Angel's Reflections

Quotes For The Day:

Put these to memory and live what they say, and you will find good things in life everyday.

“Promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. To give so much to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.” -– Millionaire Eagles

Sounds a lot like this quote huh?

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Phillipians 4:4-9 The Message)

Today, I simply want to share a letter from a friend of mine. Though her personal struggles may not be fitted to you, I think we all relate in some way or another. She is looking for a Do-Over in 2008, there are times when I need a do-over everyday.

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start... 2Corinthians 5:16-18

“Today as I laid across my bed, attempting to rest a little before work tonight, I began to reflect on this year. It is appropriate as in two weeks we will be celebrating 2008.

Last year as I geared up for 2007, I had high hopes of what laid ahead in the coming year. Sunny skies were here again and love was in the air. Life was going very well….maybe too well. I was looking forward to London and the beach trip with my gal pals from SC. Looking back now I can’t help but chuckle as it seems that every month brought a new disappointment in some form or fashion….some much more shattering than others. There were times when I felt I was walking in the wilderness and no one, not even God, could understand. I know, I know this sounds so very dramatic….well, let’s face it, it’s me we’re talking about here people…I can be dramatic from time to time. And though life was not that terrible, my heart, at the time, did not know the difference.

In retrospect, I am not at all where I thought I would be by the end of the year. That for which I had hoped to come to pass has not. In this year I have had more strife with so called friends than ever before. I have hurt close friends in ways that I never thought I would. I have allowed myself to be taken advantage of by ones I trusted. I have loved, been loved, and left broken hearted. I have experienced great days of sunshine followed by many days of clouds and rain. I have accomplished many goals and still managed to disappoint myself and others. I have learned much and, yet, have learned nothing at all.

So where am I? haha Well, I am right where started. My geography has changed~slightly and I am working at the hospital once again. I think God must be giving me a “mulligan” for the year…a do over, if you will, for 2008. A chance to correct my many mistakes. Then again, maybe not. After all, why chance screwing up my do over when I know that I am simply forgiven? That, in itself, is enough for me.

Some people have said that I have changed and they are right. If I didn’t change in some way would this year have been worth it? I don’t know, when this comment was made, if it was meant that I had changed for the good or the bad. I guess that is up for interpretation. What I do know is that I once again I look forward to the coming year and what it holds. Despite my experiences in 2007, I choose to move on and forward. Surely there will be disappointments and failures. And I can guarantee that I will tick someone off on a daily basis. However, more often than not, there will be days when I am surrounded by those whose laughter overwhelms my soul and friendship fills my heart. It’s those moments that I look forward to the most.

So, to each of you, I hope the new year brings much joy, hope, laughter, and growth. Love to you all.” ~Melanie Tarte

MOVING FORWARD

[audio:http://www.fromonemomtoanother.com/mp3/movingforward.mp3]

No Cold Medicine For Your Children… What’s A Mom To Do??

If you watch the news at all, I am sure you have heard about the potential serious and fatal dangers of giving infants and toddlers cold medicines. This made me very nervous.

The government issued its strongest warning Thursday about the dangers of giving cough and cold medicines to infants, urging parents to stop giving the over-the-counter remedies to children two and younger.The syrups and drops — from respected brands like Dimetapp, Triaminic and Robitussin — have been staples of child medicine cabinets since the early 1970s…Pharmaceutical companies aimed many of the products directly at use in kids, putting “Infant” in the names or images of young children on boxes…As it turned out, children don’t necessarily react the same as adults to medicines. Last year, Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, Baltimore’s health commissioner, and other pediatricians found the products led to some deaths.

~The Daily Herald

So what is a mom to do when her children are stuffed up, not resting well because they can barely breathe and coughing their head off? This is the dilemma I faced over the holidays.

My mom was a nurse, and we seemed to take medicine like it was candy when we were growing up, and I followed in the tradition when I first became a mom. I learned very early to ignore the “under 2 consult Your Physician”, that it really meant divide the dosage by the number of years. (i.e. if a 6 year old can have 1 tsp. then a 3 year old can have 1/2 a tsp.)

