Month: October 2015

Fight or Flight Therapy – Checkup #3

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I had my 3rd checkup with Dr. Tessler for my Light Therapy. My “circle” is still expanding. I am actually feeling calmer. I had some life things come at me during this last light filter and I was able to keep calm. I’m wondering if it’s just luck or am I really calmer? I wonder if my calmness is situational. Sometimes I don’t feel all that calm with my kids. But still…

I continue to see the “bigger picture”. This means that when something comes at me (like conflict, a negative email, etc) I’m able to look beyond my initial reaction and respond. I don’t just “react”, I “respond” in an appropriate way. I’m able to see people who I might consider an “enemy” in a different light and have some compassion for them. I can see alternatives.

Interesting changes… I’m still waiting to see if these are temporary and what will happen in the long run.

For now, I’m on my 4th filter. This may or may not be my last. It depends on how well I respond to it. I’m still moving at a snail’s pace in terms of progress – moving, but not huge amounts.

My initial evaluation

Checkup #1

Checkup #2

Checkup #4

Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer Bible Study

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The Armor of God, Bible Study Book - By: Pricilla Shirer

My church is currently doing the Armor of God Bible study by Priscilla Shirer for the fall. I am so loving this Study! I remember studying about the armor in church when I was younger. I thought I understood the concept. I thought, yeah, that makes sense. However, during this stage of my life while I am in the midst of a spiritual storm, the Armor of God means so much more to me.

Until recently, I don’t think I fully understood how much the enemy tries to attack us and how much of our battles are spiritual.

The verse in Ephesians 6:12 says it all:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

What this means to me: when my kids are acting up and not listening to me, I need to look beyond the obvious behavior challenges. How is Satan trying to disrupt our relationship? How is he trying to sow discord in our home? How do I fall right into his trap and let their behavior get to me and steal my joy and even make me angry and resentful toward my kids?

When I look through spiritual eyes, I get a different perspective on my circumstances. As a result, I know how to fight back – with the Armor of God. It gives me some measure of control and focus. Am I perfect at this? No. Honestly, I have a hard time seeing things through this lens. In my past, I remember thinking about “those” people who talked about spiritual warfare and thought they were “over the top” or “fanatical”. With that in mind, it’s hard for me to just let go and change my thinking. I worry too much about what people think – that I will appear “fanatical”, which is wrong.

I choose to believe the truth no matter what someone else thinks. That’s part of Satan’s deception. He would love it if I didn’t put on my armor and “fight”. He wants me in bondage to other’s thoughts and opinions about me. I don’t want to live like that.

IOS update 9.0.2 Switched Stopwatch Start Button

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On my iPad, I use my stopwatch timer daily to keep track of keep track of how long my children do a certain exercise during the day. After the new IOS 9.0.2 update to my iPad, I noticed that I would keep resetting my stopwatch. That was weird. I’ve never had a problem with that before. Upon comparing my iPad to another in the home that has not had the upgrade I noticed a difference. I posted pictures below.

Timer before recent update

Timer before recent update – Start button on the left

Timer after update

Timer after update – Start button on the right.

Apparently, the “Start” button switched sides!  I am so used to touching the “Start” button on the right side that now after the recent update, I end up resetting my time. Why would they change something like that? It’s a small change, but it has a big impact. I have to retrain my brain where the new “Start” button is. I guess I could view it as good for my brain since it challenges it. But in the meantime, there will be alot of frustrations with resetting my time since I don’t always pay attention to what time I had gotten to in the first place. Did I do 7 minutes or 8? Still, it’s rather frustrating.

Child Training or Babysitting?

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The idea of a parent training one’s child for adulthood and life sounds like common sense. However I got to thinking about it. Do I really focus on “training” my child? I realized that I often expect my kids to pick things up on their own.

As I thought about how I grew up, I don’t feel like my parents intentionally “trained” me or taught me life skills. My parents were not around that often, so I was left alone. I had to teach myself how to keep a home, how to clean, how to do laundry, how to do life.

How is this reflected in my own parenting? I used to feel like a babysitter. Like my job was to watch the kids all day long until they went to bed. It finally dawned on me that my job as a parent is to teach my children, to train them up. It sounds like that should be common sense, but sadly it wasn’t. No, I didn’t necessarily leave my children to do their own thing all the time. I did teach them some things, but I don’t think I realized the enormity of my job.

If I asked my kids to clean their room or pick up toys, it never occurred to me that I needed to teach them to do it. I just expected them to pick it up somehow & know where to put things, like I did.

I think I also expect them to react appropriately in social situations. This again, is where training comes in. I was never trained/guided in this area, but wish I had been. As a result, it doesn’t come naturally for me to look for opportunities to train my children. I have to be intentional. I can’t just let my kids argue & bicker and figure it out. I have to teach them the right way to respond when provoked or not provoked. They have to be taught in order to know what to practice.

Maybe by the last child, I’ll have this down pat.