The Wrap

Hey friends, another week has gone by. Hallelujah! I'm glad to be in this side of the week. I am thankful for what's been so let me give you "The Wrap." 

• Organization is not my spiritual gift but it sure has been a vessel of sanity. Organizing in my world is not glamorous. You will not want to drag a camera crew while I'm doing it. I am amazed at how it makes a difference. I took the time to figure out which systems work for us and once I did, I repeat them week after week. One of them includes cooking all my lunches for the week and freezing them. Another system included labeling different drawers with the days of the week in two languages (I'm always teaching) so that the kids can simply grab their clothes and get ready for school. The cutesy labels only work if this mother washes the clothes and actually puts them there. That's the ugly part of organization that doesn't make a good TV show but works wonder when a 5-year-old dresses herself. Boring but beautiful when faithfully executed. 

• I am still practicing what I preach. When I have an overwhelming task ahead of me, I still work at it for 45 minutes then I take a 15-minute fun break. You will be amazed to know that this formula works and that's why I keep using it. 

• My kids can help me clean. I know some of you have your kids doing chores at 18 months (hahahahaha!) but I am thankful to have help right now. I was cleaning and one of my kids were bored so I told them they could vacuum. O.M.G., that made cleaning go so much faster! Of course the other kids wanted to help so one cleaned floors and the other was "sweeping." Because of all the extra help I got done quicker. I am requesting their help again and I hope this becomes a habit. No, I don't pay anyone because they really want to do stuff. Let's see how long that lasts. 

• My Vegan for 23 Days challenge is going well. I feel better. I weight less and I am eating more fruits and vegetables. It turns out that eating an apple instead of a processed snack will bring your energy level up like nothing else does. God created foods really are the best thing I can use to fuel my body. 

• Another week of training went by. I still have to do my cross training for today but I am glad to have 4 more days on the books. I am running the Luke's Locker Houston Half Marathon this Sunday. I am fiercely praying and believing God for not thunder or lightning during the race. Help me in prayer friends. Oh, this is also a no earphones race, which means I will be taking someone's ears off. Lol! It might also mean I may help some people PR because when they see me coming they may want to speed up. Ha! 

• I have been doing some reading on early childhood and music education for work. I am amazed at how beneficial music is to children. I am blessed to teach music and movement to preschoolers and I am blessed to be married to an amazing musician. I am looking forward to putting more structure into my own children's music education. I am not expecting them to do what we do but I am expecting them to have an early love and appreciation for music.

• I don't brag about hanging out with friends on Social Media like I used to. I have come to appreciate the privacy, silence and joy of meeting with friends without the internet knowing about it. This week I realized that friendships are worth investing in. We have to make weekly and sometimes daily investments in our friends. I try not to overwhelm my friends with daily messages but I do pray for them often and I try to keep in touch. Each friendship has a rhythm. For example, we all have that friend we see every week because we belong to the same social group. We also have friends who are outside of our normal spheres but we make the effort to connect with them on a regular basis. There are also friends who live so far away that we can only connect when we can. I try my best to stay in touch as we both pray for face-to-face encounters. Often times, the best we can do is the occasional Skype or Facetime. Friendships are living organism. Either we are feeding it or starving it. I hope to be nurturing my friendships.  

This is the wrap for today. I will be posting about Sunday's Race next week. For now, I will be counting on you to pray with me for "raceable" weather.