21 Days

My day has been completely thrown off track already.  I realized at 8 this morning we have an appointment an hour away, which will have me hitting rush hour traffic this evening with two antsy, hungry boys in the back.  Last night, I promised myself that today--with the house finally quiet and to myself-- will be the day I write, clean, and put Christmas away (i.e., make a desperate attempt to reclaim my house and sanity before chaos re-ensues...).  Instead, I'm trying to prep as much of dinner as possible, not whine too much, and try to get a little bit of writing in--with an attention-seeking dog and squeaking kitten at my feet.  I'm suddenly just this side of exhausted, with the drive ahead of me this afternoon.  Both my heart and brain are telling me that I will regret it if I don't do this little bit for myself just now.  Besides--who really needs a clean house?  And the Christmas decorations really are kind of growing on me...

We've been attending a new church.  We are growing again, being challenged, and delighting in the community.  Noah bravely walked into the audio booth yesterday and declared he wanted work!  I'm still beaming with pride--really, you don't understand how out of his box that was, and how much it took for him to take that sort of initiative.  He talked non stop about it, and said next Sunday can't come fast enough!  Avery is doing well in the children's room--funny enough, the children's ministry coordinator is one of Noah's middle school teachers.  Shawn and I are not yet ready to jump into any of the classes or studies, and even though we enjoy being part of the congregation, I'm not sure we are ready to be a true part of the community yet.  Trust takes a while to build.

The current message series is concentrating on getting closer to God.  Last week's message is about a 21 day fast as a church family, beginning today.  We've been talking with the children about it, all of us trying to come up with something we can fast (food fasts are not healthy, realistic options for our family due to the many medical issues).  You should've seen the look I got when I suggested the boys fast from video games....  GASP!  We've talked about why we should fast, and why we can't fast from school, work, chores, or making dinner.  We explained to the boys that fasting from something involves giving up something that keeps you from being closer to God, involves giving up something that will 'hurt,' and, in the process, we are to be in prayer during those times, drawing closer to God, His message for our lives, and those around us.

We still obviously did not explain it clearly enough to Avery, so we'll keep working on that--he has decided he can fast run (his mouth.....).  We decided that as long as he's singing "HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD!" as he's fast running, that will be good enough!  Noah decided to give up sleeping with his blankie.  I think that might hurt me more than it hurts him (WHY do they have to grow up?!)

Shawn and I tossed around several ideas: for myself, coffee and/or soda (how am I supposed to function?!?!), or Instagram (my reaction to that idea was the same the boys had to video games)--GASP!).  Shawn decided he's going to fast from swearing, and try to improve his language.  In the end, I have decided to do that same.  It truly is the one that keeps me from being closer to my Father--my anger, my words, my emotions.

It takes 21 days to make a new habit, or break an old one.

We can do this.

(PS--please say a prayer for me as I sit in city traffic this afternoon and evening....)