Happy New Year!

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

Christmas Miracle in the News

"Miracle" mom talks about dying, coming back to life with baby on
Christmas Eve.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/exclusive-christmas-miracle-mom-baby-dead-labor-revived/story?id=9446946

Sent from my iPhone

The Good, the bad and the ugly

Well, after my Dec 14th post, I had a few bad days and then a nice string of good days. Unfortunately, the string ended on Weds and I am stuck in another rut. Again not knowing the chicken and the egg...I have also had a bad headache on and off since Wednesday.

I was hoping the meds had hit and were helping, but they should have been working steadily by now and I am not seeing a regular improvement. Maybe time for new meds??

On one hand I am looking forward to New Year's and my yearly resolutions. On the other hand, I am worried about setting myself up to fail again. Definitely going to try adding good habits/getting rid of bad ones slowly. Maybe one each per week.

Well that's a quick update. We had a blessed, white Christmas this year. We have one more week off for school and I have big plans for the week. Praying I feel better and can attack them. :-)

Merry Christmas!!

Repost on Christmas Gifts for Kids

 This is a repost from 2006:

We buy the girls 3 presents each. They get a gold present (their big present), a frankincense present (a present that brings them closer to God), and a myrrh gift (a "fu-fu" present - something personal). Since we believe in Santa around here, Santa also brings them a gift and fills their stockings. As they open each type of present, we talk about the 3 wise men and what each gift would have meant to Jesus and his family.


I have noticed several things since starting this:

1. Our stress about what to get the kids and how much has gone WAY down!

2. Their greediness has lessened. They talk about their Santa gift and what they are going to ask Santa for (Santa usually gives them the more fun things that Mommy and Daddy would NEVER think of getting them.), but they don't keep asking us for stuff. They gave us some ideas, but they have been very good ideas!

3. Christmas day is much calmer and less centered on the gifts!

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and to Shirley for sending me the sweet devotional. I am starting to feel a little better and have actually had three good days in the last 4. That's much better than usual. Our situation hasn't improved, in fact it has gotten a little worse, but my perspective is changing.

Thank the Lord.
Literally.

Finished Product

Parent's Doily

My parents have a HUGE old table that they rescued from somewhere and
my dad refinished. I decided they needed a HUGE doily for it.

Just finished it this morning. It is about 4ft by 2 1/2 ft.

Here it is being blocked. I am trying to figure out how to send it to
them.

Fessing Up

It is hard for me to write this post today, when everything is going well.  Quite ironic, isn't it? Well maybe you don't know why that is ironic but by the end of the post, I think you'll get it. I try not to write anything at all if I can't say something positive. (haven't done a good job on my blog lately, I know) The only reason I am even writing it is because some people on Facebook have asked how I am doing.  This is my answer:

I'm not doing well...not really doing well at all.  There are lots of things going on, don't know which is the egg and what is the chicken....Been dealing with depression again in a big way. I also have several physical ailments including a headache non-stop since the last week of October, TMJ pain, ankle pain, ringing in my ears and dizziness.  I am still averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night. I usually get an 1 1/2 hour nap a day too.  Still not enough sleep for me.  I am fuzzy headed, my old "friend" social anxiety has reared its ugly head as well. I got my depression meds upped to see if that would help. So far it hasn't, but I know it can take awhile.  I do well when I am with the Brittany, Michael or when I am talking to my closest friend. Then I feel like I am almost myself.

In addition to this I am feeling very overwhelmed with life lately. Actually overwhelmed is a nice word. The word I keep hearing is "failure." Failure at disciplining and training my kids, failure at providing good meals at a good time, failure at keeping house, failure at showing a good example, failure at helping the family earn money, failure at anything I start lately.  After reading Self Talk, Soul Talk, I have been trying to find a replacement for that word but I haven't been able to irradicate it.  It is hiding behind corners, under my to-do list, in my messy coat closet, and in each and every email that comes that I don't answer or phone call that comes that I don't call back.  Even things as nice as our Jesse Tree or our Christmas tree have failure written all over them.  I am so tired of failing.  I tried not setting the bar so high. Then I just decided not to set the bar at all. Easier that way.