Over the years, in learning about organics and not putting too many medications into your body, I have become more and more conservative. (One doctor once pointed out, we do not have headaches because of lack of acetaminophen in our body. 😉 ) This does not mean I do not still take medications, but just more conservatively.

When I began hearing the reports about cold medicines, I had already begun to not use them near as often, but over the holidays Anna got really sick and I needed to give her more. The runny nose I can handle, but the coughing was really hurting her and not allowing her to rest. A friend gave me a fantastic remedy, that I tried over the holidays and last night. It works great!

One teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar and One teaspoon Honey. You can mix it or give each individually. The Vinegar helps break up the mucus and congestion, and the honey soothes the throat, helping the cough. This really works, and there is no limit as to how much they can have. I give Anna a dose, and then in about 10 or 15 minutes her cough is cleared. If not I give her another round and wait 10 or 15 minutes. Even with the worst cough she has ever had (She ended up needing an antibiotic ) it still soothed her and allowed her to really rest.

Combine this with Humidifier, chest rub, and any other natural remedies, and you may just get through this cold season!

Any other moms out there have natural remedies that you have tried, and found works, let me know!

The Beauty Of A Woman Is In Her Tears…

A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?” “Because I’m a woman,” she told him..”I don’t understand,” he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will.”

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. He asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?”God said” When I made the woman she had to be special.I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed. ” “You see my son,” said God, “the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair..The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart – the place where love resides.”

IT IS SNOWING IN GEORGIA!

This statement is nearly equivalent to other “southern” regions freezing over! 🙂 But, it is true! It snowed in Ga., and stuck, for a little while anyway. It is the first time Anna has seen snow. She was so excited, and Emily and Ben were praying that it would only cancel school! But, while others were out, they were not so fortunate. I thought I would be sitting by the fire with my girls today, drinking hot cocoa, and loving the sweet memories of Snow Days! We got a record breaking 4 tenths of an inch. 🙂 Ha Ha! What is really funny is that it made news in Washington, D.C. ! (so my friend Shay who lives there said. I guess they got tired of talking Politics…)

Well, while Ben and Emily did not get their wish of no school, the girls still got to enjoy the rare event of snow in Georgia…

Anna’s First Snow!

Emily Prays For No School!

Anna has a cold tongue! 🙂

For my hubby, and all teachers who, on Snow days, find themselves in amazing agreement with their students, NO SCHOOL!

Teacher’s Prayer for Snow

One night as I lay almost sleeping, I heard a voice, softly peeping.
I saw my wife devoutly praying. This is the prayer I heard her saying:

Oh, Lord, let it snow.
Let it drift and let it blow.
In the morning, no real fuss,
Just enough to stop the bus.

Enough to make the County say:
“There will be no school today.”
Let the radio report: “Snow’s deep!”
And I’ll roll over for more sleep.

Then later on, say maybe ten
I’ll turn on the radio again.
Just in time to hear them say:
“It’s strange: the snow has gone away!”

And then I’ll know, You made it stop,
So I can go to the mall and shop
Please, Lord, just hear my teacher’s plea,
And make it snow for the kids and me!

Amen.
By John Hillen
(For my wife, a very dedicated teacher, until they forecast a 30% chance of snow.)

Back To The Basics

I have found myself in the eternal battle between mother and toddler. If I say the color of a tomato is red, she says it is purple. I know better, yet somehow I have found myself sucked into this vortex of toddler world… “uh-uh”, “uh-huh”, “No, it’s not”, “Yes, it is”…Does anyone know what we are even arguing about? She doesn’t care, only that when mama goes “AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”, she has won! 😉

I have been saying for quite sometime now that my daughters are completely opposite of one another. Anna seemingly so much more argumentative and defiant, but what I came to realize recently is that the problem is not her… it’s me! Oh yeah, that stung. Anna will be 3 next month. She has been sharing a room with her sister, and sleeping in a “big girl” bed for well over a year now. Yet, for the last 6 months or so she has decided that she needs to get out of the bed at least 3 or 4 times within an hour, get a spanking each time, and then wait for Emily to come to bed so she can antagonize her. She does not want to potty train, “Nope, I am a baby I wear diapers”, she insists.

