(**I tried to finish this last night but got home too late from church)
There are a TON of holidays on our calendars. Some I understand, some I definitely do not. We celebrate everything from Christmas and Thanksgiving to Arbor Day and Flad Day. Holidays like Earth Day, April Fool's Day, Groundhog Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day...heck, even Administrative Assistant's and the United Nations get a day! So it strikes me as strange that Holy Thursday isn't a "holiday." Most Christians don't even know what Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday is.
For me personally, today is second most important Christian holiday, behind Easter. (Yes, I am aware that I am not including Christmas in the top two.) Easter and Holy Thursday are my top 2 for one specific reason- they are the reasons we live in God's merciful peace and forgiveness. Holy Thursday is the day we remember Jesus dying on the cross. Can you imagine God coming to you and asking you to give up your child? Can you imagine God not only coming to you and asking you to give up your child but that your child would be ridiculed, tormented, beaten, spat upon, abused, and mercilessly put to death? God gave us his only child to die for the sins He we had committed yet. That's some pretty powerful stuff.
The Maundy Thursday service focuses on the events surrounding the last hours in Jesus' life. The word "Maundy" was derived from the Latin word "mandare" (to command), and Maundy Thursday stems from the commandment Jesus gave His disciples after washing their feet that night before His crucifixion: "A new commendment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you."
The service, also known as Tenebrae or Service of Shadows, is one of the oldest in the history of the Church. The service slows fades to darkness as we recount the events that led the darkness that fell over the earth on that first Good Friday when Christ was crucified on the cross. It is a truly powerful service to attend and one I would encourage you to, at the very least, try once and see how you feel about it. I mean, let's think about this realistically...we honor the death of Presidents, Martin Luther King, Jr., and don't even get me started on how we view the deaths of celebrities. But we only recognize Christ's resurrection? How is it that we are failing to honor and teach our children what had to happen for Christ to be born again? How are we overlooking the horror, the tragedy, the painful steps that Christ had to endure for each one of us?
One of the anthems sung last night had the following verses: "Alas! And did my SAvior bkeed, and did my Savior die? Would He devote that sacred head for sinners such as I? Was it for sins that I have done he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree! Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut its glories in, when Christ, the great Redeemer, died for human creatures' sin, thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears, dissolve my heart in thankfulness and melt my eyes to tear. But tears of grief cannot repay the debt of love I owe."
While the service is sad and emotionally draining, you leave with a humbling reassurance that God loved you so much that He chose this path for His only Son. He chose to do these things for you out of love. There is the hope that Easter morning will come and Christ will rise again. But the real message of my blog about this incredible and powerful Maundy Thursday? What would life be like without the joyous Easter message??
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Now that was a workout!
I got a good jolt in the rear end yesterday. I was asked by a friend to go and meet her at the gym. Now, at the exact moment of the text we were still trying to get Connor down for a nap and Alaina was screaming her head off so I politely texted back that I wasn't going to be able to make it. She texted back "Give Ben the baby and get your butt over here." HA! Yes ma'am and away I went. I was so glad for the persistance of a good friend because it got my feet to the treadmill to run 30 straight minutes! I haven't run for 30 straight minutes in a year, at least. This was such a huge accomplishment for me and it was the "zing" I needed to feel re-energized about working out. You know the feeling I'm talking about...that rush that you finished your run. You kicked butt and took names! You pushed yourself just a little further than you thought you were going to be able to. I laid in bed last thinking about how grateful I was that she encouraged me yesterday because I felt so refreshed that I had a little bit of time away from the whining and demanding toddler and the crying and demanding infant. I did something for me.
I did something for me again today, I went back! I talked to my bestie, PJ, a few days ago. She is the most amazing athletic trainer I have ever worked with because she is so knowledgeable about a woman's body and the perfect workout for the kind of body you ultimately want. For example, my weightloss/fitness goals are to lose weight, get toned and get at a point where I can physically begin training for a half marathon this Fall. So the plan of attack is cardio and strength training on M, W and F and straight, good 'ol fashioned cardio on T and R. Definitely get weekends off. On strength training days to shed the pounds and tone up I am doing 3 sets of 12 reps with low weights and hitting every main muscle group in a fast circuit to keep the heart rate up. So this is the plan (and let me just tell you from experience today...this is a good workout. My shirt was soaked and I was literally dripping sweat!!)