I have good days, like today. I have about 1-2 a week. I try my best to get a ton done on those days so the other days aren't so horrible.  The problem is, I usually feel doubly awful after one of my good days.  I am doing lots of Emily's school from bed. She thinks it's fun and I am just glad to be able to get it done.  Brittany takes care of most of her own school so, surprisingly, we are not as far behind in school as I would think.  My bad days I try to compensate with the kids by reading to them from my bed or playing with them up there, letting them play with my hair (which they love, and so do I), or watching TV with them.  When I am feeling up to it, I try to take them on outings to go see lights or Santa or other things like that. 


As far as outside happenings...our house in BA still hasn't sold. We are now considering taking it off the market and trying to rent it.  We cannot afford the two payments.  Money is very tight around here and we are living on a wing and a prayer at the moment.  Michael is going to start applying for manager positions again after Christmas.  We are praying he will get a store soon.  I looked into getting a job but haven't found anything that will work with our family.  So then, I was hoping to find something I could do from home - no luck there either.

Spiritually things aren't that great either. I have no problem praying for other people and having faith that I will see miracles. However, I have lost faith in my own prayers for our life.  I just feel like God isn't listening. I know He is. I know it in my mind. But I can't get the rest of me to believe at the moment. I feel like time and time again I have put my faith and hope and action into a prayer and not seen any results.  Everything is the same or getting worse.

Although I like our church, I am not "sold" on it. I have tried and tried again to get into a "Lifegroup" - their small groups which meet once a week - but so far they have not found one for us.  They are promoting Lifegroups all the time, I can't imagine how they can't find one for us in 5 months.  Brittany and Emily are deeply involved with the Wednesday night activities and definitely love that. With all that they have gone to, I don't want to drag them away from something else. I just wish we had a church that we could get involved with and make friends, etc.

I tried MOPS here in Yukon and loved the first two times I went. I went to the third time and only lasted 1/2 hour before my social anxiety got the best of me and I slipped out the door without anyone noticing.  I am not sure if I am going to make it back or not.

I went to a Mom's Night Out with three wonderful ladies and had a great time. Hopefully we will be able to do it again sometime. 

The older girls are both homesick, especially Brittany, but trying to put on a brave face.  Some days are better than others.

On top of it all, for some reason this has been a very hard Jacob-less year. I have cried over him more than usual. Moving away from where he is buried was hard as was putting up the tree with his ornaments.  

I know I am blessed. I really do. I count my blessings everyday. I have a husband who adores me and works hard for the family. I have a WONDERFUL family. My kids are loving and they love God. We have a roof over our head and food on the table.

I know I am blessed.

I just wish knowing that was always enough.

Q&A with Jennifer Rothschild

 Q&A with Jennifer Rothschild

Author of Self Talk, Soul Talk

What is soul talk?

Over the years, I have gradually learned what to say when I talk to myself, and that has truly made all the difference in my life. After years of struggling beneath the weight of my own slander and lies, I have learned to speak truth into my soul. It’s what I call soul talk.

How does soul talk work?

Everybody practices self talk, but few of us actually take time to think about the things we say to ourselves. The process is so natural we don’t even notice it. Amazingly, much of our self talk is false. The words we say shape the way we think about ourselves. They influence our emotions, our thoughts, and our decisions. They resurface in our conversations with other people. They can spur us on to live meaningful, productive lives, or they can drag us down to lethargy and despair. Soul talk is about replacing the lies you may have been telling yourself with the truth.

What kinds of struggles with self talk have you had personally?

My steady flow of disapproving thoughts and self talk once formed a constant stream. I badgered, nagged, devalued, and said cutting words to myself. At times, all those dark, negative put-downs have felt like a raging river, tossing me mercilessly until I thought I might drown in my own self-condemnation.

