Jozef: You're the best Mom in the world!
Mom: Well, I don't know about that...
Jozef: Actually, Mary was the best Mom in the world. You're the second best!
Last night as he stepped out of the shower he declared:
I'm as clean as a rose!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Jozef-isms
The other day, Jozef decided to declare his feelings for me:
Last night as he stepped out of the shower he declared:
Last night as he stepped out of the shower he declared:
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Always the Comedian
There is one primary reason we've decided to homeschool Jozef. If we did send him to school, he would be the class clown. I'd have to drive to the school 2 times each week in order to have a conference with the principal regarding Jozef's constant joke telling. Well, not really. But you get my point.
Jozef: What are you doing?
Mom: I'm fixing my hair.
Jozef: Why?
Mom: [Joking] So I don't look like a monster.
Jozef: If you need to fix your hair, why don't you get a wrench from Dad's tools? It would work really well!
Yep. He needs to stay home...
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Deliberate Life
We always have a choice. This is the blessing of being human. Each day we make thousands of choices. Coffee, black or with milk? Exercise or sleep in? Pray or watch a movie? Many of the choices we make seem small and unimportant while others change us forever.
I am proposing that to be fully human is to live a deliberate life. A life in which we think before-hand about the upcoming choices we'll be faced with and the answers we will give.
If we decide to forgo this step, we are easily swept away by the tide of life. Our lives may take a course we a not happy with and we have difficulty turning around.
I often prefer to stay up late. I love to watch a movie or read a good book until the wee hours. The next morning, I am tired and often oversleep. Then, I wake up to a house of boys that are unmotivated when they see their Mom unmotivated. We have breakfast (later than usual) and scurry to begin school work. The focus of the entire day goes from pre-planned and calm to hectic and chaotic.
If instead, upon reflecting if I should begin a movie at 10 PM, I recall a past resolution I made to be in bed around 10 PM in order to wake refreshed and on time, I decide to simply go to bed, the next day goes differently. I wake up on time, catch the boys with breakfast as they come down the stairs and then guide them through their morning chores. They get dressed and I feel in charge of the day rather than racing against the tide. We sit down to schoolwork and begin.
What encompasses a deliberate life?
This exercise can start you on your way:
1. Goals. What do you want your life to look like in 5 years? 10 years? What do you want your children to be when they are 18? What do you want people to say of you when you die? How will you get to heaven?
2. Objectives. What are the objectives you must achieve in order to fulfill these priorities?
3. Tasks: What tasks are necessary to meet these objectives?
Here is an example from my own inventory:
In Defense of a Deliberate Life
Author Matthew Kelly's mantra is that God wants each of us to become the best-version-of-ourselves. However, we cannot become better versions of ourselves unless we ask important questions. Then, once we have those answers, we can choose our paths rather than simply wander.
Jesus is asked "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
I am proposing that to be fully human is to live a deliberate life. A life in which we think before-hand about the upcoming choices we'll be faced with and the answers we will give.
If we decide to forgo this step, we are easily swept away by the tide of life. Our lives may take a course we a not happy with and we have difficulty turning around.
I often prefer to stay up late. I love to watch a movie or read a good book until the wee hours. The next morning, I am tired and often oversleep. Then, I wake up to a house of boys that are unmotivated when they see their Mom unmotivated. We have breakfast (later than usual) and scurry to begin school work. The focus of the entire day goes from pre-planned and calm to hectic and chaotic.
If instead, upon reflecting if I should begin a movie at 10 PM, I recall a past resolution I made to be in bed around 10 PM in order to wake refreshed and on time, I decide to simply go to bed, the next day goes differently. I wake up on time, catch the boys with breakfast as they come down the stairs and then guide them through their morning chores. They get dressed and I feel in charge of the day rather than racing against the tide. We sit down to schoolwork and begin.
What encompasses a deliberate life?
This exercise can start you on your way:
1. Goals. What do you want your life to look like in 5 years? 10 years? What do you want your children to be when they are 18? What do you want people to say of you when you die? How will you get to heaven?
2. Objectives. What are the objectives you must achieve in order to fulfill these priorities?
3. Tasks: What tasks are necessary to meet these objectives?
Here is an example from my own inventory:
What do I wish to accomplish by the time I am 35?
Goals: To have children that are fully immersed in learning and living the routine of an ordered life through work, play, school and prayer; Continue to seek out God's will for our lives; Immerse our family in Catholic culture; Have a strong marriage; Serve my family and friends; Help Nate find a fulfilling career.
Objectives: Live out a routine each day, teach boys to study well, less time with media, continue family & individual prayer, living out liturgical seasons, maintain friendships/frequent contact with family, encourage individual interests with the boys.
Tasks: Create a routine that included work, study, play, prayer. Schedule time for me (and Nate) to leave the house and pray, schedule time to commit to friendships and family, Pray for guidance with Nate's career, schedule date nights.
In Defense of a Deliberate Life
Author Matthew Kelly's mantra is that God wants each of us to become the best-version-of-ourselves. However, we cannot become better versions of ourselves unless we ask important questions. Then, once we have those answers, we can choose our paths rather than simply wander.
Entrepreneur Steve Jobs, who passed away this week, spoke the Commencement Address at Stanford University in 2005. He said, "I have looked in the mirror every morning (for the past 33 years) and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And when ever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)
We can love our neighbor by simply following the tide of life. Holding a door open when we hop into the grocery store or listening to a neighbor that is distraught with a circumstance in life. However, a deliberate life will ensure we are crossing the necessary tasks from our list (housework, career, etc) and frees us to have more time, deliberate time, to devote to those in our lives. Therefore, we can more fully fulfill Jesus' commands.
A life where we achieve our goals, and the goals our Lord may have for us, does not happen accidentally. A deliberate life is one where we work to achieve these goals in this life and, God willing, get to heaven in the next.
Lord, give us the grace to live, deliberately, for you.
A life where we achieve our goals, and the goals our Lord may have for us, does not happen accidentally. A deliberate life is one where we work to achieve these goals in this life and, God willing, get to heaven in the next.
Lord, give us the grace to live, deliberately, for you.
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