It does not matter what the topic, it is going to be a battle. We thought with the bed time, maybe if we tried rewards instead of discipline, nope she could not care less. (And I was prepared to offer Disney World, ok.) With the potty training, maybe if we just crack down on her instead of rewarding and being sweet. You know, drill seargant potty camp, every 5 minutes you are on that potty, missy! Nope, she would poop in her panties at 4 minutes and 59 seconds. Over the holidays, with both my husband and I at home; we BOTH found ourselves wondering if we had should have stuck with the one kid, I mean we were on such a roll! 🙂 But seriously, we knew somehow something had to give.

Every January our church together participates in a 21 day fast. So this month one of the top things on my list has been for God to give us some direction on how to get through to my daughter without killing her. (Duh. Praying for my children, what a concept. right?) Well, it did not take long for God to tell me this was not Anna’s problem, or that she is so much more defiant than Emily, but that this was my problem.

See, I had forgotten some very basic principles of parenting that I knew but had not been practicing. God reminded me of a few things, and Ben and I decided to shift our attention off of her and onto us. One week ago we committed to these things:

1) To have a before bedtime routine. Children can not tell time, the events of the day and evening dictate to them and prepare them for what is coming next, thus the need for routine. Having her get in her PJ’s, brush her teeth, read a few bedtime stories and say our night prayers prepares her 15-20 minutes ahead of time to go to bed.

2) To have couch time. I told you yesterday what 15 minutes can do to change your life. Couch time is a “Baby-wise” principle that we learned when Emily was an infant, but had gotten away from. Children need to know that their parents, the central part of their existence, are unified. It brings them security in knowing their world is safe. “Couch time” is fifteen minutes that daddy and mommy sit on the couch, uninterrupted (no phones, no t.v., no computers, and children play somewhere else), and give each other their full attention to discuss anything. This allows the child see their parents spending time together and that they are unified.

3) To completely let go of Potty Training. (This we had already pretty much done. I was sick of the battle) We knew she knew how to use the potty, this was a battle of the wills. We decided she would not be 5 and peeing in her pants. So we let go, quit asking her at all about it.

By applying these 3 things to our life, basic things we already knew, we have already begun to see dramatic changes in her behavior. She has been down to getting out of her bed once at night, at which point we make her sleep in the pack and play because “big-girls” stay in their bed. Last night, I was not at home, Ben said she did not get out one time. This is huge breakthrough! We were dealing with one and two hours of fighting to get her to stay in the bed, and screaming and crying by all three of us. 🙂

The biggest breakthrough however, is the potty training. Wednesday last week, only 3 days after we began applying changes, she woke up and asked if she could wear “big-girl” panties. I said “sure, if you want too”. I did not make a big deal out of it. Within about 30 minutes she went to the potty and peed! She has had on panties for 5 days. She has worn them to Mommy’s Morning Out, and church, staying dry. She has only had a few accidents, which is to be expected, but she insists on wearing them so we put them back on her!

So here is my advice or tip for the day if you are in the vortex of toddler battles: go back to the basics. This may not mean the same for you as for us, at least not the three things we committed to. I mean get back to the first basic, PRAYER! Ask God to show you what is going on with your child, what he/she needs. God knows more than they do, even if they could verbalize and express themselves, what they need.

You Can Learn A Lot From Your Toddler

So you are fourteen days into the New Year. Have you already crashed your Resolutions? Do you, like I and most others, set high lofty goals and then give up rather quickly? The greatest reason for failure of any resolution or goal is simply that we bite off more than we can chew. We feel like a failure because we only worked out 3 times this week instead of 5, because we can not achieve perfection we quit altogether.

I have realized in every goal baby steps is the key. Setting short, small goals and accomplishing them will make you feel more confident and able to take on a little more. No baby starts out running across an open floor space, and no child ever walks without falling down a few times. Yes, it is time for you to take a lesson from the baby! 🙂

If you already feel you have lost control of your resolution, then don’t let one tumble make you not ever walk again. Get up and try again. Remember Baby Steps are the Key! Here is one Baby Step to help you get on and stay on track.