What was the physical setback that you faced in your teens?

At the age of 15, I became legally blind due to a disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Even though I received that difficulty with grace and resolve, the extra challenges of the disability and the knowledge that blindness was inevitable brought even more opportunities for me to struggle with negative thoughts and destructive self talk. For me, blindness is a circumstance that opens the door to a host of other bewildering issues. One of the biggest daily realities I face is the stress of not being able to drive, read, or enjoy independence.

What is the paradox of emotions?

If you try to think with your feelings, you’ll fall into all manner of false conclusions. Emotions are supposed to serve and strengthen us. Left to themselves, however, they enslave and deplete us. We need a thought closet well stocked with timeless truth, or we will clothe ourselves with the feelings of the moment.

How important is physical well-being including exercise and healthy eating?

Living a healthy lifestyle is so important to our mental well-being. Never discount the impact of physical wellness on our souls’ wellness. Feelings of despair might really be our bodies’ signal that we need to meet some basic needs. Your body needs adequate rest, healthy food, and moderate exercise.

How important is mental well-being? How can we stimulate this?

Brains like to be challenged. Your mind needs to have something to do, or it will create something to do—something that might not be so constructive. If you don’t fully strengthen your brain, it will wiggle and jiggle itself just to alleviate the dullness and find a channel for all its energy. Spend a few minutes each day reading something that interests and challenges

you. Pick up a journal and record your thoughts and questions. Join a book club or audit a class from your local university. Feed your curiosity and you’ll stimulate an enjoyable, insatiable hunger.

How important is our spiritual well-being?

Hopelessness, fear and depression often grow out of unsatisfied longings. C.S. Lewis said, “If I can find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” We can try to fill the longing with relationships, religion, volunteerism, or just being good. But the deep ache from the bottom of our souls can only be satisfied in a relationship with God.

Is it healthy to remember the past? What memories should we revisit?

The real power of any moment is fully realized when it is remembered. The experience might have been painful or pleasant, but its intensity and meaning grow when we remember and reflect upon it. Remembering is essential to the health of our souls. So we must tell our souls to look back often. Memories store great anthologies of stories that tell us who we are. They become intimate reminders of our personal histories. However, tell your soul to look back only at what is profitable. Profitable memories are those that add to your soul wellness rather than subtract from it.

How destructive can fear become in our lives? What’s the alternative?

We can’t ever side with fear, because fear is never on our side. And we can’t let fear and despair shake and intimidate us. Fear betrays; hope never does. Fear and despair make us quiver; hope makes us unshakable. Rather than giving into fear and despair, we tell our souls to hope. Hope will always be on your side, cheering you on and defending you. Hope anchors us because it provides spiritual grounding. Hope brings stability to every part of our being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. We speak the language of hope when we tell our souls to look up.

How can we cope with our busy lifestyles? Where can we find time to rest?

Life is busy. The demands are great, and we seem to have no time for rest. So much of our self-talk is directed at revving ourselves up. Excessive revving up, however, only leads to petering out. Daily we must tell ourselves to chill out. Rest isn’t only for our tired bodies. Weary souls need it too—our wills, our minds, and our emotions. The choice to rest is ours.

How can we press on despite fear and failure?

Steady, small actions will slowly reduce the big feeling that is paralyzing you. Just because you have failed at something does not mean you are a failure. If you quit, the world will be lacking what you alone bring to it. If you continue to feed your feelings of failure and defeat, those dark emotions will grow, creeping across your soul like long winter shadows. But if you begin to starve those feelings, they will slowly die.

How can we become less selfish and “others centered”?

It’s our nature to lift ourselves up, to be egocentric. Looking back at my life, I can say for sure that the most miserable times of my life have been when I was the most self-centered, self-aware and self-promoting. When we tell our souls to get the spotlight off our own preoccupations and onto the needs of others, we reopen the potential for joy in our lives. Only selfless, other-centered people are truly happy. They have learned the all-important key. When we lift others up, we grow stronger, healthier and happier.