day 11: comfort...and progress

DaddyBoy and I have been trying to go to bed early this past week (like, aiming for 9, hitting 10 instead of aiming for 10, hitting 11...waking up at 4 either way).  It's made a huge difference in how I feel when I wake up, and I'm actually sleeping better because I've quit trying to fit a bunch of stuff into my day after the kids go to sleep.  Without even realizing it, I've started relaxing at bedtime and shutting out the world, bit by bit.  Hmm.  All those articles I've read, it turns out, are true.  :)

This morning I woke up with a whole day in Brenham ahead of me...that's unusual for a Friday, and I'm celebrating!  Last night James asked me what time I had to get on the road this morning and I started to answer, "5:00," before I realized that I'm NOT commuting today.

I skipped quiet time yesterday, which was very apparent in the way I snapped at everyone yesterday morning.   The weird thing was, I wasn't grumpy at all--I had a very peaceful, very productive day yesterday and I felt great.  But, I knew better than to skip it again today so that's what I did right when I woke up (okay, okay, I'm lying--I checked our bank balance first to see if we got paid).  Anyway...quit interrupting so I can get back to my day, okay?...anyway, while I was praying I was thinking about this bonus day in Brenham today.  Realistically, I've got way more on my work to-do list than I could ever get done in one school day.  BUT...even so, I am optimistic that today I'll get tons done.  And so far, I have.  I decided to get personal stuff done this morning so I can spend a little bit of time at church on Children's Ministry stuff after drop off, then come home and grade and work on PPCD stuff.  And then take a little break to have lunch with Noble, and then keep on breaking to have lunch (well, I won't eat twice) with my Boy.  And then come the most productive 2 hours of my day, then it's carline and kid time and a birthday party this evening and a big day in Huntsville tomorrow for Homecoming and then a quick trip home to drop off the knuckleheads and head to James' 20 year reunion...ah.  But you know what?  I'm not stressed...it'll all happen, it'll all be fun, and I'm ready for whatever comes.  Mostly because, I think, I've been going to bed early and really, truly letting work stress roll off my back.  Worry is not of God, y'all.

Did you hear it?  Worry is not of God.  He wants us to be joyful and prayerful in all circumstances, and grateful.  He calls us to trust in Him, period.  There is no key to success or secret to a happy life beyond that--no matter how hard we try to make it.

Isn't that freeing?  Seriously, y'all...whatever you're carrying around this morning, hand it to Him.  Lay it at the foot of the cross and move on.

It's almost time to wake kids up and start our Friday, so I'll wrap up--besides, there's no way to top that great news, is there?

Day 11 of Idea Room's photo-a-day is comfort.

The first thing that came to my mind was what I said a few lines back...and the second thing was a place, my favorite place (especially with a snuggly Boy beside me):


I love, love our bed.  The mattress is that just right place between firm & soft, I love our white sheets and fluffy duvet and perfectly broken-in pillows (which means James will be asking for a new one any day now, you watch).  This is truly a place of comfort...Noble agrees, as he came in here at 3 this morning looking for a little comfort.  I don't know what got him out of bed, but as usual he climbed in between us, grabbed a hunk of my hair and went right back to sleep.  He's gone from coming in every night to coming in once every 2 or 3 weeks, which is just awesome.  We're all sleeping better!  Bribing him with that iPod did the trick--I'm not proud.

As much as this probably contradicts what I said about turning it all over to Him, I do struggle with how much I'm getting done and how much I'm leaving undone.  Busyness is an idol of mine, I know.  I try to keep it all in perspective...how much is me trying to accomplish things, how much is me taking care of my family by staying organized...it's something I juggle constantly.  This morning I'm grateful that I've had time to upload pictures to Dropbox so I can print them out to put aside for when I have time to get back to Project Life (I'm so doing it wrong, as I think I'm about to print out 250 pictures from the past 7 weeks).  I also took 15 minutes and finished organizing my scrapbook box so it will be ready to go when I get another 15 minutes...that's a weight off, I was feeling pretty bad that I haven't even touched it in the past week.


Know what else feels good?  I get to put our 2012 binder on the shelf--this tax year is finished.  Since I let it all hang out here, I'll tell you--this is the first year since before Kayci was born that we were eligible for a refund (our tax bills are legendary, y'all, and have kept us in debt many years when we didn't pay as we went like we should have...oh, the joys of being self-employed!).  This year our prayer was to have a small bill or, Lord willing, break even...so I was shocked when our CPA asked me what we wanted to do with the overage.  While it was tempting to take the money and run (to Disneyland), it just didn't feel right.  We weren't expecting any money and it was such a blessing, so it felt right to apply it to the 2013 tax year and pay it forward.  I have fantasies about breaking even again in 2013, but we'll see.  You know what?  I'm not worried.  For now, I'm going to carry this binder into the office and store it.  It'll feel good to get it out of our room!

Have a wonderful Friday, friends!