Monday, May 15, 2017

oh monday...

People.
I am lying on my family room floor, eating Cheetos at 10:49 at night while I write this. THAT is the kind of Monday it has been: Cheetos at 10:49 on Monday night bad. The entire world was out to get me today, I'm 100% certain of that. And the thing that sucked most of all was that I woke up with a "determined to get it all done" attitude, ready to take on all the challenges and accomplish things left and right! And little by little, Monday tried to beat it out of me. Praise Jesus for amazing friends who text you encouragement before noon because the day has already made its way down the toilet by then!

Perhaps you noticed one key little word in the above paragraph (or maybe not. If you're like me you're reading this as you're waking up and things are still a big foggy.) The word is "tried." Yeah, that's right: tried! Monday did NOT take me down. It didn't finish me. I didn't give up but kept on keeping on (or whatever that phrase is...) You see, me and Mondays, we've been battling all school year long. I honestly have no idea why it is the way, but everything is an uphill battle on Monday; just a real struggle of a day! And today is our last Monday of the school year so I just think Monday decided to give me one last hurrah. 

But you know what, Monday?! I'm getting used to your crap and I'm a fighter! NO SURRENDERING TODAY!!

Now granted, I didn't handle all of today's garbage with patience and grace. Just ask my kids!! Any complaining was handle with absolute frustration and irritation 😳 and I'm pretty sure I just gave up on teaching my daughter Math today. And when I discovered that there was no ground coffee left for me to make a "Saving Grace Cup of Joe," I ran our booties to Sbux and got an expensive fattening, sugar-filled Salted (not really because the salt is seasonal *sigh*) Caramel Mocha Frappe. And when finding something for lunch became a hassle for everyone, I completely gave up and headed to McD's for all the unhealthy lunch choices. 

However!!!! We accomplished a TON of stuff that I could've just said "FORGET YOU, STUFF! I AM NOT IN THE MOOD!" That's right! We did school work. We purged half of the school room. We cleaned and did laundry and dishes and ran 25 errands...well it felt like 25, ok?! We had a healthy dinner and created and crafted together. And when the stupid stuff happened, like the low fuel light on my truck that came on in the middle of errands (ok, God, I'd be super grateful if you'd make the gas gauge in my truck just like the little old lady's bottle of oil: not overflowing, but just enough that I'd never run out...) I just added another errand to my "to do" list and "to did" it. 

I kicked Monday's butt and I deserve every single one of these Cheetos. I'm even gonna give myself props because these are the healthier Cheetos: no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors! (Okay, that really only makes me feel a smidge better about my late night chip snacking.)

Friends: don't let your Monday (whatever that might be in your life) drag you down. Fight through it! Show 'em who's boss! And it's okay to keep it all balanced with some grace for yourself, ya know: like eating Cheetos at 10:49 at night. 😉

Tomorrow is a new day. ❤️
KC

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

by the grace of God

A while back I had a wonderful gal leave me a voicemail about my blog. She blessed me with her words of encouragement and praised me for the job I was doing as a woman of God. She told me that as she read my blogs, she believed that I was more than surviving, I was thriving by the grace of God.

She's right, in one sense. I would be drowning in this whole wife/mom/woman thing if it weren't for God. But here I am, walking upright, striving to be who God wants me to be. I get laundry done and feed the people in this house who always seem to need to eat. I maintain a clean-ish house 😜 and my kids are decent at their math facts and reading skills. I've got amazing friends. And we live in the most wonderful neighborhood. And my truck still runs and most of my clothes don't have holes in them. So I get from one perspective, I'm thriving!

But that's not how it feels. Maybe it's just me, but usually I feel like I'm floundering. I could be doing everything a whole lot better than I do. I could be disappointing a lot less people. I could be a better wife and mom who knows how to get every stain out of all articles of clothing and who can cook healthy things and make them taste amazing so my while family will love every meal. I could be better at responding to emails and texts and messages. I could take more time to send out birthday cards and to make more phone calls to friends. I could be making better choices on how to spend our money or on how to educate our kids. I could...I should...😕

Mental picture time:

I am not sitting in a beautiful sail boat with a giant smile on my face and the wind blowing through my hair as the sun shines down on my skin.

Nope. I'm in a life preserver, bobbing along with the waves, exhausted and wet with sunburned cheeks and dried out lips. 

I'm surviving. 

But let me tell you what surviving means to me. 
A survivor is someone who has made it through difficult times and has come out stronger on the other side. A survivor is someone who lives in gratitude because of what they have been through. A survivor doesn't give up. A survivor can face the next trial with determination and confidence because they can look back and see what they already lived through. 

Yes, because of God, I am alive and thriving.
But because of God, I am also a survivor.

I know I'm in good company when I say I'm surviving by the grace of God.

Can I get a Hallelujah?!

KC