Thursday, January 27, 2011

Living a Balanced Life

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 9:45 AM 0 comments
Reasons we get out of balance:

The need for balance: The “have it all, do it all, be it all” myth.
Endless opportunities
The devil is a master of distraction

How to get back in balance:
1 – Intentionally live out your priorities
· Use the right source and standard (God’s word)
· Don’t buy into “I’m only a mom”
· Look at how your resources are spent (time, money, energy, thoughts)

2 – Pray about how to spend your priorities (daily)
· If we’re constantly seeking and following God’s will, He will bless whatever we do
· P.S. that doesn’t mean it will be easy

3—Plan
· schedule your days, weeks, months
· handwritten lists, calendars, phones
· don’t work for your plan/schedule/routine, it’s to work for you
· routine is good, but so is flexibility
4 – Don’t strive for perfection, but for excellence
· staying in balance means letting some things go

5 – Maintain relationships with other people
· when we put God first and keep our priorities in order, He fills us with His peace, patience, and love for others
· relationships are meant to less us as we give and take (make sure relationships are healthy)
· Two are better than one, if one falls down, the other can help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

6 – Have a proper perspective
· Balance isn’t just about what we have going on. It’s also about how we look at and feel about what’s going on.
· We all have stressful and/or “down” times, but if we focus on them, we miss out on the precious, rewarding times
· If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate

7 – Give yourself permission to say “no”
· Too often, we get our identity from what we do.
· It’s hard to say no when it’s a good thing, something we enjoy, or something that will make us look good, but if it puts us out of balance, it’s most likely not something God’s called us to do

8 – Purge “have to” from your vocabulary
· “have to” means an obligation and brings with it a sense of burden
· “I’m going to…because…” improves your mood, increases motivation, and give you a better attitude
· Do everything as unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23

9 – Remember to play
· Moms have a lot of responsibilities and often forget to have fun
· It will improve your relationships with your husband, children and friends
· It will also improve your health

10 – Pause when you experience “those days” = Feeling overwhelmed, Overly emotional, Lashing out, Stressed

· Acknowledge where you’ve gotten off course
o Not trusting God
o Taken on too many responsibilities
o Not asking for help when you need it
o Not spending time with God
o Neglecting Godly friendships
o Wasting time
o Not taking care of yourself
o Focusing on the negatives
o Ect.
· Admit it to God
· Accept His forgiveness
· Allow yourself to let go: of the guilt and disappointment
· Agree with what God says about you as a redeemed child of His – the King of kings
· Ask God, “what next, what today” on your journey of becoming who He created you to be

11 - Pray

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hormonal Love Affair

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 12:50 PM 0 comments
Don't you just love hormones? It is truly a challenge that women alone face. It is unique to our life experience. And it's one that we share, but yet each travel alone as well.

I particularly loved that as I came off a very busy December and Christmas week, slipped into a slump the first week of New Year's as I tried to reclaim order in my house, that the following week was my "hormonal" week. Instead of bouncing back after working hard to get my house in order and getting back into our routine (kind of), I slipped into a further slump. One check at the calendar told me, "Oh. That's what's going on." And I cursed hormones.

But as that week slips away and my hormones go through another shift, this time on the upswing, I'm not feeling so bad about them. As a matter of fact, I kind of like them.

And thus, goes the love/hate relationship I have with hormones. As I become more aware of them, I can work against them when they drag me down and work with them when they lift me up. I know to do what needs to be done, regardless of how I feel. I also know that sometimes a day of nothing but feeding the children and reading a good book and drinking good decaf coffee (yes, I know that's an oxymoron to some) is helpful on getting me back on track the next day.

They're not going away, but I am learning to lead my actions not based on how I feel, mostly due to my hormones, but instead to drag them along for the journey (after that cup of decaf and good book.)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Swiss Steak Dinner

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 4:57 PM 0 comments
I haven't posted recipes in a while, but had a fantastic dinner earlier this week and thought I'd share. The main recipe is one that my mother-in-law acquired from her father, who learned it while in the Army.