Baby Step #1 – Five minutes is all it takes.

No matter what your long term goal is break it down into five minute intervals, no more than fifteen, so that you do not begin to feel overwhelmed by the task at hand. Five to fifteen minutes a day is all it takes to accomplish any goal. Here are a few examples in my own life of short time intervals making a difference.

Goal 1: To get my finances in order. Spend Fifteen minutes every day balancing the checking account, and paying out bills. Stop after fifteen minutes so that you do not begin feeling panicky and overwhelmed. Tomorrow you will have another 15 minutes. You will find that within a few weeks or so you may actually only have to spend five minutes a day, because you will have it all ordered and the small bites are a lot easier to chew. 🙂

Goal 2: Clean out the junk closet/room. I have a rather large bedroom closet. It easily becomes a storage room, because we can close it off, if we are not careful. (It may be a different closet or room in your house but we all have one.) So I have committed to spend 5 – 10 minutes a day in my closet organizing it and getting rid of things until it is done. Once on top of a space like this you can spend 5-10 minutes a week maintaining it instead of 5-10 minutes a day. The same also applies to keeping your desk cleaned off, or any “catch-all” spot in your home. Spend 5-10 minutes dejunking and organizing that pile everyday, then keep it maintained by only doing it once every few days to once a week.

Goal 3: Loose weight How does 15 minutes a day help you loose weight? Easy. You do not have to commit to working out 45 minutes 3 times a week when you have not ever exercised at all, you are setting yourself up for failure. Fifteen minutes a day of walking, or even just stretching, will increase your health and help you loose weight. The thing is, and this has been a hard lesson for me to learn, fifteen minutes of exercise every day (or on a consistent basis) is better for weight loss and over all health than one hour of intense exercise once every two weeks. The most healthy women I know that are even in their fifties and older, I have seen they get on the floor while they are watching t.v. and stretch and do stomach crunches. It is built into their day, making it doable everyday.

Goal 4: A cleaner bathroom. I am pretty good at keeping a clean house. Not perfect, but I maintain pretty well. My most dreaded task however is the bathrooms. There is no logical explanation for this, it does not take that long once I do it, but for some reason I hate it. My bedroom bathroom, where no one goes but me and my hubby, can actually get pretty funky for that reason. So my goal was to break down even cleaning the bathroom into intervals. I have to say, it has worked like a charm. Flylady calls cleaning the bathroom the swish and swipe. Every morning as you are getting ready throw a little cleaner in your toilet and swish it around. (Be sure to keep you a toilet brush and cleaner by the toilet.) Then when you are finished getting ready swipe your counter and toilet seat with a clorox wipe, and toss. If you do this everyday you have maintained your bathroom. Then once a week I spray my tub with cleaner right before I get in the shower, while I am stripped down to take a shower I wipe it out, and rinse. Five minutes or less, guaranteed. Sweep the floor, two minutes. None of these things have to be done at the same time. Therefore it is not the dreaded task you put off until there are things growing. 🙂

You can see how 5 -15 minutes can help you accomplish any goal you set out to achieve. Crawl before walking, babysteps before running. You can do it, and feel accomplished, not overwhelmed!

Extra tip: Set your timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes and STOP when it goes off. I know we strive for perfection and want to keep going, but perfection will come with the consistency.

Is This Your Desert Or Your Dry Land?

“…as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the —the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.” Joshua 3:13-17

Maybe you have heard the story. Joshua and the Israelites need to get across the Jordan to get to The Promise Land. You may think this was not a big deal, I mean after all they had crossed the Red Sea right? Well, that was a generation gone, and this was a new generation. A new river, and a new challenge.

The priests were told that when they stepped into the river, the rushing flood waters, with the ark on their shoulders that the water would dry up and they would all cross on dry land. First observation: The miracle required action on their part. Secondly, and what I found the most interesting: The scripture said “It piled up in a heap a great distance away…”. The moment the priests stepped into the Jordan in obedience to God’s word, the waters began drying up, 26 miles away. However, they did not see the waters dry up until they allowed 26 miles of rushing flood waters to pass by. Why did God do it that way? Why didn’t he do it like with Moses? Maybe to push the Priests to continue to believe in spite of what their eyes saw.

