Establishing Disciplines in Your Life

It is not always easy to establish certain disciplines in our lives.  Some may come easy for us because they fit well with our personality tendencies or loved habits.  On the other hand, some do not come as easy, even when you realize the discipline would be so helpful and would make your life so much easier!

For ages I have been trying to get to bed at a decent time – before midnight would be nice.  My body’s clock is so used to getting to bed late at night that is hard to steer away from that not-so-good habit.  Through bearing children and trials, I have told myself nearly daily that I should go to bed earlier and wake up earlier!  This week, with a new school year at hand, I have been more mindful of striving towards the goal.  I have gotten to bed a smidge earlier the past couple days and have woken up earlier due to the demands of my household.  I am trying to order my nights and mornings better so I can have more energy and joy, produce better fruit in my home, and help things to run more smoothly. 

For now these are the nighttime disciplines I am trying to solidify.

Nighttime Disciplines

Make lunches for my husband and my niece.

Make sure kitchen table, sink, and counter are clean.

Think ahead to the next day’s schedule and meals, preparing at least my mind and other necessities in advance.

Limit computer time.

Get to bed around 10:30 so I can be asleep at 11:00.

What disciplines are you trying to establish

in your life right now?

Our School Schedule

Tomorrow is the big day!  My niece starts school, and we try as best as we can to follow her school schedule to maintain better unity within the household.  I sketched out a basic routine plan for our day.  I will start with this schedule and tweak it as necessary – one of the beauties of homeschooling!

One difference from last year – doing science before lunch.  We always had science right after lunch.  It worked well that way since it is a group subject, and we were all together.  This year I am trying to break up some of the more tedious subjects, like math and English, to see if it helps our day run more smoothly.  I had heard about this concept years ago – that it helps motivation and keeping the day from becoming too cumbersome.  We’ll see how it works.

I have posted our schedule on the whiteboard to try and help the kids stay on track – also something different for this year.  I was inspired by “Keeper of the Home”’s visual schedule.

Do you have a schedule for your school day?

Are you doing anything different this year?

Have a blessed year ahead!

Our Garden’s Goodness

The past couple years we have tried to get back into the habit of gardening.  It really is a beautiful thing to grow some of your own food.  It tastes great, has no chemicals, and feels so rewarding, knowing you grew the produce yourself. 

Our main problem is that the local deer love to eat some of our plants, like our tomato plants especially.  We have only harvested ONE red tomato.  I have seen flowers and some green tomatoes, but then – voila! – everything seems to disappear.  I’m assuming it is the deer’s fault. 

You can see our tomato plants in this photo.  The deer have chopped the tops off.  We are thinking about putting a fence up next year, just around the garden, even though the idea does not appeal to us entirely.  We have a fenceless yard and enjoy its look and feel overall.

Regardless of the deer, we have harvested some goodness from our garden.  We are not experts at gardening, and my thumb is still pretty brown.  However, we are thankful for what we *do* get.

This was last week’s harvest

… along with this lovely beauty of a cucumber!

Yes, our cucumbers have done well.  We have also harvested lettuce early in the summer, some basil, chives, and squash.

What should I do with these guys?

If you have never tried gardening, I recommend it!  Even if you get a small harvest, like us, it is truly a blessing!

Did you have a garden this year?

Was it successful?

Snack Dinner

Ever find yourself in a pinch to make dinner, don’t have a lot of energy or groceries in the house, or you had a pretty full lunch and want to have a light dinner?

Try a snack dinner!

I will make snack dinners on Sunday nights sometimes, especially.  They are fairly easy to prepare.  The main thing I try to do when serving a snack dinner is to make sure I have a handful of options with variety, hopefully with some sort of protein and fruit or vegetables.

Sunday night’s snack dinner:

Cheese quesadillas, deli turkey meat, chips with hummus and salsa, cut up cucumbers, and frozen grapes.

Other good options for snack dinners:

Simple sandwiches

Boiled eggs

Bagels

Crackers and cheese

Cut up veggies

Fruit

Baked Beans

Applesauce

Muffins

Trail Mix

Leftovers…

The sky’s the limit!

What do you or would you serve in a snack dinner?

Oh, and you don’t just have to use this idea for dinner.  It works well for lunches too!

