Make It Happen - Giving God and My Family More Than Leftovers

This past week has been crazy - with work (family practice), two grandsons playing baseball (8 PM games), boarding picking up in the kennels, starting a new eight week session of teaching, and one night of free clinic, and taking care of my Dad (aka Pops) - oh and did I mention I have been on call.

I have been feeling overwhelmed.  I am still working hard on being mindful of the moment - but it is really difficult.  In my spare time (don't laugh), I have been reading Lara Casey's book "Make it Happen."

As I was reading Lara's Book I came to the realization, my life is overflowing with activity.  The only time I have in prayer is when I lay my head on the pillow - I ask God every night to take it all - let me not worry or dwell on the events of the day. I have done the best I can do. 

What I say isn't a prayer - it is giving God the leftovers.

Sadly - I often give my family the left overs. 

When I drag in at 10 PM and they watch me eat dinner, fall asleep watching a movie or when I step away from a ballgame to answer my phone - my family gets left out.

As I was reading Lara's book I realized I do not want to say I should of been a better wife, mother, daughter, nana, sister.

Like many overwhelmed people - finding a starting point to make a change is difficult.

What do I cut out of my life? 

Can I find a day - a whole day to disconnect from the world and spend time with my family? 

Can I find 30 minutes a day to listen to God, instead of giving him the leftovers at the end of the day?
What I do know - is I am the only one that can make a change.

Have you changed your busy life?
How do you give God and your family the first bite instead of the leftovers?

As for me - I will be rereading Lara Casey's Book and thinking more about unplugging and listening to God.

~ Connie ~

 

 

 



Staying in The Present

This past week has been like most of the weeks in my life - very busy. 
We had a death in the family - my sister-in-law who had been ill for several months was laid to rest.  My Dad had a doctor's appointment.  One of our four-legged babies was diagnosed with glaucoma, my daily patient schedule is filling up everyday and we went to the ball fields to watch a couple of baseball games our grandsons were playing in.

But, I have been working this week to be present - what I mean is, I have been focusing on living in the moment.  I am practicing mindfulness -

According to Psychology Today "Living in the moment—also called mindfulness—is a state of active, open, intentional attention on the present. When you become mindful, you realize that you are not your thoughts; you become an observer of your thoughts from moment to moment without judging them. Mindfulness involves being with your thoughts as they are, neither grasping at them nor pushing them away. Instead of letting your life go by without living it, you awaken to experience."

Mindfulness reduces stress, boosts immune functioning, reduces chronic pain, lowers blood pressure, and can have a positive impact on preventing or treating chronic disease. Being present can have a positive impact on your personal relationships. 

Why have I chosen to work on mindfulness? Often, we're so trapped in thoughts of the future or the past that we forget to experience, let alone enjoy, what's happening right now.  That has been me...I have been catching myself checking facebook, twitter, or answering the phone when I should be focusing on the minutes I have with my best friend (spouse), petting the four-legged baby that would do anything to get my attention, or listening intentionally to what my Dad is saying (even if he doesn't know what he is saying), because someday I will miss all of this - someday I will not have the opportunity to be mindful. 

Pops and Jax  - so thankful I didn't miss this moment.

So today is it - I am practicing mindfulness, intentionally paying attention.
How about you - do you practice mindfulness?
~ Connie ~

New Start Everyday

I am always energized at the start of a new year - full of plans for the next 12 months.  This year I am just as energized but I am looking at 2015 in a different way. 

The next minute, 2 hours from now, tomorrow or next week all offer a new start. This new perspective comes from my word for 2015 - Shalom.

Shalom  a Hebrew word meaning peace..  Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

As I struggle to run a family practice, operate a boarding kennel, manage a free health clinic, enjoy my four-legged babies, care for my 86 year-old father (who has moved in with us), spend time with those most important in my life, and try to understand God's Plan for me - I am going to focus on complete peace.

Will life be perfect all the time, it depends on me.  What I define as perfect, not what others define as perfect. 

Here are a few of my goals for 2015.
1. Follow God's Plan.
2. Severe where there is a need and an open door.
3. Be healthy (started tonight with a short run and a Pilates class).
4. Support my family in all their needs.

Hang around in 2015, see where I find my peace, contentment, wholeness and harmony.
~ Connie ~

Starting a New Year with Shalom

Wow - we are starting the third full week of 2014.  I did not understand when my parents said the years go by faster as you get older... but, today I suddenly realize there is some truth in the statement -  time seems to move faster as we age. 

 

Everyone says I am a master of multitasking - this morning at church a friend commented that the only downtime I must have is when I collapse to sleep.  Personally I don't think I manage my time wisely. There are a lot of things in my life I want to do, but I never seem to have the time to accomplish them. 

 

"Stress does not come from being busy, stress comes from being busy about things we don't want to do, or form not being busy about things we do want to do" Patricia Sprinkle, Women Who Do Too Much.  

 

I have been reading a few books on how to simplify my life. Marcia Ramsland book "Simplify Your Life" .  As I was reading one sentence jumped out at me "We must want change more than we want status quo."  Currently I think I am living the status quo...a fulltime job as the quality / compliance officer for a rural health system, volunteer director of a free health clinic, part-time online faculty for a BSN to RN nursing program, I serve on the board of 2 community organizations, I teach diabetic classes, I am rescues mom to 14 four-legged babies, mom to 5 adult children, and wife to my best friend.  All of this while completing a post-master's certificate in nursing family practice and now studying for boards..  Ugh---- I am tired just writing it all down. 

There has to be more to life???  Running a half-marathon, developing a yoga practice, sewing a quilt, knitting a scarf in less than 6 months. 

 

All the time I was in school I had two goals - to be able to teach from home and to provide healthcare to those who do not have access.  When I look at my life now, I can finally achieve both of these goals - so why do I keep doing things I really don't want to do... why do I continue to create stress in my life?

All of the above being said, this morning I had a moment of clarity.  I have been off work from the hospital system for 7 weeks with The Big Man (he had a knee replacement). Yes, I could have gone back to work, but he has supported me for the last 20 years and I was not about to leave him till the physician says he is cleared.  So, why do I not  just stay home, study for boards, teach my online classes and find balance?

 

So - here it is, this week I resign from the best paying job that I have ever had...it is just a job.  I know that "God's plan for our lives is not that all the circumstances will be peaceful or even pleasant.  God's plan is that we will experience shalom in each of them and know that our future has hope" (Patricia Sprinkle, Women Who Do Too Much).

 How are you finding balance? Do you experience Shalom in your life?
~Connie ~