It is a new year, and we have the opportunity to walk a new way, a new path, and move forward with the visions God has put in us. I realized what these Priests must have been thinking, wondering how long it would take for their miracle, wondering if they missed God and afraid if they stood there too long they might get swept away by those flood waters. Yet they stood; as Paul said “…Having done all to stand; stand.” (Ephesians 6:23) What they might not have realized in the moment they stood with those waters coming by is that they already had their miracle. It had already happened. It was coming to them as fast as those waters could rush by them. And Your miracle has already come to you. When your miracle comes to you, you may look back and see where the miracle began; a month, two months, a year ago God set you up to receive the miracle coming to you today, tomorrow, or next week.

What you thought was a desert, was dry land to pass through, but the waters will return once you are safely on the other side, and the Harvest will be great!

Evaluating Our Priorities

Today I would like to share an excerpt from Lisa Welchel’s book “Creative Correction”. This piece really struck something in me, I hope it does with you as well.

“When it comes to having misplaced priorities, I’m definitely guilty! Much of the time, my goal in parenting is simply to have well behaved children – not for some higher, godly purpose, but for my own peace and quiet. My life is so much simpler and more enjoyable when the kiddos obey me without arguing and when they get along with each other. As a result, I’m quick to correct them, sometimes in anger, when my comfort is disturbed, without considering how I’m modeling God to them.

What hidden motives do you sometimes have? Do you ever struggle with pride? I do. It’s easy to want other people to admire our little ones and, in effect, praise our parenting skills. When our kids are on their best behavior, it makes us, their parents, look good. And when someone notices, it can feel as though all our hard work is finally paying off.

For some people, being prideful isn’t their main stumbling block. But is guilt? Some of us base our parenting priorities on how guilty we feel. We have this false, often unrealistic ideal of how our children should behave; and when they don’t cooperate, we blame ourselves, thinking we’re doing something wrong. All of these motivations, my desire for peace and quiet , pride, and guilt are understandable. But they are still wrong. If we parent with the wrong motives, we will ultimately crumble when the “growing” gets tough. So it’s vital that we step away from the pandemonium of parenting from time to time and remind ourselves of the true goal. To have kids who are drawing an accurate picture of God in their hearts and learning how to relate to Him as their Creator each day.

Modeling God to our kids is a tall order. In fact, I would be the first to admit that my representation of God is imperfect. But that’s the nature of a reflection. It’s backward in a mirror, upside down in a spoon, blurry in a window, and always one-dimensional. Though we should strive to be godly, we can never perfectly reflect God. Instead, our goal should be to ensure that our reflection of God draws our children closer to Him and that it makes them long to touch the real thing.

(Lisa Whelchel is a national speaker, and has written many books to and for mothers. She is best known for her role on “The Facts Of Life” as Blair.)

Fun Friday. A Lighthearted Video From A Serious Candidate

I know, I know. I have been MIA lately. The Christmas vacation has taken over, and I find it difficult to get a moment to blog. Somehow my daughters, who never sleep with me, have managed to end up in the bed with me in the wee hours of the morning. It started with Anna being sick, but has now become a trend. So even waking up early to blog has left me with a child awake at 6 a.m. Uggghh! I would rather just all of us sleep in. So that is what we have done. 🙂 Monday Emily will return to school, and routines will return. Woo Hoo! So stick with me.

Until then, a friend of mine sent me this video of Mike Huckabee on Jay Leno. It is very fun and interesting to watch. (You have to watch both of them. It is a two part interview)

Tracy, if you are reading this, this is the man you spoke about. I even heard George Stephanopoulos say on Good Morning America that he has been the biggest shock in the campaign. For those of you who did not know, Tracy wrote not long ago about her feelings about the Presidential elections. Read her thoughts on “A Whole Lot Of Shaking Going On” on TracyHurst.com Have a great weekend everyone, and I will see you on Monday.