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Friday, October 31, 2014

Waking Up Early: Closure

I felt like I needed a better ending to all those posts.  So here it is:

Waking Up Early was very profitable for me in my teaching-first-grade season of life.

It is not profitable to me or my family in this breastfeeding, raising little ones season of life.  I realized that on Day 18.

Instead of focusing on time, I am focusing on accomplishing tasks, and renewing my mind in Christ to be able to prioritize during the awake hours to better glorify him. I began that on Day 20.

I didn't really have peace about it though, until Day 22.

Thursday morning Jonah did all of these things in a 20 minute segment of time:

- Bit the baby's finger (corrected, spanking and time out)
- Climbed on top of the couch and turned the air conditioner to 62 degrees (corrected, put down on floor/redirected)
- "Poured" milk from one full cup to an empty cup, spilling about half of it all over the table and floor (corrected, time out)
- Pushed the stool up to the bathroom sink to run water and put my mascara under the running water (corrected, time out)
- Tried to go out the back door and walk outside alone (corrected, time out)
- Threw multiple items that were not balls (corrected, we tell him "We throw BALLS, nothing else!")
- Screamed at me (corrected, time out)

Whew.  All this as I am trying to get us ready to walk across the street to go to Community Bible Study.  Corrected means I say something to the effect of, "No.  We do not insert offensive behavior here.  We insert correct behavior and modeling here. instead."  It's exhausting and annoying.

The baby had a rough night with lots of waking up and crying/nursing/crying and was now following me around the house with a snotty nose.  I had a cute outfit picked out for her, and it never got put on.  She came to CBS in her pajamas, in the ergo, because I didn't want her to pass around her little cold or make the sweet nursery ladies miserable.  I nursed her in the main opening session and then wore her in the ergo and she slept the next hour and half, until we went to pick Jonah up at the end.  They said he only tried to escape once.

If I had set my alarm clock for 7:27am today, and tried to get up, I would have been even more exhausted, probably woken up both kids because the baby was in our bed, and Jonah on the floor next to our bed in his little flip out sofa bed for nights when he wakes up and runs in our room, and I would not have had the mental or spiritual clarity to respond to my kids in patience and love.  Instead, I slept until they both woke up around 8:20, and then prayed in my head and heart and sang praise music when I wanted to scream.  This is renewing my mind.  I had somewhere to go, so my morning tasks did not get accomplished.  No laundry or clean kitchen, but my kids had a more Christ-like mommy, and that's what counts in eternity.  A sweet friend of mine tagged me in a Facebook post to read this fantastic article about this exact struggle.

I fell asleep for about twenty minutes while I put them down for their nap, then jumped up to do my quiet time as soon as I realized they were both asleep.  I came downstairs and did this:
Just when I'm crying out to God, complaining about others (possibly including my children), He sends me to his word with the #shereadstruth app and I am reminded of this:  
"Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?" ~ Romans 15:1-3 The Message. I know this is aimed at adults, but I read a great quote once that said something to the effect of, 'People say the Bible doesn't give much parenting advice. But your children are just little people, your children are your neighbors, your children are the 'others' you are called to love when they are the least deserving. Anywhere the Bible instructs us in how to treat 'others' can also help us on how to treat our own children.' It's all about perspective. #thrivewhereistand

I am thankful that I participated in this challenge because a lot of memorable things happened this month, that I am glad I have on record.  I was also reminded how much I do love writing, and this helps me to feel more like me again, and less like a milk cow.  I am now going to enjoy going back through the other 31-Day Challenge posts and read other lovely ladies' perspectives on all sorts of things.  You should check this out!

Landing Page:All 31 Days

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