I've been gone. Now I'm back. No excuses, that is just the way it is. :)
So, today is Sunday. For those who are friends with me on Facebook, and/or part of Baby Boot Camp you know we had a few weeks of challenges presented by our fearless leader, Kira. For those who aren't, here are some more details!
One Saturday it was push-ups. The next it was Burpees. We were trying to do 100 in a day and these were broken up by doing 10 each hour for 10 hours. "We" are the members of Baby Boot Camp. If you are a mom (or even a nanny!), you should check out your town to see if there is a local group! It has absolutely been the best "club" I have ever joined. During those challenges we all took pictures of the silly places we did our challenges...one mom did push-ups at Target, one mom was doing them on the side of the road. I tried to find ridiculous places to do mine just to make the challenge even more fun. I can't always be consistent in my class attendance, but I will ALWAYS rise up to a challenge. Especially one that can be done wherever I am! So, I posed another challenge (mostly to myself) one weekend to do 10 flights of stairs each hour. That one was rough. I have purchased a "FitBit" and noticed that Tuesdays and Thursdays are my most sedentary days...I'm talking an average of 3,000-4,000 steps total. That is terrible! So, those two days I have been taking the "every hour" thing and running down and back on my street each hour. This is .36 miles every hour...which definitely adds up! Sometimes I would walk fast, sometimes jog. The bonus part? There is a hill at the end of my road that apparently counts to FitBit as 2 flights of stairs!
All of this background is bringing me to the point, I promise.
In Bible study this week the author of the book we are studying (Ann Voskamp) said something that just resonated with me. It was just a rhyming of words "thanks for planks". We had just finished a quick (off topic) discussion about the various challenges I had been posting pictures for and I even gave a little demonstration of how to do a plank...so, the phrase just stuck with me. (by the way, Ann was referring to trusting the bridge maker when you drive across a bridge...giving thanks for the planks that make up the bridge) Anyway, I was thinking about one Sunday when I posed a challenge of doing one minute planks every hour. (um, that one hurt the next day!) Making the PLANKS about giving THANKS. On a Sunday. To the ONE I should be thanking every day!
Today's "challenge" is to do 10 burpees and a 20 second plank every hour. Every hour I will also thank God for 10 blessings in my life. Since my children get up ridiculously early, I was able to start my challenge in the 7 o'clock hour. Amidst yells and screams and fighting children I did my 20 second plank and gave thanks for 1. This Day, 2. Comfortable beds for sleeping, 3. Waffles for breakfast, 4. My husband getting the 3 boys dressed before heading to work, 5. An amazing church that I can look forward to even when I've only had a few hours of sleep, 6. A great job (both mine and my husband's), 7. Sweet kitty cats that love to sleep at my feet, 8. Energetic children (this sometimes doesn't exactly FEEL like a blessing!), 9. The internet...my favorite way of keeping in touch with far away family and friends, 10. The ability to complete a 20 second plank and 10 burpees!
It is nearing the end of the 8 o'clock hour, so I will be getting down as I post this. I am feeling a little stressed and sleepy and annoyed, so coming up with 10 blessings feels like a struggle right now. However, as I watch the sun stream through the trees and see the thermostat warming up and hear the birds (ok, and the cicadas) singing their songs....there is 3 right there. It is the little things I forget to notice each day. It is the beauty all around me that I just walk quickly right on by and continue worrying about the yelling children and the "mom! mom! mom!" I hear constantly. There are always 10 blessings around you. You just have to be quiet (for 20 seconds!) and LISTEN.
8 o'clock: 1. Sunshine, 2. Roof over our heads, 3. DVR so I can always catch up on my shows!, 4. Text messaging...so I can keep in touch with others even when the screaming is way too loud for phone calls, 5. The promise of 74 degrees today, 6. Plans for a Memorial Day cookout with great friends and family, 7. Hotel reservations for a beach vacation, 8. Sloppy Joes (for so many reasons, I am thankful for Sloppy Joes. Honestly), 9. A very close relationship with my sister, 10. This blog as a forum for getting my thoughts "written" down!
Have a great day!
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