Swiss Steak
2 lb cube steak
1/4 c oil
1 cup flour
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c ketchup
1 cup water
1/8 c A1 Steak Sauce
5 shakes Worchestershire
2 T brown sugar

Put the flour on a plate. Take cube steak, one piece at at time, coating both sides. Brown in oil in electric griddle (if available.) Put browned meat aside. Stif fry celery and onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and add meat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Mashed potato casserole
Wash and dice desired number of potatoes. Boil until tender (20-45 min, depending on number and size of dices.) Drain and mash with hand mixer. Add butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Add milk, to make creamy. Put in sprayed casserole dish and cover with shredded cheddar. Bake 300 for 20-30 minutes.

Japanese Spinach w/Sesame Seeds
(allrecipes.com - click above)

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Eating Humble Pie

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 9:55 AM 0 comments
I had a big dose of humble pie the other day. It was a reminder to be careful in everything I do.

So, I woke up early Sunday morning, exercised, did some work on the computer and thought I had plenty of time to get ready and wake everyone up for church when I stepped into the shower at 7:30. But, for some unknown reason, when I got out fifteen minutes later, we were short on time. In one hour, we needed to get two little ones bathed and dressed, my husband had to take a shower, and everyone had to eat. With fifteen minutes until my desired departure time, I walk down the stairs to find my hubby on the couch snuggling with a couple of children. I was not happy.

I push everyone through breakfast, gather everyone's shoes, and herd them out the door, ten minutes late. "What can I do to prevent us from being late?" I asked hubby on the ride.

We park and I head in to the sanctuary with the oldest two, while he gets the younger set to take to nursery. We walk in - and no one's in the sanctuary except the praise band. Confused, I check my watch, then the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it's 9:15. I walk down the hallway and see a lady I know. "Where is everyone?"

"They don't finish until 9:30," she replies.

My heart drops. We used to start church at 9:15. Now we start at 9:45. I catch my hubby on the way to nursery and open wide for my extra-large slice of humble pie.

And I learned to be more cautious and more aware of how I handle things. Had I slowed down once, I might have realized I was off course. Pestering everyone and being grumpy didn't get anyone out of the house any quicker. And all this on the 2nd day of the year.

So, one of my goals is to not eat any more humble pie. I'm sure I'll make more mistakes, but hopefully they'll be smaller and I'll catch them much sooner.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Living a Balanced Life

Reasons we get out of balance:

The need for balance: The “have it all, do it all, be it all” myth.
Endless opportunities
The devil is a master of distraction

How to get back in balance:
1 – Intentionally live out your priorities
· Use the right source and standard (God’s word)
· Don’t buy into “I’m only a mom”
· Look at how your resources are spent (time, money, energy, thoughts)

2 – Pray about how to spend your priorities (daily)
· If we’re constantly seeking and following God’s will, He will bless whatever we do
· P.S. that doesn’t mean it will be easy

3—Plan
· schedule your days, weeks, months
· handwritten lists, calendars, phones
· don’t work for your plan/schedule/routine, it’s to work for you
· routine is good, but so is flexibility
4 – Don’t strive for perfection, but for excellence
· staying in balance means letting some things go

5 – Maintain relationships with other people
· when we put God first and keep our priorities in order, He fills us with His peace, patience, and love for others
· relationships are meant to less us as we give and take (make sure relationships are healthy)
· Two are better than one, if one falls down, the other can help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

6 – Have a proper perspective
· Balance isn’t just about what we have going on. It’s also about how we look at and feel about what’s going on.
· We all have stressful and/or “down” times, but if we focus on them, we miss out on the precious, rewarding times
· If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate

7 – Give yourself permission to say “no”
· Too often, we get our identity from what we do.
· It’s hard to say no when it’s a good thing, something we enjoy, or something that will make us look good, but if it puts us out of balance, it’s most likely not something God’s called us to do

8 – Purge “have to” from your vocabulary
· “have to” means an obligation and brings with it a sense of burden
· “I’m going to…because…” improves your mood, increases motivation, and give you a better attitude
· Do everything as unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23

9 – Remember to play
· Moms have a lot of responsibilities and often forget to have fun
· It will improve your relationships with your husband, children and friends
· It will also improve your health

10 – Pause when you experience “those days” = Feeling overwhelmed, Overly emotional, Lashing out, Stressed