One legged squats
Single leg kickbacks
Forward lunges
On the Stability Ball:
Hip Thrusts
Lower Back extension
Incline Dumbbell Press
Incline Bicep Curls
Crunches
Obliques with the weighted medicine ball
Bent over row
Tricep extension
Shoulder Press
Chest Fly
On the BOSU:
Plank hold into push-up's
Shifting or marching
Hamstring Tilt
I did something for me again today, I went back! I talked to my bestie, PJ, a few days ago. She is the most amazing athletic trainer I have ever worked with because she is so knowledgeable about a woman's body and the perfect workout for the kind of body you ultimately want. For example, my weightloss/fitness goals are to lose weight, get toned and get at a point where I can physically begin training for a half marathon this Fall. So the plan of attack is cardio and strength training on M, W and F and straight, good 'ol fashioned cardio on T and R. Definitely get weekends off. On strength training days to shed the pounds and tone up I am doing 3 sets of 12 reps with low weights and hitting every main muscle group in a fast circuit to keep the heart rate up. So this is the plan (and let me just tell you from experience today...this is a good workout. My shirt was soaked and I was literally dripping sweat!!)
One legged squats
Single leg kickbacks
Forward lunges
On the Stability Ball:
Hip Thrusts
Lower Back extension
Incline Dumbbell Press
Incline Bicep Curls
Crunches
Obliques with the weighted medicine ball
Bent over row
Tricep extension
Shoulder Press
Chest Fly
On the BOSU:
Plank hold into push-up's
Shifting or marching
Hamstring Tilt
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Invisible Mother
**So first, let me start with a little disclaimer: I wasn't going to write this post until closer to Mother's Day. I wanted to share a motivational piece I read months ago that meant so much to me. It was so moving, in fact, that (despite being 1-week post partum) it still brought me to tears. However, my dear friend, Kelly had a Facebook status that made me zoom this blog entry up a few weeks to motivate a need she had, which made me think that my other mom friends may have a need for a little reassurance as well.
Here we are....Kelly posted this morning something to the affect of 'I don't know if my husband could survive without me.' When I first read it this morning, I start chuckling to myself. One of those chuckles that had me shaking my head in agreement thinking 'aaahhhh, one of those kinds of days.' I have certainly had those days, weeks where I find myself thinking if my family would starve from hunger, stink from dirty clothes or at the most extreme survive if I wasn't around. Okay, so I know they would survive, but what kind of life would it be for them? I know I have blogged about this before but as the "mom" you wear so many hats, and usually many of them are at the same time. The chef, the personal trainer, the amusement park, the cleaning lady, the nurse, the laundress, the cheuaffuer (sp?), the secretary, the personal assistant, the shopper, the educator, the dog walker (at least in my case), the list is never ending. It feels like we are juggling 14 balls in the air at the same time and magically, we can do so without any of them dropping but it doesn't seem as if anyone else notices. It seems like we work all day long to make sure the laundry is done, the house is cleaned, the dinner is on the table on time, the kids have been actively engaged in something other than the television and the only time someone notices is when one of those things hasn't been done throughout the day. So in light of all that we do as moms, I share with you "The Invisible Mom." Please know that I did not write this nor do I know who did. It was passed on to me through a Bible Study and I love it so much. I hope you do too!
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Pick me up at 5:30 please.'
Some days I'm a crystal ball, 'Where is my other sock?', 'Where is my phone?', 'What's for dinner?'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature- but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read- no, devour- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals- we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked a man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, no one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall in place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn, no cupcake you've baked, not all the baseball games you went to, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what will become.'
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be build in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there....'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.
