Nope its not about another dance / hip hop movie or a cheer leading moving but its about something that we can do which I am presently working on...
Lysa shared that as a speaker there are times when she will go out on stage and the audience is not as energetic as she would want them to be (now this is hard for me to imagine because I can't imaging going to see Lysa speak and not be energetic or excited).
Well, Lysa goes on to share that a friend of hers who is also an author - Angela Thomas, challenged and encouraged Lysa by saying that it doesn't matter what type of energy the audience has because it is her job as the speaker to bring it... to bring the energy that she wants. Lysa went on to share that this has helped her as a speaker but also as a mom. She said that she can't control how her kids act and react - she can't make them have a good attitude or have joy. But that if she wants joy in her home - she has to bring it... it starts with her.
In reading this book, this school year I made a commitment - not a promise - but a commitment that this year I was going to be different... not my children - but me. I have come to the realization that I am who keeps the temperature of the home... how about you? Think about it... when you have a bad attitude or upset or bothered, how do your children react... how does your home feel... well I know how my home feels and I certainly do not like it. And its not that I haven't "tried"... oh goodness - God knows I have.
But I am going to BRING IT!!! Woooo Hoooo
Here is how Lysa puts its:
“Do you ever have these little zingers that fly into your morning and sting your heart? I suspect you do. And it’s these kinds of things that can catch us off guard and start ratcheting up the tension that leads to coming unglued.
We don’t want to be unglued mamas. We don’t want to have mornings filled with unglued moments. So, today let’s think about what we do want our mornings to be filled with … love, peace, joy, sanity, kind words, and interactions with our kids that won’t be retold years later on some therapist’s couch.
Yes, that’s what we want.
But here’s the tricky part: I can’t control the unpredictable attitudes my kids are going to bring into each morning.
I can’t set my hope for a good morning on what my kids might or might not do. I must bring the attitude with which I want the morning to be filled. I have to set my mind on things from above … things from God.”
This year I am claiming: "to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV)
Here is how Lysa puts its:
“Do you ever have these little zingers that fly into your morning and sting your heart? I suspect you do. And it’s these kinds of things that can catch us off guard and start ratcheting up the tension that leads to coming unglued.
We don’t want to be unglued mamas. We don’t want to have mornings filled with unglued moments. So, today let’s think about what we do want our mornings to be filled with … love, peace, joy, sanity, kind words, and interactions with our kids that won’t be retold years later on some therapist’s couch.
Yes, that’s what we want.
But here’s the tricky part: I can’t control the unpredictable attitudes my kids are going to bring into each morning.
I can’t set my hope for a good morning on what my kids might or might not do. I must bring the attitude with which I want the morning to be filled. I have to set my mind on things from above … things from God.”
This year I am claiming: "to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV)
I am claiming "love, peace, joy, sanity, kind words, and interactions with our kids". Its not going to happen overnight - but I am going to be INTENTIONAL about it - yes I am. My kids and there will being in one of my top priorities.
I've realized that my children are in the midst of a storm each time they leave the home... they are bombarded with so many issues - some too big for even them to bear... issues, conversations that they shouldn't have to hear or be a part of. "I need to be that peace in their lives". But that can only happen if I start off my day soaking myself in the Word of God... not breezing through it but soaking in it... before I even get my kids up... I also have to learn to pick which battles I am going to fight... my Pastor told me this years ago... some things I am going to have to learn to let go... not everything is worth fighting for... Another point is that my children are 11, 8 and 6 - not babies at all... even though in my heart they are - I have to be more firm on teaching them the consequences for their own choices (I've done pretty good on this but I tend to slack and they know which buttons to push - they are very smart kids)... they know right from wrong... they know what happens when they spend too much time hanging out and then its time for bed - and their chores or homework or studying aren't done... mommy can't come to the rescue.
I have to quote something that Lysa said because she summed it up perfectly:
"So many times I vowed to do better but failed. I’d praise God one minute and in the next, yell and scream at my child. Then I felt the shame of my destructive behavior and my powerlessness to stop it. I felt completely unglued.
It donned on me that what kept me from change was the feeling I wouldn’t do it perfectly. I knew I’d mess up. Sometimes we think only instant progress is acceptable. But there’s a beautiful thing called imperfect progress.
The day I realized the glorious hope of this kind of change is the day I dared to believe things could be different. I told myself, “It’s okay to have setbacks. Just keep moving the line forward. Change will come. And it will be good.”And, it has been. Not easy, but good!"
Oh the number of times I have tried to be perfect... and failed. We can't be perfect - that goal is impossible... but we can try and tell ourselves that its okay to have setbacks... as long and we keep moving forward...
I've realized that my children are in the midst of a storm each time they leave the home... they are bombarded with so many issues - some too big for even them to bear... issues, conversations that they shouldn't have to hear or be a part of. "I need to be that peace in their lives". But that can only happen if I start off my day soaking myself in the Word of God... not breezing through it but soaking in it... before I even get my kids up... I also have to learn to pick which battles I am going to fight... my Pastor told me this years ago... some things I am going to have to learn to let go... not everything is worth fighting for... Another point is that my children are 11, 8 and 6 - not babies at all... even though in my heart they are - I have to be more firm on teaching them the consequences for their own choices (I've done pretty good on this but I tend to slack and they know which buttons to push - they are very smart kids)... they know right from wrong... they know what happens when they spend too much time hanging out and then its time for bed - and their chores or homework or studying aren't done... mommy can't come to the rescue.
I have to quote something that Lysa said because she summed it up perfectly:
"So many times I vowed to do better but failed. I’d praise God one minute and in the next, yell and scream at my child. Then I felt the shame of my destructive behavior and my powerlessness to stop it. I felt completely unglued.
It donned on me that what kept me from change was the feeling I wouldn’t do it perfectly. I knew I’d mess up. Sometimes we think only instant progress is acceptable. But there’s a beautiful thing called imperfect progress.
The day I realized the glorious hope of this kind of change is the day I dared to believe things could be different. I told myself, “It’s okay to have setbacks. Just keep moving the line forward. Change will come. And it will be good.”And, it has been. Not easy, but good!"
Oh the number of times I have tried to be perfect... and failed. We can't be perfect - that goal is impossible... but we can try and tell ourselves that its okay to have setbacks... as long and we keep moving forward...
Join me in making this commitment... what memories do we want our children to have of us as moms... what legacy are we leaving behind... what are we teaching our children... Together lets take it one step at a time and BRING IT!!!
