My Big Life Change!

Picture taken by Abby Austin of 1000 Miles on my own two feet.



MY GOALS FOR LIFE!

To transform my life, with God's help of course, one step at a time.

1. Get healthy & honor God with my body

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter


2.Become at least 50% sustainable with emphasis on doing our part to take care of God's planet.


3. Live life as an adventure, experiencing new places, things & people.
18 out of 150 bucket list goals accomplished


4. Become debt free & build security for my family, so we can then bless others financially also.

5. Continue to grow closer to God, building My family's faith & sharing the Gospel with those we meet, by using the talents and gifts God has provided us.

6.Continue to make money by creating and sharing my thoughts and beliefs through artistic expression: all the while hoping that my art will impact others. "Holly Kennedy

: All I know is, if you don't figure out this something, you'll just stay ordinary, and it doesn't matter if it's a work of art, or a taco, or a pair of socks! Just create something... new, and there it is, and it's you, out in the world, outside of you, and you can look at it, or hear it, or read it, or feel it... and you know a little more about... you. A little bit more than anyone else does... Does that make any sense at all?" Quote from PS I LOVE YOU

Sunday, December 18, 2011

the birthday party

Today is Joslyn's 2nd birthday party! And instead of going all out on a party with a theme this year I have decided to let My Big Life Change affect my decisions. Last year as planned for Joslyn's big one year party, I got affected by the bug. You know the have to have a perfect party and impress my friends bug. I was bombarded with little hints that her first birthday had to be "special". My hubby insisted that she wouldn't remember it, but I had to have a good first birthday for her. It had to be memorable! 
 
What a load of crock! Excuse me if I am blunt, but where in the world was my brain? Is this what God had planned for me? No way! I got sidetracked as usual and my worldly side got the better of me. Please don't get me wrong, I am not condemning fancy birthday party's by any means! But I am talking about getting so lost in the idea of a perfect birthday party that stress and worry and the thought of by any means necessarily, must this party come off. When bows and tutu's have to be the perfect color and decorations must be all just so, and the amount spent on a party has to be as much or more than last year or more than Johnny what's his names party, then we need to stop and reevaluate. 

Who are we throwing this party for?
-    Is it the child that is going to benefit mostly from this party? Is the stress from the party planning affecting your relationship with your child on their Big Day? Would you be more upset if your friends never came to the party then your child would? Are you willing to do almost anything to make sure that your child has a memorable occasion? These are all questions I have to ask myself. Because I am a codependent, I am easily brought back into people pleasing mode, I have to work hard to keep myself out of that mode, especially on big occasions. 

What are We teaching our children?
- When I would fill in at my friends store it would always amaze me the things people would do for their children. Big huge ordeals would be made if the tutu was 2 colors off of her daughter's perfectly pink party. If the bow wasn't just so, or the gift was just right, the parents would throw a perfect little tantrum till they got what they wanted. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Four or five years later this kid is going to do the same thing to it's parents and they are going to be scratching their heads trying to figure out why their kids are so bratty? I am by no means a good parent, I have made more mistakes then I ever dreamed I would do. But I do know that if I keep my eye focused on Jesus, it is easier to see the world in a different light. What if we focused on the child instead of the party? What if we taught by example instead of expecting our children to pick up good habits from somewhere else? What if we taught our kids the value of giving instead of receiving?  What if we made little changes in our lives that would affect the world, one little step at a time?

What if I stopped caring what other people thought about what I do for my child? This year is going to be a little bit different. This year I am going to not worry about who comes to her party. I am going to let her have fun. I am going to teach her that her value is not in what gifts she gets, what clothes she wears, who her friends are. I am going to teach her the God values her, that we value her, the way she is! The way that Celebrate Recovery has taught me to value myself. Happy Birthday to the single most valuable person in my life! My daughter Joslyn! My precious child!

8 comments:

  1. she's not allowed to be 2 already!! Happy Birthday to her and birthday anniversary to you! I'm so happy for you. :)

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  2. Now that I've actually read your post... I once had a professor who told us on his birthday that it was his tradition to also give gifts (little ones) to other people to celebrate his birthday. He got more pleasure out of making others happy than in receiving things himself. I haven't learned this lesson myself (my birthday is all about me), but I thought it was a good one nonetheless.

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  3. Happy Birthday, Joslyn! You are growing up with such an amazing mother :)

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  4. Thanks guys! Joslyn has blessed me so much, I am so lucky to have her!

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  5. I love this post! I have struggled with this for my 6 and 3 year old kids and it's tough to keep up with the big parties. And just like you said, is that what we really want to teach our kids is important in life? A simple family trip to the pizza place and a nice little homemade cake should do the trick this year! Thanks for sharing this!

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  6. Thanks it is exhausting trying to keep up with them darn Jones. I love your blog thanks for friending me!

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  7. A little creepy and yet exciting, Anonymous!

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