Anne Ivans Home and Family

In the spirit of transparency, I am sharing I must repeat Day 6. As I outlined on Day 1 of my personal challenge, I created my own food plan, with four categories. Yesterday, I over-indulged in a food group on my “never” list. I have considered what lead to this:

1. I was nervous about going to a networking and informative meeting in the evening.
2. I didn’t practice the techniques I have learned.
3. I feel into old broken patterns.

Today I feel a little sad and discouraged. However, I will dust myself off and get back on the proverbial bike. I will try to do better today. I recognize that I do have control of what I put in my mouth.

• S Signal: What just occurred to make me want to eat one of my “never” foods?
• T Thought: What am I thinking?
• O Operating Emotion: What am I feeling?
• P Positive Action: How can I react to what I am thinking and feeling in a positive way, that is consistent with my goals?

Another “STOP” acronyms: S=Say your name. T=Take a deep breath. O=Observe what is going on. P=Pause and ask yourself “What do you see that is wonderful or beautiful? Hold on to that thought/thing in your mind for 30 seconds.

The method behind these is to break out of the mindless behavior cycle and re-program the brain for positive ways to deal with stress or anxiety.

Thanks for reading and for being part of my Button Challenge. I feel as though you all are cheering me on and looking forward to this challenge bringing me success. Today I am +29.2 lbs.

Well, I stumbled right out of the gate on a bolder called “tortilla chips”. I have moved tortilla chips from my “restricted/conditional” list to my “never” list. I have also decided to eliminate snacks. Snack times are too great a temptation for me to over-consume and derail my efforts. What looks like a harmless Graham cracker and peanut butter sandwich can morph into two or three little bundles of yum.

I forgot to weigh this morning, so we are still looking at +28.8 lbs. My kettle bell weighs 26.5 pounds. When I use this in my workouts, I am just amazing at how heavy it is. I am carrying more than that, in excess fat, every day. No wonder my body is tired. My body also has to do all the extra work of digesting and processing all the excess food I consume. I think of it as an overflowing in-box at work. Image everyday being expected to do 1/3 or so more than necessary, just because your boss cannot see a better way to work smart. My body must be so feed up (literally) with me and my over-consumption. When McDonald’s says, “you deserve a break today.” my body says “YES, I do!” “Would you please stop expecting me to process all that garbage you put in your mouth? Really, lady, give me a break, and eat more vegetables!”

So, I begin again today, with two buttons in my jar, ready to have some oatmeal, fruit, non-fat Greek yogurt, with a SMALL little group of healthy nuts, for breakfast. I could write a whole story about a small little group of healthy nuts…another day.

I am creating my own 90-day challenge. I am marking the days using two small Mason jars, one empty and one with 90 buttons. I have a large button collection, so this was easy for me.

The 90-day challenge will be to follow my food plan. I created a food plan grouping foods into four categories: never, always, unrestricted, and conditional/restricted.

The “never” group are, obviously the foods that are off limits for me, for 90 days. If I choose to eat these foods, I will not get to move the button into the completed day jar. I have decided not to begin the challenge over, if I consume one of my never foods. I will just not earn a button for that day.

The same is true of the conditional/restricted foods. I have certain foods I am planning on enjoying on Sundays only. If I violate my rule here, I don’t earn a button-moved into completed jar.

John 10:11  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

As we know from our studies of Scripture, there are many names for Jesus.  I find it interesting that Jesus chose to call Himself different things, many of which form visual images.  The good shepherd would be a particularly meaningful name to the people of Jesus’ area and life on Earth.

What is a good shepherd?  One who lays down his life for the sheep.  We are Jesus’ sheep.  This verse is so commonplace in Christian culture; it is widely quoted and very familiar.  The verses that are very familiar often pass by my attention and contemplation as I have heard them and thought about them before.  I develop sort of a spiritual malaise, where my eyes glaze over, and I start to contemplate more meaningful things, such as what is for dinner and what do I need at the grocery store.  Fighting that very real battle, I will attempt to do this verse justice.

I remember listening to a sermon years ago where the pastor talked about sheep.  My dad’s family was cattle people in southern Idaho, and cattle people are not fond of sheep.  Sheep are known to be dumb.  Sheep will follow almost anyone; sheep will graze almost anywhere.  Sheep will wander away from their shepherd and not even know they are wandering.  Sheep are easily distracted and probably have ADHD.  Sheep are not considered noble animals.  They are not the lions and jaguars of the animal world.  There is nothing stealthy or sexy about sheep.  When children play, they are lions, tigers, bears, or elephants.  It is boring to stand around and graze all day.  No one wants to be a sheep.  And yet we are….all of the above, we are….we are easily distracted and drawn away from God, we will eat almost anywhere.  Put something sparkly in front of us, and we will follow it forever…think sin and Las Vegas.

But Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  How do we distinguish between a good and bad shepherd?

A good shepherd feeds his sheep.  We are feed the perfect food: the food that never runs out or grows moldy.  We are feed good and nutritious food, the Word of God.  This food nourishes our soul.  I think about the prisoners who were fortunate enough to have memorized Scripture, how this very food sustained them, during the most horrific torture, and gave them hope.  We are told to be filled with the Word.  It is to fill us up and to overflow out of us, onto those around us.

A good shepherd keeps his sheep with him.  He knows each of them and knows which ones are prone to wander and which ones he can count on by his side.  He knows their very nature, and he loves them.  He knows the sheep are weak and feeble and needy, yet of tremendous value.  He knows they have a purpose and importance even in the animal world, where they lack the glamour of the carnivorous beasts.

A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.  He will fight off the bigger more threatening animals.  He will fight to the death, His death, before He allows one of His own to be consumed by the evil one.   He will hike over rocky hills in search of the wandering one.  We are not like this, but we want to be.  We want to be noble, strong and true.  We cheer for the solder that will go back for a fallen comrade; we root for the strong and mighty warrior that protects the frail and weak.  In the movies.  We want to be like Jesus, until it gets hard.

Looking again at sheep, consider the value.  Sheep are sheared and their wool is woven into beautiful sweaters that warm us.  This winter, think on that, when you are cold.  Or when you are warm, enjoying the wool that was provided for you.  The sheep will grow more wool and provide for us over and over.  Sheep are also adaptable.  After all, they will eat almost anything.

Christmas is just a few days away, where we will be celebrating the birth of Our Savior, the Good Shepherd.  In response to this great gift, we are thankful.  Thankful that Jesus chose to be obedient, to come to Earth at all.  He must have been enjoying sweet fellowship with his Dad, and then to be born in a cold dark manger.  We are also thankful and grateful that Jesus laid down His life for us.  Most of us are not called to die for Jesus, but to live.  We are called to follow Him and know Him as best we can.  We are called to be obedient sheep.

How to be an obedient sheep: the check list.

1. Are you following Jesus? Are you actively listening and feeding on His Word?
2. Are you easily distracted during this season? Are all the bright and shiny things leading you to follow another shepherd?  One that is not looking out for your soul?
3. Are you adaptable? When it comes time to lose that wool coat, and you are vulnerable, how will you stay warm?
4. Are you spending time with other obedient sheep or are you wanting to be something more glamorous, like a lion or a jaguar?

In closing, my dad liked to tell this story about my grandfather.  My grandpa was a boy in the school room, and his teacher asked him:  “Herbert, if you had 10 sheep in the barn, and 3 got out, how many do you have left?”  His response was “none”.  His teacher reprimanded him and said “Herbert, you do not know your arithmetic facts!”  He replied “Teacher, you don’t know sheep.”

Merry Christmas!

b

Name of God: Our Peace

Scripture

Ephesians 2:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall

Philippians 4:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Reflection

“He himself is Our Peace.”  When you read the first verse, you can see that He joined the groups and broke down barriers.  Earlier in the chapter, Paul discusses how the Gentiles (us), were separated from Christ and excluded from the blessing that was to be for Israel alone.  Through Christ, the walls between groups, between races and cultural differences are eliminated.  The text also talks about how we were created for good works, therefore we should “walk in them”.  I like how it says “walk in them” rather than do them.  We are to live there, rather than have a few good works as a sprinkling to our day, like one more item on our “to do” list.  It is as if wherever good works are done, there we are….our friends would know where we would be.

The verse from Philippians tells us how to have peace.  I love how God makes things so clear and simple.  You have learned and received instruction.  We even have some visual aids and some mental videos of Jesus’ example…now PRACTICE these things.  Not other things.  These ones.  The ones we saw Jesus do.  It is not confusing…but we like to make it so…We think our situations are so difficult and complex.  Really?  Who are we fooling?  Practice.  I remember listening to the statistics of how much piano practice went into the creation of a concert pianist.  If most people practiced that much, they would reach the same level of greatness.  I have heard the same for professional athletes.  Yes, there is natural gifting, but this accounts for about 3% of the difference between the super star and the really good preformer .  I think about the things I practice, and I really get better at them!  I also don’t get better at the things I don’t practice.  I practiced not eating candy after Halloween, and every time I passed it in the grocery store, I got a little better at not buying it.

I am going to practice peaceable responses.  I am also going to practice silence.  It is amazing how powerful silence is, instead of the witty and snide comments I think.  With more practice, I predict I will think more peaceful thoughts more often.

