Resolution-Shmesolution. My last posting brought many well-earned sarcastic comments from my closest friends. My mom was thinking the posting came from my most recent visit to the Church Basement Ladies play. That is a strong possibility. However my idea to “Just Say No” sounds lovely, putting it in practice I have found much more difficult.
The other day Grace and I were together and I was typing into my phone, a quick message I needed to relay and Gracie remarked “Why don’t you just call them?” It was a simple question and I had a simple answer, I hate the telephone. This is probably just another symptom of my busyism syndrome, calling takes so long, texting is just easier and quicker. Then Gracie cut me to the quick, “Mom” she says, “Sometimes you just need to hear a voice.” I contemplate for a while on her words, here I am 5 days into my New Year’s Resolution and can I name one thing, one place that I just said no ? One time I refused culture to rush me through? Nope. So I deleted the text and dialed the number. I know wow right? Some people quit their job and join the peace corp. Me? I dial a number.
This is where I would like to request YOUR help. If you have mastered this slower pace of life or taken the path less traveled I want, no I NEED your tips.
- · How do you provide a healthy dinner around the table that everyone likes with homicide as a side course?
- · How do you prioritize life without driving yourself crazy?
Maybe this is something you have been working on yourself, being intentional about slowing down the pace of life. If so would you share with me your story? Imagine how God could use us if we slowed long enough to hear His voice, I bet we could fill this internet space with astounding stories of how God is using His people! So let me have it, your tips, your encouragement, your struggles, your failures (after all an intelligent person learns from their mistakes, a wise person learns from other’s mistakes) your challenges, your triumphs! I can’t wait to hear!
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis year we are somewhat faster paced than in the past, but over the years, Ryan and I have lived fairly slow paced. I suppose, in all honesty, I should say that life has forced us to live slow-paced. If I don't respect my need to take life slowly, my health issues cave in on me, so we have learned to slow down, and we generally live very counterculture...Things that have helped:
-You have to decide that time is a more valuable resource than money. That is a really hard decision to make, and what it means in practicality is different for everyone.
-You have to be willing to have people be unhappy with you.
-You have to be willing to break traditions and not feel guilty about it/do what works for you.
This Christmas, Ryan and I made a radical decision to keep Christmas slow paced! We did not travel anywhere. We did not go to family gatherings. We did not make a big fancy dinner. For the first time in our marriage, we did what worked for us, instead of trying to a) please everyone else and b) follow traditions. We literally packed soup in the car and took the kids to the Water Park for the day. Christmas Eve we watched the Sound of Music and opened presents. It was the slowest, calmest, funnest, and best Christmas we have had in our married life!
Money is what drives so many families to live a fast paced life style. Look at it this way: if you said no to everything the family does not absolutely "need", how many less hours could the two of you work? You may have to put in the same hours to get benefits, but could one of you cut back?
The last suggestion I have, one that I have been forced to learn...When we truly bring our choices to the Lord and ask what He sees as a good priority, He will make it clear. That have literally been days where God has said things to me like, "No, let the laundry sit, you need to get through the day". Other days, the message may be different in nature: "If you don't get off the computer, you won't have things done that you need done for tomorrow". I don't like to hear those messages, but they remind me to respect my body's needs.
My final suggestion: Don't let Satan guilt you for choosing to not be busy. I have to fight the messages like, "I'm lazy" or "I don't have goals". Those are messages that don't come from Christ but from society and from our Enemy.
Practical tidbits: take a fast from all forms of media. Excercise-you have more energy then. Eat healthy.
Ok, enough of my preaching. Honestly, it's not that I'm a disciplined person. It's that I learned the hard way that pushing too hard can destroy your health.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI am not a slow down expert by any means. But when I do, I LIKE IT! So this morning, I am slowed down. The reason is we went to church Saturday night. So this Sunday morn we can sleep in and spend a leisurely morning just slowed down. I did ask myself, what that would look like if the kids were young and all at home. The days I liked with them were the snow days. You could not go anywhere. So you had to slow down. Those were days where you played outside, made snow forts and had hot chocolate. Is is possible to call a snow day when there is no snow? Might be worth a try.
Blessings,
Dan Miller
One more thing. A number of years back a good friend said that marriage satisfaction was highest in the early years. It slowly went down from there and hit rock bottom when the kids where in high school. Then it would slowly go up. What it did for Con and I was accept the challenge of the craziness of life, but fight against it. There were many seasons when we had to remind ourselves that this was a reality. But at the same time we fought hard to get away for a night or a weekend, to remind oursleves that we were in this together. I remember the sotry of Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles, great preachers of the 1700's and founders of Methodism. She had 19 children. She could not say No. Yet she would at times throw her apron over her head and pray. The kids knew that this was mom time. Did it last long? Probably not. But she got the drink she needed to stay with it. I know from experience that it is often in those short meetings that the Lord will refresh me. I grab the bible and start reading. The first phrase leaps out to me. God meets and feeds my soul. I hear a phrase in a song, I pray a short prayer. And I sense God is there and shows up. Do not underestimate the small. But keep fighting for the large.
ReplyDeleteDan Miller