Here we are....Kelly posted this morning something to the affect of 'I don't know if my husband could survive without me.' When I first read it this morning, I start chuckling to myself. One of those chuckles that had me shaking my head in agreement thinking 'aaahhhh, one of those kinds of days.' I have certainly had those days, weeks where I find myself thinking if my family would starve from hunger, stink from dirty clothes or at the most extreme survive if I wasn't around. Okay, so I know they would survive, but what kind of life would it be for them? I know I have blogged about this before but as the "mom" you wear so many hats, and usually many of them are at the same time. The chef, the personal trainer, the amusement park, the cleaning lady, the nurse, the laundress, the cheuaffuer (sp?), the secretary, the personal assistant, the shopper, the educator, the dog walker (at least in my case), the list is never ending. It feels like we are juggling 14 balls in the air at the same time and magically, we can do so without any of them dropping but it doesn't seem as if anyone else notices. It seems like we work all day long to make sure the laundry is done, the house is cleaned, the dinner is on the table on time, the kids have been actively engaged in something other than the television and the only time someone notices is when one of those things hasn't been done throughout the day. So in light of all that we do as moms, I share with you "The Invisible Mom." Please know that I did not write this nor do I know who did. It was passed on to me through a Bible Study and I love it so much. I hope you do too!
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Pick me up at 5:30 please.'
Some days I'm a crystal ball, 'Where is my other sock?', 'Where is my phone?', 'What's for dinner?'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature- but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read- no, devour- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals- we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked a man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, no one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall in place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn, no cupcake you've baked, not all the baseball games you went to, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what will become.'
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be build in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there....'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.
The Queen of Unfinished Business
Yep, that's me. The Queen of Unfinished Business. I LOVE to start new things. I get the excitement, the rush, the passion to begin a new project, new book, new Bible Study, new workout plan (these are all the ones that are coming to mind right now because they are the ones sitting collecting dust somewhere). I start with energy. I start with enthusiasm and as time wears on and days and days pass by, my energy starts to fade. Heck, I have even forgotten most of my "New Year's Resolutions" at this point! It seems that life gets in the way of the things I want to do for myself. I find myself putting other things (the laundry, the screaming baby, the cleaning, the errands, the carpool, the obligations, etc.) all ahead of my own "list." My personal list that would allow me to have some me time. With a toddler and a newborn, who has heard of such a thing?? But I am getting worn down. I have never been the type of person of get any circles under my eyes from sleep deprivation and man oh man...if you could see me without makeup!!! I look like I just went 2 rounds with Mike Tyson. I am tired...so tired that I didn't hear the tornado warnings go off last week...and I'm a light sleeper!! My point is this. It's not just me being tired or other things getting in the way, although I love to use these as excuses. What is really boils down to is this- I get bored. The "sexiness" or the "newness" of whatever it is loses its appeal and I set it down, never to be heard from again. Well, my sister has inspired me this week. She is taking a fast from all things that distract her from God. She is setting down the internet, turning off the TV, cutting back on harmful things that go into her body (ie. fast and junk food) so she can recharge during this holiest of Christian weeks. I am inspired by her and while I am not internet or TV fasting. Caffeine is my lifeline right now so I probably won't be cutting that out either, what I am doing is taking something on to better myself. I have a fantastic Bible Study that I started weeks and weeks ago- The Frazzled Female. My goal is to pick it back up and if I can't complete it this week, I want to take a huge chunk out of it because I loved it so much when I was doing it. I am revamping my workout calendar, putting together something new for myself and am going to work hard to be diligent enough to make and take time to workout. My scrapbook that is sitting there that needs to be updated since Alaina's birth, yep, I am going to tackle that too and get caught up with the pages and events that have been going on. My sister, Jo, blogged about something that is sitting (at this exact moment) uneasy with me. It makes me uneasy because I am not doing it, any of it. She wrote about Seven Special Steps. 7 steps to a more fulfilled you...a fulfilled you in Christ. Things like: take time for rest (say what?!?), don't overproduce and spread yourself too thin (oops!), steward your energy and focus good 100% energy on a few things you should be doing instead of 50% energy of 400 things you are doing. Are you exercising and recharging daily (yeah, I'm not either)? So, it appears, my journey is never ending. It appears this journey to a new me isn't going to come easily and it's going to take a lot of effort and work, constantly. I need to be okay with that. So this week, my big prayers are for God to remind me to do what is actually important and to make time for the things on my list. Speaking of...I better get off here and get to work!!
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