The Final Countdown

Last night I was fortunate to have my wonderful, spectacular husband help me organize the school shelves.  I have started this project a couple other times and was interrupted.  With Brian’s great organizing skills and teamwork, we were able to accomplish the task much easier!

Before

The shelves needed organizing and updating.  We also turned the bookshelf.  Originally it was on an angle, cornering the kitchen. Now it is in line with the wall for something different.  I like it.  The area feels crisp.

We took everything off the shelves and separated it according to categories on the kitchen table. 

We took away what was no longer necessary on the shelves and ordered the materials by child and purpose.

After

Now I am feeling much more ready for the school year!

 

Other things I am brainstorming about this week:

• Our schedule
• A planner for me
• Record-keeping

 

Have any tips you would like to share?

Protect Yourself

Life is busy.  Extremely busy.  Too busy for my liking a lot of the time.  I would much prefer a slower-paced life with more margin.  More time to relax.  More time to read.  More time to spend with friends and family.  Less worry.  Less calendar events.  Less meetings and appointments.  Less information plowing through our brains each day. 

In accepting the reality of my busy life, though, I am slowly learning that I must protect myself if I am going to thrive in life rather than merely survive. 

How is your life going?

Are you surviving or thriving?

We have some valuable assets we must learn to protect:

Protect your time.

There is much competing for our time.  Know your limits.  Figure out what works well for you.  Try not to overcommit.  It is okay to say “no”, even to good things.  In the year 2011, we have more great opportunities than one can handle.  Ask God what He wants you to do.

Protect your heart.

The Bible says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  (Proverbs 4:23). 

When our hearts are weighed down with negative emotions, we are unable to function fully up to speed.  Fear, worry, anger, jealousy, disappointment, heartache -  all of these emotions paralyze us and prohibit us from living the abundant life God wishes for us.

Protect your thoughts.

Negative thinking leads us on a spiral downward.  If we do not catch ourselves, we can find ourselves in a rut – dwelling on negative thoughts that encourage negative emotions and negative actions, besides causing havoc to the peace of our souls. 

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Protect your rest.

I am continually trying to improve the amount and quality of sleep I get each night.  I fail tremendously, yet I plod on, knowing that sleep plays a major factor in our mood, energy, and health for the day. 

Besides getting good sleep, be sure to take mental and physical breaks when needed.  Sometimes I will just go up to my bedroom for a short breather when I need to get away from the hustle and bustle of my home.  It helps me to regain my focus and feel more ready to handle what comes next.

Protect your relationships.

Relationships are the crux of life.  We were not made to be loners.  God made us to be in relationship with one another and to work hard at maintaining good relationships.  The Bible exhorts us to love, forgive, serve, and bear with one another.  When we are at peace with each other, we feel encouraged and motivated to handle the issues of life. 

Brian and I are learning that, as our load has exponentially increased over the years, we must strive to keep our marriage solid.  Stress in life can quickly diminish the love and fervor of a marriage if we are not cautious.  Frequent connection, communication, and pursuit of understanding are key to protecting our marriages.

Protect your walk with God.

The cares of life can creep in and we find ourselves following the steps of Martha rather than Mary.  We are so busy with taking care of our homes and families that we forget simply to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him.  We must prioritize and protect our time with God.  We must escape from the crowd, as Jesus did, and have quiet, intimate moments with our Lord so He can fill us, change us, and draw us closer to Him.  That is the ultimate protection for our lives because He will enable us to do the rest!

Summer’s End

Last night we returned from Fellowship Camp with our church.  We go each year.  Once you start having children, and they are old enough to realize what is going on, it is hard to turn back!  Camp is a lot of fun for them - activities, late night curfews, endless time with friends, and a lake with cafeteria-style meals to boot.  What more could they want?

Fellowship Camp is a great time of just that – fellowship with our dear brothers and sisters in Christ.  We stay up late and enjoy each other’s company.  Of course, as a mother to five children there are always snags to any vacation, but it is still nice to get away and connect with others. 

Some of our vacation’s goodness:

My son was baptized!  Hallelujah!

My son learned canoeing skills to finish earning his badge.

Archery is always a favorite.

Beach fun!

Now I am regrouping and fixing my eyes towards the school year that is about to begin. 

How is your summer ending?