The Cycle of Feelings

My Dad told me once to never make decisions at night when I was tired.  Good advice.  I tried to nap and go to bed when I was feeling negative, but I still woke up just "done" today.  I haven't been sleeping really well.  Between waking up early, napping, and staying up late, I doubt that I'm truly getting the best rest.  It caught up with me today, I guess, because after lunch and a nap, I am feeling quite a bit better.  

I have to say, though, that after staying fairly positive despite continual change and uncertainty, I just didn't it in me this morning, and discouragement was really setting in.  I have to work pretty hard to stay on top of my mood.  Anxiety, depression, and a low sense of self-worth constantly try to creep in and take over.  One of the strategies I have learned to employ beside self-care is self-talk.  It is important for me to recognize that I hate transitions and change, but that I will feel much better as I become accustomed to the situation.  So, I realize that I AM adjusting to the barrage of cancellations and closings.  While my routine has been thrown into upheaval and unknowns still exist, I WILL adapt.  Meanwhile, I am uneasy and frustrated and being hungry or tired interrupts my ability to cope.  I am trying so hard to be strong, but I also need to give myself grace.  So, if you're feeling that way, too, you're not alone.  And it's going to be ok - eventually.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

Pinterest Picks: Back to School

This is a really useful "how-to" guide 
especially for older students.  Being able to 
easily retrieve and put away supplies will keep 
your child from missing valuable instructions 
while they dig in their backpack.   

I like this idea for both Mom 
(or Dad!) and a child that are 
used to being together all day 
and may experience some 
separation anxiety.

This is adorable!  It would take a lot of 
dedication to finish out the handprints on the 
back (a new twist from what I've seen before), 
but what a neat idea!  BTW, here's a shoutout 
to my nephew, Rowan, class of  2033!

Create a quiet reading nook in your home to 
provide both a quiet calming area and a place 
to encourage daily reading.  Pillows and 
bookshelves , seating, and tents all help to 
create a cozy escape that promote a 
lifelong love of reading.

Showing off your child's work is easy with this 
colorful display using frames and clothespins.

A child's drawings give clues to his 
or her developmental level.  The 
artwork does pile up after a while, 
though, and can get faded or torn. 
This idea allows multiple pieces 
to be saved and displayed at once.

This article explains how important 
self-control is in a classroom where 
the students outnumber the teacher 
many times over.  Kindergarten is 
different from preschool, it explains, 
and there are multiple strategies to 
help your child continue to develop 
this this very important skill.

     

I have to admit that I have WAY 

more stuff saved than could possibly 

fit in one box (please, don't laugh-

it is organized, although I need to catch up).  

This is a great idea, though, and nothing is 

saying that you can't have more than one box!

 

   

    

We don't all have a mudroom, but most of us 
can find a place to create a command center 
to better organize our homes.  Remember, it 
doesn't all have to be in one place.  A hook 
in the bedroom for the backpack still gets it 
off the floor and easy to find.  

An art cart/homework station gives you mobility and allows you to create multipurpose areas in your home.

I love the drawers featured in 
this post.  Being able to find the 
right tools during homework time 
will make your afternoons and 
evenings go much more smoothly!  

Don't forget your ABC's! 
We all could use a little caffeine
to jumpstart those hectic, early
mornings before school!

Mornings, ugh!  The worst part besides
homework of back to school.  Maybe some
of these ideas will help you get back in
the routine more quickly and easily!

A simple way to corral all of your
school supplies in one place and
use individual supplies as needed.

   

Why???? Because The Battle Belongs To The Lord

No matter how much we know that God's plans are greater than ours, we still question "Why?".  We can have all the faith in the world, but some things still cause us to wonder how such heartbreak can really be from such a good God.  We say "Oh, Poor Me!" or "Oh, Poor Them!".  We care, and it hurts.

I think that if we are looking and we are honest, we often find the answer to the "whys" later on.  If we still can't find the cause, we can usually find the effect.  We can see how God has worked intimately in the details to put us in just the right place at just the right time in just the right circumstance.  It doesn't always start with a positive, but it always ends that way.....eventually.

Sometimes we just aren't grown up enough to see the full picture, and quite frankly, we never will be fully grown until we reach heaven.  Just like a child, we question, because with our lack of experience, we only have limited perspective.  That is as it should be.  No one blames a child for his innocence, but celebrates both when the child trusts those wiser than him and when he reaches milestones of further understanding for himself.  God celebrates that in us.

I wonder "Why?" a lot, but I don't question that God has a plan.  Am I deep down angry? Yes, but it doesn't change anything.  We are called to keep on keeping on, to take the next right step.  Sometimes, we are so broken that we don't know how to start.  In this I say two things:  Get quiet, get alone, and get real with God.  Share your hurt, and allow him to draw you near.  Let the agony out.  This might mean tears, screams, pillow punches, running.....just keep it safe for yourself and others.  When you are worn out, your heart can begin to heal, to hear the still, small voice of the One who loves you more than anything.  

It's not so much about answers as it is about feeling understood enough to put truth at the forefront.  It is a discussion that starts with pain and ends with peace.  Circumstances haven't changed, but demons have been battled and the victory belongs to the Lord.  This doesn't mean that the grief, sadness, depression, anger.... will not return.  It means that it has been pushed back.  It will be a battle again and again.

Secondly, let the routine drive you.  Sometimes, we just feel dead inside.  We know that we will feel better, but for now, life just feels too much.  This is when we do the next right thing.  We get up and feed our hungry kids.  We start a load of laundry.  We go to work or school.  In doing these things, we move forward.  We have a sense of normalcy and a good dose of "heavy work".  In due time, the fog lifts and the mood passes.  It is imperative that we do not let ourselves become stuck in depression.  Sometimes no one around us will understand.  Other times they will be just what we need.  Often, they just don't have the patience for it anymore.  We are strong.  We can rise above it.  His mercies are new every morning.  You are equipped.  

Father God, we don't know why.  We ache inside, and we long to feel better.  We ask that You would bind these demons against us and fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we might know Your truth and Your peace.  Hold us in Your loving arms and care for us as only You can.  Then, give us the strength to carry on day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute.  Remind us to do the next right thing, that this season is just a season, that it will get better because that's how life works.  Teach us how to love others, because we have been loved.  Teach us to how to understand others, because we have been understood.  Teach us how to have compassion, because YOU have been compassionate with us.  Amen

Romans 8:26-39 (NIV)

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whoⁱ have been called according to His purpose. 

29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 

34Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?36As it is written:  “For your sake we face death all day long;  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

38For I am convinced that 

neither death nor life, 

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future, 

nor any powers, 

39neither height nor depth, 

nor anything else in all creation, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.