I Thirst Thursday

As Jesus hangs on the cross, some of his last words are "I thirst." Of course, he thirst physically as his body is slowly draining of life. He is thirsty for water, probably frantic for water, but, his words have other meaning as well. Jesus thirsts for us. His desire for our love is a physical pain to him. He stands outside of our hearts and knocks, he wanders hungry, he is in prison with pain, he thirsts for our love.

We have been commanded to feed the hungry, to feed his sheep...can we do that? Can you get out of your own suffering to lift another up to him. Jesus has commanded us not to go out and love the whole world today...but, rather, to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. On Thursdays find joy in serving the least of His people. Who can you serve? Your husband-a kind gesture, your neighbor-a baked treat, a homeless man-a spare dollar, a lost soul-a smile of compassion.

Imagine on your darkest days what a little kindness would have done for you and show it to someone today.

I THIRST THURSDAY

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
--Mother Teresa

The Single Purpose Schedule

Now I have come up with a new schedule that will hopefully force me to single task instead of always multitasking and never getting ahead. Multitasking is kind of like spinning your wheels in the mud.

I accidentally discovered how much time I was wasting last month when I needed to get 3 craft projects finished for Christmas. One was a painting project. I normally just try and fit extras in wherever I can but that week I decided to paint from 1-3 pm every day. Lo and behold, I finished and was also able to get my other chores done because I had scheduled them for a different time.

The new schedule is very specific in order to form the habit of doing one job at a time until completion. This is what my schedule looks like...keep in mind that I am a stay at home mom who freelances so if you work outside the home you will have to tweak your schedule to different hours.

5:30 Get up
5:30-6:30 Writing project for the day
6:30-7:00 Get myself ready
7:00-8:30 Breakfast/dishes/dress babies/kids to school
8:30-9:00 Make beds/start laundry/main floor pick up
9:30-10:00 Chore of the day
Monday~Guest Bathroom, vacuum/dust downstairs
Tuesday~Baking,deep clean kitchen
Wednesday~dust/vacuum upstairs,
Thursday~Make grocery lists, errand day
Friday~Guest bathroom wipedown, vacuum main floor, clean up laundry room
Saturday~Master bed and bath
10:00-12:00 Outings with little ones...park, museum, library, etc. Except on Tuesday when I bake they play and Thursdays we run errands.
12:00-1:00 lunch/clean up/fold a load of laundry and put away
1:00-3:00 Naps/project of the day, exercise
Project of the day
Monday~Organize one thing (closet, paperwork, drawer, toys, etc)
Tuesday~exercise
Wednesday~Craft project (crochet, paint, scrabook, garden)
Thursday~exercise
Friday~One deep cleaning project (windows, gather goodwill items, yard, etc)
Saturday~exercise
Sunday~exercise
3:00-4:00 homework, snack, prep dinner
4:00-5:00 Play outside
5:00-6:00 Cook dinner while kids color, finish homework, read
6:00-7:00 Dinner/clean up
7:00-8:00 Baths/books/bed little kids
8:00-9:00 showers/books/bed big kids
9:00-10:00 Writing project if Greg is working or spend time with him.
10:00-10:30 Shower/read
10:30 Nighty night

Thought for the day~~~

Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
--Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Joy Project

I hate to say this because it sounds so negative...but, I am a pessimist. Yes. I am one of the people who see the glass half empty. It is something I really don't like about myself so this year will be devoted to the Joy Project. Finding joy in every day and refusing to let negativity enter my mind. Negative thoughts are what keep me awake at night because I don't just see one small thing happening, but I catastrophize. That's right. I can project from one small incidence to the end of the world as I know it. In my heart I know that all is not a catastrophe but my mind keeps searching for it and finding it.

This year is devoted to breaking the habit of negativity and pessimism. Although I am a person who can sink into melancholy at the slightest provocation, I am going to attempt to find the tools to keep myself away from the dark place. You know the one. Where you are not good enough, nothing you do ever turns out right, you can't make a good decision, etc. We are going to find some peace if it kills us. Just kidding...see I told you I could catastrophize!

Negativity is a habit so we must attempt to break the habit. The first step is to give ourselves the means to peace. For me that is order. I cannot function in disorder. This will be hard for me because I have a big family and that means lots of disorder. So, I need to tame the chaos for myself and my kids. The chaos begins in my mind. I multitask. I am a chronic, hardened multitasker. I have to stop cold turkey. Things only truly get accomplished when you single task them until completed. That also means that I have to ignore the outside noise. Not ignore it exactly, but let it run off my back, I will get to each thing in its own time.

"The first step to becoming is to will it." -Mother Teresa

Single tasking---

Make a schedule of your days and weeks
Put down a task for each hour of the day...so instead of clean house for an hour, write exactly clean the bathroom, dust the living room and vacuum the downstairs. Give yourself specific single tasks to accomplish during the time and work at the one job until it is complete, then move on to the next task.

If life is chaotic in one particular area set about a way to remedy it. Mine is paperwork. I have documents, papers, and files galore to keep track of....most of the time I am in a panic when someone asks for their birth certificate (I have 11 to keep up with) or their report card or their SAT ticket. I have to tame the paper beast to become peaceful. I will set aside a day to accomplish this and will put nothing else on my plate that day except the essentials.

Find Inspiration
Fill your mind with positvie quotes. Fill a notebook. Read them whenever your mind starts heading down the wrong path.

How is that for peaceful?