What's the Rush?: January 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Stop

Do you ever have those moments, the moments where there is nothing else you can do? You've done everything you know to do, and it doesn't change anything. For the the control freak and workaholic these moments make you crazy because you're so used to "fixing" it, being the change and making it better. Have you ever had those moments where it drives you crazy to sit still because you don't ever sit still? These moments are often filled with fear. Fear because you realize there's nothing more you can do in the situation. Fear because you know it's out of your hands. Fear because all you can do is be still and endure the process. It's in these moments we have prayed and prayed and prayed.

These moments can be overwhelmed with the peace that God is always in control. He is still on the throne and although life is hard and unfair, He is faithful. He doesn't promise us that life will be without difficultly, hardship and heartache, but He does promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you. It's in these moments I'm most thankful that people around me STOP. Although they cannot fix the situation itself, they can lift a prayer when there's nothing left in me to pray; they can surrender when I'm spent; they fight when I'm defeated and they can hope when I am hopeless.

I have to admit that there are times when I feel so helpless for my friend that I don't want to STOP. What can I do? There I times I've said I'll be praying for you and I never STOPPED to actually pray. There are times I've passed up empathy for busyness. But today I'm asking, will you STOP with me? Will say a pray for a little boy who needs God's healing hand. Will you lift up a mother and father who are so tired but are still enduring? A family whose riding on the prayers of others? Lets STOP together and pray for the Martinez family and God's healing hand.

Daddy holding baby's hand I'm sure the same way God is holding daddy's hand.

Would you STOP and think is there anyone else who needs my prayers. And really pray for them.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Holding Your Hand

Before I start there are a couple of things you need to know about me: I'm a light sleeper and I hate being wakened up. I also have a very hard time going to sleep without Joey by my side. Now that we have that out of the way, Joey had gone to work early and Isa hopped in bed with me. All of a sudden she sat right up, yanked the covers down, looked for my hand, grabbed it, pulled the covers up, rolled over and closed her eyes without saying a word. At that moment, lying in bed holding Isa's hand, I felt another layer of the wall around my heart melt.

It was over a year ago when Isa had spent a couple of nights sleeping with me because Joey went out of town. We were talking before we went to sleep remembering our day and answering all her questions when she said "Mom, aren't you glad I'm sleeping with you since Daddy's gone, you don't have to be alone." I could sense the satisfaction in her voice as if she were saving the day for someone else. I said yes and grabbed her hand. I proceeded to tell her Daddy always holds my hand when we're falling asleep. In an effort to be my hero, she tried her best to keep holding my hand as she flopped and turned as most five year olds do when they're going to sleep. Finally, after about 20 minutes, she whispered, "Mom can we stop holding hands yours is too sweaty." Of course, I answered, laughing on the inside at her comment. I was so thankful for the effort she put forth. As if that night wasn't enough, a year later she remembered a tiny gesture. It wasn't so much the gesture as much as it was that she remembered.

I can't believe how big this little hand is getting

Is your day too busy to remember the little things that make someone else's? I'm talking about the things that say I wasn't too busy for you, I thought about you, I love you enough to remember. It could be opening the car door, picking a movie "they" would like, going on a walk, picking up someone's favourite candy while at the grocery store or it could just be holding a hand.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Thank you

Often times in the state of rush I can take on an attitude of entitlement. This waiter is so slow. How long do I have to wait in this line. Car in front of me can't you see I'm in a hurry could you at least drive the speed limit. It's like the whole world owes me a favour. I can often find myself in this downward spiral. People cannot do enough for me. How easy it is to forget everything that has been done and focus on all that still needs to happen. Yep I'm saying it again perspective shift is needed. The number one person who is at the receiving end of this is my husband. If I could be totally transparent Joey is often put in a lose lose situation. In the past I have packed my life so full that even though Joey does many things he doesn't need to do for me it's still not enough. Poor guy just can't catch a break. So I thought I'd use this blog to thank my husband.

Thank you for making the girls and my lunch for school
Thank you for waking up at 3:45am to go to work
Thank you for not moving us or jumping into something until your know what the Lord wants
Thank you for being willing to start over with such grace
Thank you for saying you're sorry first
Thank you for cooking with me
(You may have taken all the counter space but no one makes a better cheese roll.)