· Acknowledge where you’ve gotten off course
o Not trusting God
o Taken on too many responsibilities
o Not asking for help when you need it
o Not spending time with God
o Neglecting Godly friendships
o Wasting time
o Not taking care of yourself
o Focusing on the negatives
o Ect.
· Admit it to God
· Accept His forgiveness
· Allow yourself to let go: of the guilt and disappointment
· Agree with what God says about you as a redeemed child of His – the King of kings
· Ask God, “what next, what today” on your journey of becoming who He created you to be

11 - Pray

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hormonal Love Affair

Don't you just love hormones? It is truly a challenge that women alone face. It is unique to our life experience. And it's one that we share, but yet each travel alone as well.

I particularly loved that as I came off a very busy December and Christmas week, slipped into a slump the first week of New Year's as I tried to reclaim order in my house, that the following week was my "hormonal" week. Instead of bouncing back after working hard to get my house in order and getting back into our routine (kind of), I slipped into a further slump. One check at the calendar told me, "Oh. That's what's going on." And I cursed hormones.

But as that week slips away and my hormones go through another shift, this time on the upswing, I'm not feeling so bad about them. As a matter of fact, I kind of like them.

And thus, goes the love/hate relationship I have with hormones. As I become more aware of them, I can work against them when they drag me down and work with them when they lift me up. I know to do what needs to be done, regardless of how I feel. I also know that sometimes a day of nothing but feeding the children and reading a good book and drinking good decaf coffee (yes, I know that's an oxymoron to some) is helpful on getting me back on track the next day.

They're not going away, but I am learning to lead my actions not based on how I feel, mostly due to my hormones, but instead to drag them along for the journey (after that cup of decaf and good book.)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Swiss Steak Dinner

I haven't posted recipes in a while, but had a fantastic dinner earlier this week and thought I'd share. The main recipe is one that my mother-in-law acquired from her father, who learned it while in the Army.

Swiss Steak
2 lb cube steak
1/4 c oil
1 cup flour
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c ketchup
1 cup water
1/8 c A1 Steak Sauce
5 shakes Worchestershire
2 T brown sugar

Put the flour on a plate. Take cube steak, one piece at at time, coating both sides. Brown in oil in electric griddle (if available.) Put browned meat aside. Stif fry celery and onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and add meat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Mashed potato casserole
Wash and dice desired number of potatoes. Boil until tender (20-45 min, depending on number and size of dices.) Drain and mash with hand mixer. Add butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Add milk, to make creamy. Put in sprayed casserole dish and cover with shredded cheddar. Bake 300 for 20-30 minutes.

Japanese Spinach w/Sesame Seeds
(allrecipes.com - click above)

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Eating Humble Pie

I had a big dose of humble pie the other day. It was a reminder to be careful in everything I do.

So, I woke up early Sunday morning, exercised, did some work on the computer and thought I had plenty of time to get ready and wake everyone up for church when I stepped into the shower at 7:30. But, for some unknown reason, when I got out fifteen minutes later, we were short on time. In one hour, we needed to get two little ones bathed and dressed, my husband had to take a shower, and everyone had to eat. With fifteen minutes until my desired departure time, I walk down the stairs to find my hubby on the couch snuggling with a couple of children. I was not happy.

I push everyone through breakfast, gather everyone's shoes, and herd them out the door, ten minutes late. "What can I do to prevent us from being late?" I asked hubby on the ride.

We park and I head in to the sanctuary with the oldest two, while he gets the younger set to take to nursery. We walk in - and no one's in the sanctuary except the praise band. Confused, I check my watch, then the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it's 9:15. I walk down the hallway and see a lady I know. "Where is everyone?"

"They don't finish until 9:30," she replies.

My heart drops. We used to start church at 9:15. Now we start at 9:45. I catch my hubby on the way to nursery and open wide for my extra-large slice of humble pie.

And I learned to be more cautious and more aware of how I handle things. Had I slowed down once, I might have realized I was off course. Pestering everyone and being grumpy didn't get anyone out of the house any quicker. And all this on the 2nd day of the year.

So, one of my goals is to not eat any more humble pie. I'm sure I'll make more mistakes, but hopefully they'll be smaller and I'll catch them much sooner.
 

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