When we have the Creator of the Universe as Our Peace, think of the power we have!  Christmas time is not traditionally associated with peacefulness, but consider a winter’s night after a snow fall.  Consider a clear cold night, where the stars are magnificent.  If you haven’t star-gazed on a cold winter’s night, I suggest it this year.  Our kids loved bundling up in throws from the couch and going out on the back deck to look up in the heavens.  It is a great way to discuss the Christmas story.

Lastly, He is OUR Peace.  We are meant to enjoy the Peace of God, the Peace that Is God, together.  He called us to celebrate the Peace that passes all understanding.  As we pour out our days this Christmas season, let’s make the effort to see the peaceful and calm wonder.  Underneath all the crazy hustle and bustle, find that undercurrent of cool refreshment, and breath it in deeply.

Questions for Reflection

1. Will doing that activity or saying that thought increase or decrease your peaceful nature?
2. When you are with extended family this season, how can you share that your God is Your Peace?
3. Are there activities that you can incorporate into your day, this season, to reduce stress and increase your peacefulness?

Ultimate Challenge:  Peacefully and joyfully get thorough parking at the Mall or bad traffic.  Thank and praise God for your practice time.

It is a Saturday morning, at 5:44 as I begin this post.  I have been up for an hour and 44 minutes, and I am drinking my third cup of coffee.  I was knitting while watching Dateline while my husband slept on the couch from 4:20 to 5:00.  The Dateline episode was about a man who killed several women, the women who refused to be raped cooperatively.  Then at 5:00, my husband left for work (normally he doesn’t work on the weekend.) I decided to read more in Steven King’s book, In Writing, which I am thoroughly enjoying.  The portion of Steven King’s book I am in describes his inspiration for the book, or movie Carrie.  These two sources of input into my mind are rather disturbing.

Going home.  There is a commercial on TV right now and I think it is called The Road Home.  It shows all these people driving toward home, and when they get there, they are greeted by enthusiastic hugs.  You can almost smell the wonderful air around these autumn scenes: apple pie, stuffing, turkey, crisp leaf smell, and love.  Love has a fragrance, and it is different for each of us.  I enjoy this commercial, and I think the automobile sales people have done a great job appealing to that desire: to go home, to arrive, to be welcomed and loved.

This is what we want.  We want to show up at a reasonably lovely home and be greeted enthusiastically by nicely dressed people that think we are amazing, just for finding our way down the road and arriving on time.  There is no drunken Uncle Joe in the corner; there is no scolding face for showing up late or unshowered.  On the way, in the car, the atmosphere is quietly reflective.  If there is conversation it is about the snow drifts, the colors of the leaves, and the blessings we enjoy.  There is no screaming about someone invading another’s space.  There is no remembrance of getting in the car without brushing teeth, and complaining about oversleeping.  There is no paranoia over that last corner that was taken too quickly, and almost destroying the pie in the back, followed by angry snide comments about bad driving practices for the last twenty years.

We want the whole experience.  We want the peaceful and beautiful drive and the family at the end of the road that looks like the pages of a sales catalog.  And we think we can get it if we just spend enough money.  So we spend money.  We buy the car, we try to force our family into these premade forms and wonder when they complain and act up.  They are trying to force us into their own forms and all this form forcing is mighty uncomfortable and deceptive.  The pie flips over in the back of the car, and we go to Safeway, fight the crowd, and in a worse mood, resume our drive.  On our way, the traffic is horrible and so it goes.  We arrive crabby and begging for some mind altering beverage.

And so we arrive.  Our imperfect, frumpy and unfashionable family, greeting other imperfect and “not for TV” folks.  Maybe your family IS perfect….after all, it is documented on Face book…but mine is not.

We arrive.  We hope to be loved.  But are we home?  Has all this traveling and effort brought us home?  I realized when I went looking for home, I didn’t find it.  So, going home did not mean getting in a car and travelling.  Home, for me, is a peace I have, most of the time.  It took me a lot of years to realize I was home, because I was comfortable about whom I was at the time.  Sometimes, I am not at peace, and I have that uncomfortable feeling in my stomach no matter where I go.  I am old enough now to know this agitated uncomfortable feeling results when I haven’t been true to myself.  When my own thoughts, words and actions make me uncomfortable in my own person.  The only way out is to look how I got there, and do some reconciliation work between me and my God.  I can do that work on a walk or while folding laundry.  That is one of the nice things about working with God; He is always available.

So, as I prepare my heart for Thanksgiving, by defining and ruminating about home, I reflect on the marketing, the beauty of nature, and the people I love.  I get distracted by recipes and chores.  I will do the work, though, to make sure my heart is happy and at peace, so my Thanksgiving will be genuine and true.

Thank you for reading.  Hope you find peace in spite of all the twists and turns of the road home through the marketing frenzy and commercialized contentment.