Tuesday Coffee Chat

New Month ... time to shed the old and make a fresh start. Let's start with One Good Thing.

I was just talking with my friend Cheryl this morning about this very thing. I typically thrive on a pretty hard-core schedule. I wake in the morning, read my Bible and do some journaling and prayer, do a little computer time, get up and exercise, get ready for the day, get the kids up and moving, get them schooled while doing some housework, get everybody where they need to go and when they need to go there, feed the crew, and wind down in the evening with a regular bedtime.

But, as of late, I have had no motivation, not even enough to keep up with my schedule.

I haven't been waking at an intentional earlier hour.

I haven't been starting my day in the Word.

I haven't exercised at all.

I really don't care to be on the computer.

I feed the family, do the schooling, get everybody delivered and home again, and get the housework accomplished.

And then I sit in my chair with tea and my dogs and read. And I read some more. And then when I am done reading I go get in bed and read until I fall asleep.

And then I get up and do it all over again.

My word of the year ... KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) and all I was planning to do with that, I haven't done.

But, then again, things are certainly SIMPLE right now.

And, you know, it's completely okay!!

I've said it many times that I tend to wear down pretty substantially during the last few months of the calendar year. Add to that some heavy family stuff and this year was particularly draining. We took a month off from school, but that wasn't even enough to get me recharged. I've needed to shut myself down, and I mean DOWN. And that's what I've done.

I started to feel bad about it until I decided that I don't.

I look ahead to the busy months of April and May and beyond and know that this gift of unfettered time that I have been given right now is exactly that, a gift. And I gladly receive it.

It is okay to take a break.

Even though I am not reading scripture each morning, I have felt God speaking to me in other ways (such as in my dreams and just in the way I feel .. I can feel His presence). I am not exercising, but I will start again when the temps start to rise and I can get out and run again (plus we are going on a beachy vacation at the end of May and I don't want to look icky in my bikini, so there's that motivation). I'm watching what I eat right now so that's a plus. My family is being well-taken-care-of, and I am happy because I have no real stress. I have the security my husband provides and his love and acceptance to be who I am. We are schooling at a good pace because we have a nice break coming up in April.

This new month I am shedding any guilt I might feel at not doing things "the right way", even if it's just a way that I have conjured up in my own mind.

That's my One Good Thing.