Connect

"I'm already including "connect" in daily thoughts as I go about the regular stuff of my life - asking myself how I'm connecting with this and that and especially focusing on what I can disconnect from (love the angle of including the opposite of my word)."

Ali Edwards

What can I disconnect from? I would like to disconnect my enjoyment of eating from guilt. So many of us struggle with food and the consequences of eating in an unhealthy way. I have this brain loop that thinks, I'm not feeling great,-------I should eat something. What if I re-connect to my thoughts like this; I feel good, I should eat something. That seems so weird. Food should make me feel better, right. But, it so often doesn't. If I ate with the prompt, I FEEL good, what would my experience feel like? I know what my mind would do. It would look for reasons why I do feel good, so that I could eat something. Hmm.....how bad can that be? So I am rambling because I cannot solve this issue right now, but thanks for connecting with me on this blog. I will try to shift my connection.

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday Group for two years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share their work. Would you like to join us? 

Whimsical Writings Wednesday- My Bed

"Your best T-shirt should be like your bed; it just feels like you are home when you are in it".

  Ashton Kutcher

Last July, my husband and I were window shopping and we decided to go into a mattress store. He was playful that day and decided to try out all the mattresses. He climbed on each bed in his camo jacket and boots and patted the bed next to him to induce me to go along. We both knew which ones we liked and they were expensive. Never in a million years did I think we would be coming home with a delivery date of a new luxurious mattress with memory foam and springs. 

   To be honest, the springs on our old mattress were pushing their way into delicate parts of my frame. It was not a luxury but really a necessity. Sometimes in a marriage you get stuck in the cycle of taking care of essential things, not fully understanding what is essential.
   As in all new possessions, I am used to to the bed now. I try to remind myself what I had before to stay appreciative of my great bed.

I am joining Ann Dee Ellis and other writers in using a prompt                        to record  memoir moments. If you don't write your story, who will?

Nurturing Monday- In The Nurture Of The Lord

Ephesians 4:4 ​

"And, ye ​​​fathers​, ​​​provoke​ not your ​​​children​ to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

I look for quotations using my one little word in the scriptures, first. The texts are translations so I know the word originally used may have better and even different connotations than the English word. I find it interesting that Paul instructs fathers to bring up their children in the nurture of the Lord not with, or by. It makes me feel that the nurture of the Lord is a way of transmitting care and deep feeling. 

Enos 1:1 

"Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man--for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord--and blessed be the name of my God for it."

Enos was the son of Jacob, Nephew of Nephi, in the Book of Mormon. He starts his account with the information that he had a just father who taught him three important things. His language, which I guess might have been reformed Egyptian, a written language, the nurture of the Lord, and the admonition of the Lord. To be taught in the nurture of the Lord, the teacher must have some knowledge of that nurture. It would be translated by testimony, but more impacting, it would be translated by love and deep caring. This month of January I intend to get more curious about that nurture. Was I taught in the nurture of the Lord? What have I learned from that nurture? How can I teach others in that nurture?

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click here.

Hello One Little Word 2017

              My word for 2017 is nurture

nur·ture

[ˈnərCHər]

VERB 

care for and encourage the growth or development of: 

"Jarrett was nurtured by his parents in a close-knit family"

NOUN

the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something: 

"the nurture of ethics and integrity"

SYNONYMS

foster, cradle, nourish, sustain, cultivate

A year to learn the best way to to nurture and be nurtured. 

January-

The nurture and admonition of the Lord
January 2- In The Nurture Of the Lord
January 9- Taught In the Nurture of the Lord
January 16- The Nurture of The Lord- What Have I Learned
January 23- Abiding In The Nurture of the Lord
January 30- How To Nurture In the Lord

February-

Nurturing my daily practice
February 6- What is my daily practice?
February 13- How To Nurture My Habits of Happiness
February 20- Bringing Life To Your Practice 
February 27- Can I Sustain My Practice?

March-

Nurturing The Heartfelt Apology
March 6- Nurturing My Ability To Apologize
March 13- The Mischief of Defensiveness
March 20- Why won't You Apologize?
March 27- Accepting The Apology

April-

Nurturing reality
April 3- Nurturing Things As They Really Are
April 10-Why Do I Ignore Reality?
April 18- Testing My Ability
April 23- Problem Solving

May-
Nurturing more moderation
May 1- Moderation in What?
May 8- Moderation in Thinking
May 15- I've Moderated Much
May 22- Setting Limits
May 29- Moderating Negative Thoughts

June-
Nurturing for the wrong reasons
June 5- The Fixer
June 28- Am I Nurturing Idleness? 