Thank you for making me have fun when I get to caught up in my to do list

Thank you for not being too proud to have a dance party with all of us

Thank you for praying with the girls every night before they go to bed

Thank you for watching the girls when I have something I need to do

(There may be dishes in the sink and toys all over the house but I got to go somewhere and our girls had a great time with their daddy. You're their favourite baby sitter)

Thank you for sitting with me when I just need to cry

Thank you for all the little things you do that I don't even know about

Thank you is a powerful word and it can go beyond just being a word. Being thankful is a powerful position. It doesn't just change your day but it also changes the day of the people you encounter. Imagine if I took notice of everything that was done for me. Imagine if I just stopped for five minutes . Would you stop this week. Would you take a moment every morning and thank the Lord for a few things that day. Would you smile at the starbucks barista look them in the eye and say thank you. Have you told your toddler how much you appreciate them? What about your boss or that janitor at work? Could you call your mom just to say I love you. What if we spent this week looking to brighten anothers day instead of how they can brighten ours. They are in our every day life. We don't have to go out of our way to find them we just need to stop for a moment to appreciate them.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Love em while they're little

I love the fact that people can live on through our memories. Sometimes we shut down after someone passes but we have the opportunity to let their legacy live on. I only had the opportunity of meeting one of my grandparents. My moms mom I called her Nana. But this is not about Nana. This is about advice I'm taking from Dad's Father. My dad has always been so generous with his words of his parents that in some ways I feel like I have met them. When I got pregnant with Isabella my Dad had advice. I know when your pregnant it's like you put a sign on your back and maybe your forehead too that says "Please give me your opinion!" That's not the kind of talk my dad had with me. It was the kind I was really happy to hear. He told me his dad always said "Love em while they're little, cause they're not little long."

Sweet Isabella

I'm so thankful for those words. I remember the moment they placed Isabella in my arms. I was holding this beautiful baby with a head full of dark hair. You just had to take one look in her sparkling brown eyes to see the determination to take on the world. This baby in my arms looked nothing like me and a lot like her daddy. And I remember thinking with a bit of fear, "What I'm I going to do with a girl?" My grandpa's words lingered in my mind. Since that day there has been so many first and unknown and I still take his words. Great advice for a first time mom.

Precious Alexandrea

Alexandrea looked a lot like her older sister without the head full of hair. She was a cuddle bug from the beginning something that has not changed. Even now Alexandrea doesn't have a great concept of personal space. So when we're eating any meal it's a given that she will inch her way to be eating in someone's lap by the end of it. In those moments I try to recall my grandpa's advice. I figured there's going to come a day when this little girl will go to college.

Whenever I feel irritation rising, or I start to ask myself how many times do I have to this or that (from washing dishes ALL DAY to asking them to clean up after themselves to tying shoes) I hear my grandfather's words. And although I never met him I'm thankful to carry a piece of him with me. And I will pass this advice unto my girls. This is the kind of advice that keeps you from always looking to the future but reminds you to stay in the present and if you follow it you won't be left in the past.

I guess I would leave you with these thoughts. Never be too busy to pass on the memories, the stories, the wisdom of loved ones in your life. And remember in the words of my grandpa Garnett Pegg
"Love em while their little, cause they're not little long"

My grandpa with my dad and my uncle. The 2 youngest of his 5 children

They're Not Little Long

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Goodbye 30 Minute Increments

