12.23.2010

christmas sunday 2010
last thursday i was inspired by joanna from a cup of jo to stop complaining for one whole week.
i felt like it was perfect timing, ending on christmas eve's eve, to get me in the right mindset for celebrating the true meaning of christmas.

because really, what on earth do i have to complain about?i know my life is blessed beyond measure and most of those blessings i don't deserve, even though i try to be deserving.

knowing myself, i don't always think a lot before i speak. (that's why i love writing so much, i can edit and re-do until it's exactly right.) so i knew that i would have to work really hard on not complaining in my thoughts- otherwise they would just spill out anyway. 

surprisingly, it wasn't hard. at all. my two biggest challenges were:

1. i love to make a joke of things that bother me, so i can easily turn a complaint into something amusing & maybe it doesn't appear that i am complaining, but i am. so, i had to stop being funny for a week.

2. i give russ a hard time about leaving everything he uses out. i say "i always know exactly where you've been" often. cupboards open, jam jars out, whole outfit trails to our room... (the guy would live in his underwear if i'd let him.) so for one week, i just put it away myself, or left it. you know what i noticed? sooner than later, he'd put it all away himself. ha! basically i just wanted it put away, like now. i just needed a little patience.

it was a nice little test for myself & it reminded me of what a wonderful life i have.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
-Mahatma Ghandi

9 comments:

Mallory said...

great post! what a darling picture!

AubreyMo said...

So cute. I love the idea of trying to be nice for a week, I should give it a go sometime. Your have such a beautiful family, Emily. Merry Christmas!

Griffin and Gretchen said...

wow. this is EXACTLY what i need to do.
what a stylish little family. Hayes is a fashion icon for little boys everywhere

Jenna Robert said...

Beautiful.

Shorty said...

What a nice thing to do! It would be harder than it sounds, I'm sure. Good for you!

Nicole Marie said...

i saw that and wanted to try it too! it's so easy to complain so much harder to just keep your mouth shut!

Anonymous said...

very cool. It's a nice thing to do. I will have to give it a try.

Lindsey S. said...

love this!

Kit said...

Wise woman.

I also discovered this week when a huge wave of disappointment came up for me unexpectedly that we DO get to feel our feelings...

but then, once we feel them, acknowledge them to ourselves (not necessarily the person who disappointed us) , etc, we can let them go with one of either (or both of these simple measures: 1 - Visualize taking them to Christ, telling HIM all about them (He wants to be our Friend) and
also 2 - EFT really helps when they are severe.
Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping on the meridian points, Google it. It's an invaluable tool.

Merry Christmas my happy hearted, grateful girl!

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