGE so that I can absorb His Word (like the verses above)...His character.

 I need to PURGE so that my foundation is in HIM...not in things, or people, or blogs, or food, or what others are doing...it needs to be in HIM.

There are areas that I know right now need to be PURGED and I am sure more will be revealed to me as I continue to pray about it and follow His lead.  My hope is to share my journey here...my journey to strengthen my relationship with Christ, simplify my home, focus more on my husband/children, reduce distractions, serve others...PURGE.

2012 Word

This is my fourth year of participating in picking a word to represent my year...a theme, if you will (click to see year one, two & three).  I will be transparent to say that the past three years have been a flop.  I honestly didn't even remember that last year's word was Embrace.

I realize that I need a fresh start...to start from square one.  So, this is the word that I picked to represent what is needed to be done this year:

PURGE

* To free from impurities; purify
* To remove by or as if by cleansing
* To rid of sin or guilt

Just like this tree...I am going to let go of some things.  I am going to PURGE things in order to allow me to utilize my past words...to MOVE to get things done...to FOCUS on things that need my attention...to EMBRACE all of the blessings that God has given me.

My goal is to PURGE piles...bad habits...so-called friendships...clutter...blogs (I cleaned out some of the blogs I follow...this was hard)...negative thinking...etc.

As I PURGE, my goal is to REFILL with His Word...His Direction...His JOY!

Regrouping

I am daydreaming about this place (as it snows outside my window with temps in the teens!) and about the upcoming year.  I will be back soon to share my word for this year (I have done that here, here & here), some goals and anything else that comes to mind. 

First I must regroup, fill in my planner for 2012, put my tree away, and clear out old toys to make room for new toys (exactly why I said here that I need to do this before Christmas).

See you shortly!