Somewhere along the way I developed a philosophy that life should be separated in 30 minute increments ONE hour at the most and that is how I scheduled it. I tried to fill as many 30 minute holes as possible just so I could do EVERYTHING because that's the only way to live life and not miss out on anything.
This has resulted in many unfinished projects as soon as I hit 30 mins I would think this DIY craft/ recipe/project is for the birds! I don't have time for this. I have more important things to do. This could quite possibly be why I'm that mom running into preschool late dropping off/picking up my child with no time to talk. Or why every conversation began with "sorry I'm running late I was doing this or that" and sending the message that I'm just that important that you can wait.
Wow as I'm writing this I see insecurity oozing. If anyone asked me when can you be here? My answer "30 mins!" It didn't matter if it was 30 minutes away and the girls were still sleeping or I'm still in my PJ's, which could be any time of day, 30 Minutes is how I worked.
Another product of this would be my failure to be present in conversation (any conversation on the phone or face to face) because I had a list of things to do running through my mind. You hear it said in business talk "better to be a master at one thing then a jack of many." Why is this so hard for me to put into life. To choose quality over quantity. I guess there could be a lot of reasons. I think insecurity definitely fits for me. Everyday I have the choice to lay self doubt at the feet of Jesus or pick it up and continue life at this pace.
I would also say that 30 minute to one hour increments is pretty unrealistic. It leaves no time for diversion and lets be honest life is full of detours. This would end a lot of days in frustration. The uncrossed things on my to do list would be added to the next day's list and the rhythm continued. So instead of making a to do list for a week and trying to accomplish it in one day. I've opted for a few things a day. To enjoy what I'm doing while I'm doing it. Even the little detours that interrupt each day.

I would also like to point out that my inability to say NO definitely adds to the madness. (a good topic for a later blog)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

First things First

Well, it's the beginning of a new year. A chance to evaluate the good and bad things of the past year. An opportunity to keep the good and end the unnecessary. And I personally want to pinpoint a mentality of rush in my own life. But I don't believe that the source of rushing is a hurry problem I believe it's an identity problem. If you are like me you can easily find purpose in your to do list. Number one key to end the cycle of rushing is seek our Creator. To realize our purpose is not found in everything we accomplish, in checking off our to do list or to get something before our competition wether it be the promotion, the newest trend, or being the best parent. One of my biggest reasons for rush is to feel better about myself. To be able to say look at all I'm doing. I must be important. We can be so worried about about how we appear. But the truth is that He has a reason for everyday. He has a purpose for each moment. We miss it in our rush. In what we've filled our life with. Instead of seeking Him we've found our false identity in a lot of other things that leave us running around crazy.

So I guess the last thing to pounder is who/what sits on the throne of your life. Is it your spouse or your kids? Is it the "the Jone's," are trying to keep up? What about your job? A cup of coffee? Could it be your tv shows or a game station? What about sleep and rest? Its not that any of these things are bad. Its just they can never fill a void that only God can sustain. My husband always says who/what sits on your throne is what orders your life. It's what you go to bed thinking about. It's the first thing that comes to mind when you open your eyes. I don't know about you but I would like the God who created me to be the one ordering my life.

A Scripture to consider
People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (Matthew 6:32-34 MSG)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Driving Me Crazy!!

Happy New Years!!! It's 2012 and I pray your year is full of God's Blessing. So far my News Years weekend has been full of driving. After driving from Dallas to Lubbock yesterday and about to return to Dallas today I have a confession..... Driving is not one of my fortes. I'll be the first to admit I can give into road rage at any moment. I only like to drive when I feel the need to be in control. Most of the time I like to get from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. For someone who has a hard time sitting still car rides are just not my cup of tea. I really think rushing through life has more to do with your mentality than your actual circumstance. When I'm in a rush I tend to be more irritable and frustrated. And usually when in the car I choose to rush. I have come to realize that I'm in the car most of the time and most of that time I have my daughters undivided attention. So basically they get to witness this beautiful display of irritation.

Now I have to say I married a man who loves a drive and I'm very thankful the girls have taken on his opinion. To them there is no better way to enjoy a car ride than with a refreshing drink and a song list you can't do anything but sing along to at the top of your lungs and if you got the moves you better show them.

A challenge to my fellow Road Ragers

...... Enjoy the drive .....

Beautiful West Texas Sunset

Wether you use the car time already given to you or choose to just take a drive. Use it as a time to catch up with your kids, a phone call to an old friend (hands free if at all possible and of coarse no texting), a prayer (it's always appropriate to have a conversation with our creator), to get by yourself to reflect, a scenic route to explore, or an Alcala favourite ...... a concert.

If you need some help preparing for this event I've included our list of favs