Change Is Gonna Happen

Hopefully.

We've been struggling with some attitudes around here. We're all totally feeding off of each other. I have no idea who started it, but I pray it's about to stop. The perfect storm has cropped up I believe:

1. No structure. I've been enjoying the summer time ease. We've totally fallen off any sort of routine - no definite sitter days, no definite go into the office days, no definite class schedules. Wanna go to the pool for 4 hours? Sure. Wanna have no particular plans for the day and wind up making huge messes and falling into mischief? Why not. All we've got to lose is our sanity.

2. Been a little greedy. The summer time also brings about a few more treat type options. Swimming, sodas, movies, play time, trips, ice cream. All of that is summer fun but too much of it brings about a sense of entitlement and greediness.

3. Lack of spiritual disciplines. This is pointed at myself. I can't blame my 8, 6, 4 and 2 year old for not being disciplined. I read the Bible in 90 days at the beginning of the year and it was awesome. One of the first Bible reading plans that I could stick to. I finished around Easter time and thought to myself, "I've got other irons in the fire right now, I'll hop back on it for another go around in a month or so." The month came and went and I didn't hop back on. In fact I hopped off every other spiritual accountability type thing I was involved in as well. It's been a long dry period and boy is it showing. I also have been neglectful with the daily bible reading I had been doing with the boys. And it's showing there too.

So the answers to my problems are as follows...

1. Today is July 1st - that's significant in one important area - the homeschool calendar begins. Now anything that I do with the kids can be logged for the 2010-11 school year. Hello structure, it's great to see you again.

2. No more toys. Ok, so not that drastic, but I did put a bunch of them away. I hope to be doing more mind expanding type activities. I need to go to our local teacher's store and see if I can find a good messy science experiment book.

3. Less computer time - for me. I can piddle the day away too easily on this thing.

4. Back into daily spiritual disciplines. It's just a matter of doing it.

5. Going to work. This will help me feel less buried and piled on. Once I get my head above water with that area I won't feel overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. I went in with all of my kids today for 2 hours and we cleaned out a whole storage area. They were a great help really in taking things to the dump and moving junk around for me and in between times they played hide and seek in the classrooms. I just need to bite the bullet and take them with me more often I guess.

So anyway. That's what we have in store for us, I pray that we can stick to it and maybe a structured day of goals to attain with help us to fight to accomplish something useful rather than turning on ourselves! (but we'll still go to the pool every chance we get!)