July-
Nurturing My Health
July 3- Positive Self-Talk
July 10- Nurturing Stamina and Energy
July 17- Nurturing S Relationship With health Practitioners
July 24- Nurturing Patience

August-
Nurturing Patience
August 3- The Anatomy of Patience
August 14- Patience in Waiting
August 21- The Anatomy of Patience Refined
August 28- Patience Rewarded


September- 
Nurturing My Students
September 8- Pacing My Work
September 15- Support Is A Product of Nurturing
September 18- Inviting My Students To Act
September 25- Inviting My Students To Develop Grit





October- 
Nurturing The Wilderness
October 2- Let Me Tell You About The Wilderness
October 9-Beware of Dehumanizing Words and Images
October 16- Nurturing Connection
October 23- Nurturing The Soft Front
October 30- How I Was Nurtured Reading Braving the Wilderness

November-
Nurturing Thankfulness
November 6- I Am Thankful For My Word Of The Year
November 13- Nurturing My Writing Skills
November 20- Thankful For My Imagination
November 27- The Gift That Lies Beneath The Surface

December-
Nurture As My One Little Word
December 4- A Look At The Facts
December 11- A Ritual To Remember My Word



This is a contents page to be added to each week. Please come back on Nurturing Mondays to explore with me how the word nurture can impact our lives.

Books Read In 2016

Look at a book. A book is the right size to be a book. They're solar-powered. If you drop them, they keep on being a book. You can find your place in microseconds. Books are really good at being books, and no matter what happens, books will survive. 

Douglas Adams

Book List for 2016
   1- Draw Everyday Draw Every by Jennifer Orkin Lewis
   2. A Year Between Friends by Vettese, Maria Alexandra, Barnes, Stephanie Congdon, Wizenberg, Molly
   3. Upstream by Mary Oliver
   4. It's Never To Late To Begin Again by Julia Cameron
   5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
   6. A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
   7. The God Seed by Catherine Thomas
   8. Journey To Munich by Jacqueline Winspear
   9. Light In The Wilderness by Catherine Thomas
  10. Deborah Crombie Mysteries
  11. Into The Magic Shop by Dr. James Doty 

     These are the top eleven which come to mind. Recording the books I've read sounds like a good idea but I get started then forget. Number nine, Light In The Wilderness by Catherine Thomas is one I reread this year. Thomas writes about our spiritual journey through life and in particular about the frontier of the mind. She is a scholar of Ancient Scripture but writes in such a way to invite the most humble learner to yearn for enlightenment. 
   "The mind is there frontier and the tool, and fixing the mind to spiritual awareness and practice is the key to continuing spiritual experience."
  I love books that challenge but find I must take notes to retain the principles I learn. I just finished a workbook for Into The Magic Shop by Dr. James Doty by reclaiming a board book and adding embellishments. I plan on adding elements as I experience more with Dr. Doty's magic tricks. They are not traditional tricks but they worked magic in his life which took him from a poor boy with ailing parents to a Neurosurgeon and entrepreneur. 

Finishing a good book is like leaving a good friend. 

William Feather

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday Group for two years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share their thoughts and big ideas.

  

Mindful Monday- A Year of Mindfulness

"The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD."

On this Mindful Monday, the last one of the year, I choose to write about the impact this word has had on my life. I will freely admit that choosing a word for the year sounded silly at first. That is why I picked Ribbistrate in 2015. It was a word no one knew because my friend made it up. The novelty of playing with a completely unknown word made it fun to use it, write about it, and incorporate it into my life. This year in January I felt an urgency to submit to mindfulness. Unpacking the many ways I needed to be more mindful proved so useful. Each month I picked an area in my life that needed my attention starting with my scattered  mind. Meditation was the foundation of my mindfulness training. Learning to sit and let my mind center on my breath, sounds, physical sensations, has become a long term habit. I may not be good at it but I am and will continue to show up to meditate every morning. 

 

Morning meditation makes it easier to catch myself driving without attention, not listening to someone in front of me, or not acknowledging my body's clues that I need to rest.

On Wednesday I will actively plan out a year with a new word. Another word that seems suited to my needs. These words do not just benefit me but extend to my loved ones, students, and friends. 

"This process provides clarity by taking all your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single focus. Just one word that centers on your character and creates a vision for your future."

Mike Ashcroft

Now

Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones. 

Thich Nhat Hahn

Right now the cold is seeping under my doorways and the warm air is flowing from my heat pump above. My shades are still drawn even though it is daylight. Dishes from yesterday's dinner sit in the sink. Texts from my grown sons are appearing on my phone on the table about how we can get four families together. 

The Christmas season has this aspect to it which causes panic. I fight that by spending some time each morning with scripture and meditation. What happens is fine and what doesn't happen is all right, too. It makes me sad when I sigh a sigh of relief, ready to take down all the decorations. Jesus is not a year older after his birthday passes. He is Alpha and Omega. He is now.

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday Group for two years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share their work. Would you like to join us?