Inspired by a teen!

I am in general easily inspired to do good, but recently I was floored by a young girl in our church's youth group and her success in raising money and awareness for human trafficking. She partnered with a friend and in a short time raised 500.00 for her chosen charity. The amazing thing was that I had done the exact same thing with a group of Moms and we have barely hit 100.00! Her conviction to continue is astounding as she already met her quota and then some. This lovely lady reminded me that those are the people you WANT to follow, support, involve. They are finishers! We are not by our very nature generous people so my hat goes off to her parents who have raised, trained, and been an example of what is lacking in so many of us. Thank you.

Sick Days and TV marathons

I spent 85% of my day yesterday laying down, either on the couch or in my bed. Yes, even with two young children to care for all day! It was such a challenge to keep my eyes open, therefore, contrary to my usual dose of around an hour of tv per day, my children got a huge helping of the likes of Disney Jr, and Cbeebies. What I observed through my feverish state was that while my kids were being entertained by the TV life was amazing! I could actually rest and they were content and seemed happy. As the day wore on however, they were far more fussy, whining, and had more misbehavior than on days where they are engaged outdoors, and through school time, story time...etc. I reviewed numerous psychiatric analysis of this phenomenon from the likes of the American Psychiatric association and a published articles in the NY Times, that there is a link between TV exposure and childhood aggressive behavior. If that isn't reason enough to turn off the TV, I don't know what is. Thank God my fever broke and so today I plan to make sure the kiddos get plenty of entertainment from good old Mom! http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/health/09iht-snvital.1.7815333.html?_r=0 http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/abn/67/2/193/

Halloween Horrible's

If there was any season I wish that I had the remote control to fast forward through it would be Halloween. I have now spent a couple of days passing store windows full of gruesome headless monsters, creepy cauldrons, and horrifying calculated cackles! I'm on edge everywhere trying to protect my children from being scared senseless and selfishly trying to protect my own precious sleep. Halloween is thought to have started with the Celts tradition of Samhain where they would dress in costumes, light bonfires, and dance around to ward off roaming ghosts. It also marked the start of the long dark, cold winter which was at the time associated with death. These are ALL things I would not want my kids to brood over, so my question is how did this holiday become something that children are the primary participants? After a little research I found that in America during the late 1800's there was a shift to make Halloween less about warding off ghosts and fortune telling but more about a community event. Families and parents were encouraged to remove the ghoulish costumes and traditions for more wholesome celebrations of the autumn harvest. Between 1920 and 1950 acts of vandalism and trickery became common events at the community parades and events. Trick or Treating was revived as families in theory could prevent "trickery" by offering the youth that were associated with the acts of vandalism and terror by offering sweets. Now that the ground work had been laid for one night of sweet scavenging for the mere price of a cute costume, was born the ever growing industry of Halloween (nearly $6 billion annually) As for me I'm considering investing in rose colored glasses for me and my children!! For more history on Halloween and it's traditions check out http://www.history.com/topics/halloween

So I realize I haven't posted in nearly a year and I felt it was time to reignite my passion to write! Yet, again! We will see how long my devotion to an early rising paired with writing will last. Haha At any rate, I just wanted to share a thought I had about self worth as it relates to identity and image. Growing up I was always fairly self confident comparatively speaking, and still I struggled as many women do with dissatisfaction about my appearance. Even only a few years ago I would look in the mirror and see all the flaws - The uneven skin tone, the occasional breakout, the ever growing collection of wrinkles...you can see how this list can be come inexhaustible! I was quickly becoming one of those people who could never be satisfied. I had gotten on the eternal treadmill striving towards perfection. Then I watched a video/message given by Francis Chan's Awe Factor video on God's unlimited creative genius. Then it hit me..."Hey God made me too! AND in His image no less" It filled my heart with love and joy that I was beloved by such an awesome supreme God. In the face of the One who made the stars, the sunsets, the oceans, carefully designing each one and then chose to create human beings in His own image WOW! It gave me a new perspective on my daily mirror habit...GOD does NOT see what I see. He see's his creation, His artwork, His family. Just like I don't see my Grandmother's wrinkles as a flaw...they are what makes her beautiful. Hopefully we all can look in the mirror each day and ask that we see ourselves and each other through the Divine Lens.