For the record: I don’t hate school; HOWEVER, I saw something mildly horrific at Walmart this week: Back to School Supplies
I feel like my summer JUST started, and then Walmart had the GALL to go back to school on me?! (Don’t they know we're TRYING to enjoy the last few drops of sunshine and green grass!?)
Then Mr. Guilt attacked me in the grocery aisle. “What about that whole list of things you wanted to do with the kids this summer? What should I do with that? Maybe frame it and put it up on the wall as a reminder of your failure?”
What was I thinking? Why did I think we’d get those things done?
I guess next year, I won’t blink so I actually know July is happening.
Don’t mind the tape on my eyelids, I’m just trying to not miss summer.
Ridiculous? Maybe not.
My summer doesn’t FEEL like a success, so I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.
Then again, what would have made it feel like a success? what would have made it feel like a success?
Do I even know?
Jonathan and I realized recently that we had completely different definitions of what a “good” summer was. - How are we supposed to succeed if we haven’t defined our expectations?!
Do YOU have a definition for a successful summer??
Think about it. Try writing it down in 3 sentences or less.
Successful summers have….
Meals on the grill?
X number of trips to the park?
X Hours in the pool?
Maybe folded laundry that *actually* gets put away?
Swept floors? - Nah - no time for that one.
How about time to catch up on house projects?
Lots of fun activities? -- Or maybe no fun activities so your kids are forced to be creative?
Vacations? How Many? What Kind? How Long?
Can we even define this beast?!
If I don’t know where I’m going, how on earth am I supposed to get there?
PAUSE - Before you start feeling overwhelmed, check out this quote from Author and Speaker Jon Acuff:
“You don't need to go back in time to be awesome; you just have to start right now. Regretting that you didn't start earlier is a great distraction from moving on with your dream today, and the reality is that today is earlier than tomorrow.” ― (Jon Acuff, Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters)
Can I get the most giant “Amen” in the whole world?! - Sitting around and wishing for a different past DOESN’T HELP the future! (I’m saying this to myself more than anyone)
Sometimes moms are experts at beating themselves up over the past though. Give us half a second and we’ll make a whole list of regrets.
Guess what, though? - As my mentor so often reminds me, “Regret is a choice that serves no useful purpose. It only robs your present.”
Does it REALLY help us to sit around and wish that we did our past or our summer differently, or are we simply wasting the present?
I’m learning that useful actions don’t come from negative thoughts, and regret is one of the most negative, self-deprecating thoughts I can have.
So, what can we do? The clock is still ticking, and summer is still almost gone.
The solution may be counterintuitive.
I recently read Jon Acuff’s book Finish:Give yourself the gift of done where he commissioned a research study with Mike Peasley, PhD to “analyze almost 900 people over a 6-month period as they worked on goals.”
Their research surprised me.
The answer was NOT - “work harder and sleep less”
Actually - almost the opposite!
Here’s his book in three sentences (although, I’d recommend the read yourself)
(It's also your 3 ways to Rescue Summer Before It's Gone!)
1. “Cut your goal in half”
2. “Choose what you'll bomb”
3. “Make it fun if you want it done”
“But that’s cheating,” blog lady, “A list that’s cut in half means that I just ignored half the list.”
I know. I fought this idea hardcore too.
I actually had to listen to the book all over again until it sank in.
Then I began to wonder: What if our goals just need this book?
What if we took our summer bucket list and applied these three hacks to it?
Suddenly it seems more doable.
Jon’s point is that if we feel overwhelmed, we won’t actually DO the things we want to do. Overwhelm is an entirely un-useful place for your brain to hang out.
For example, If I’m feeling overwhelmed by something huge like “Organize the Basement”... The chances that I will ever come across enough free hours to slay that dragon are next to impossible.
Therefore, my brain tells me I can’t succeed down there, and I avoid it.
Let’s apply Jon’s three “finisher” hacks to the basement dragon.
What if I only tried for half the basement?....That feels better
What if I chose to “bomb” dishes for a week to free up more time? - Paper plates here I come!!
What if I made it fun? - DQ Trips make everything more fun, right?
Suddenly, this feels so much better than, “do it perfectly, or you’re a miserable failure”
Just LOOK at how different these goals are:
#1 Organize the basement
or
#2 Organize half the basement, instead of washing dishes this week, and have a DQ PARTY on Friday when it’s done.
Which one would you rather do?! - Which one are you more likely to schedule?
Here’s the point: the way you *think* about your to-do list, MATTERS.
It’s actually the difference between success and failure.
Every time I talk about mom sucess vs failure, I can't ignore the “mic-drop” of all mom questions from a series of 3 Christian parenting messages by Mike Fabarez. (If you listen at the *links below*, it takes him a bit to get going, but it will melt your face off if you're looking for a purposeful mom-life.)
The question? “What does it profit a man [woman/child] to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
In the parenting context, what does profit our kids to have the activities, or the grades, or the achievements, or the job, or the college, or the friends, or the 4H, or the party, or the popularity, or anything else --yet forfeit their soul?
Are ANY of those things bad? Absolutely not. However, at the end of my life, if my kid is a popular, straight A, basketball star but hasn’t a clue about where their soul is going, I have failed.
The question is: what's the MOST important? Academic success? Money? What tops the "most important" list for your kid?
If I know anything, I know that whatever we view as "MOST" important, will automatically make something else LESS important.
Let's be exceedingly careful with what we're inadvertently making "less" important.
Let’s not “gain” the whole summer yet forfeit the chance to teach our kids’ souls.
But HOW do we do that?! -- Maybe start by listening to this series of messages, while you make these popsicles.
Think about crossing THAT off your summer bucket list.
Bucket list #1 "Care about my kids’ eternal soul while creating shared memories over yummy treats"
Done and Done! ---What a spectacular mom you are!
Here are the message links and recipe to get you started:
Parenting Links: **Hot tip** - Click on the gear icon at the bottom of the movie and click "Playback speed" to at least 1.25! - You're welcome ;)
Raspberry *Cream Cheese* Creamsicles
Ingredients
12 oz frozen raspberries
⅓ cup granulated sugar (and/or maple syrup/honey to taste!)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used raw cream from our cows!)
1 8 oz brick Cream Cheese @ room temp
Cool Whip for some extra fluff (optional)
Instructions:
In a sauce pan, combine the raspberries and sugar. Heat on medium low heat for 10 minutes.
As the raspberries are heating up, crush them with a rubber spatula. This will help release the raspberry juice.
Then, pour through a fine mesh sieve and into a bowl to collect the raspberry sauce without the seeds. (If you don't in seeds, you could skip this step)
Pour the heavy whipping cream into the raspberry sauce and stir.
Whip the cream cheese until smooth (I added maple syrup while I whipped for fun)
Then, pour the creamsicle mixture into the whipped cream cheese & mix well
**Fold in some Cool whip if desired**
Pour into your popsicle maker
Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 3-4 hours or until set.
I’m ALWAYS rooting for you, friend.
TELL ME if you listen to even part of one of those messages -- AND if you try the popsicles :)
Hi!! I'm Liz Gerdes, and I'd like to be your encourager.
My husband and I are dairy farmers in SE MN and friends to anyone who is interested.
I help moms feel awesome about what they feed their families with farm fresh milk!
Visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow me on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram at @gerdesliz for more info.
Ready for some farm fresh milk (or cream!)?
Let me help! :) Just click the button below to reserve your pick-up slot!
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