THE GIFT OF PEACE

I have been blessed with the gift of peace. 

I am pretty easy with the world and the way things go.  It takes a lot to get me fired up or to make me worry too much about the future.  I generally live with the idea that things will work out.  I am not one to find stress or anxiety in a situation.

I have recently started working through Donald Miller's Storyline 2.0 to "find my subplot in God's story." One of the first exercises required me to prayerfully consider the theme of my life based on the milestones that have brought me this far.  My theme: God is working all things in my favor, even turning my trials into blessings. 

Looking back through my life, I can see that this is 100% true and it gives me faith, hope, trust and peace for the future. 

For the past four to five years, my heart's desire has been to become a stay-at-home mama.   I have been praying about this quite regularly and have worked really hard to trust God to make it happen or to take that desire from my heart.

For a while, my dream seemed impossible.  Then, it seemed possible, but I felt selfish for my desire and for the sacrifices it would require of Brian and our family as a whole.  At that point, my mindset regarding staying home can best be described as unsettled.  I just wasn't sure if we could make it happen financially or willingly give up the lifestyle that we have grown accustomed to. 

In the last several months, God has granted me a new peace with this decision. 

When 2013 rolled around, I felt a shift in my heart.  I knew that I could trust God to provide for us and lead us.  On an almost daily basis, I can feel and see this happening.  I feel like I can really rest in the peace of knowing that I am moving in the right direction. 

MY BEST MORNINGS

My mornings are varied.  The flow, the rhythm, the routine is not set.  My mornings vary based on whether I work that day or not and whether Brian works that day or not and just, generally, what else is going on in life. 

Even though I do not have a standard morning routine, I definitely have a favorite. 

It starts with getting myself out of bed at a ridiculous hour.  That part is never easy and is not my favorite, but it's the only way to make the rest of the morning work.  I tie on my tennis shoes and head downstairs to the treadmill as quickly as possible.

As I walk on the treadmill, I read through my prayer book.  My prayer book is a spiral-bound set of index cards with hand written prayers and a basic Christian creed.  I have limited the writing on each card to help me focus on one idea at a time.  The prayers have been compiled from a large number of sources and cover a wide range of topics. The creed is from A Gospel Primer. 

If I make it through my prayer book and still have walking/stretching time left, I either continue to pray, read on my Kindle or listen to part of a podcast. 

After exercising, I head back upstairs to shower.  After I shower, I dry and straighten my hair.  This step is important because if I don't do my hair it has an 80% chance of looking weird and frizzy.  (The other 20% of the time, it behaves itself and has some nice, controlled waves.)  I am often tempted to take the risk and not dry my hair, in hopes of saving myself 20 minutes of time, but generally regret it when I do. 

I read blogs while I dry my hair.  Reading blogs usually feels like a guilty pleasure, but I feel less guilty about it if I am getting something else done at the same time. 

If I can accomplish all of this before the Sammer wakes up or before I head to work, I can pretty much guarantee that I will have a great day. 

My body feels great, my heart is refreshed and head is in the right place after spending some time with God, I am clean, my hair won't freak me out every time I look in the mirror and I have taken some time to indulge myself in unnecessary, but fun reading. 

Sometimes I wonder why I can't get myself to follow this routine every single day.  I think the answer lies partly in the still-really-the-middle-of-the-night wake up time.  And (related) in my love of sleep. 

Oh well.  For now, I am quite happy to have found the routine and glad that I make it a part of each week, if not each day.