Quixotical

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Wise Woman

I came across this article today and this is the prayer of my heart. I desire to be this woman! I am going to print this out and post it somewhere I will see it daily as a reminder of who I am meant to be, not who the world says I should be.

A wise woman doesn’t take anything for granted. She is thankful to be loved and seeks to make herself more lovely.
A wise woman doesn’t allow herself to be a liability but strives to be an asset to the marriage bond. She looks for ways to make, save, and use money wisely. Her husband knows he is a richer man because she is his wife.
A wise woman seeks to be a part of her husband’s life. His interest becomes her interest. She looks for ways to help him in every endeavor in which he is involved. When he needs a helping hand, it is her hand that is there first.
A wise woman knows that his peace of mind (and sometimes, wise understanding) is something she can give or take away by her observations and conversation concerning circumstances or people. She limits her conversation to the positive.
A wise woman sets a joyful mood in the household. She uses laughter, music and happy times to stir the children to a positive, joyful frame of mind. She knows this light-heartedness helps take stress off her husband.
A wise woman gauges her husband’s needs. She seeks to fulfill his desires before even he is aware of them. She never leaves him daydreaming outside the home. She supplies his every desire.
A wise woman understands that her husband’s need to be honored is not based on his performance but on his position. She learns quickly to defer with enthusiasm to his ideas or plans. She looks for ways to reverence him. She knows this is God’s will for her life.
A wise woman is not pitiful, puny, or whinny. She seeks to be confident, capable and thankful.
A wise woman does not dream of what “could have been.” She sees clearly that she is not God’s gift to men; thus she is blessed in her present circumstances. She learns to be content.
A wise woman never expects anyone to serve her; therefore she is never disappointed. She is ready to help—a giver. By her example her children learn to serve cheerfully and energetically.
A wise woman doesn’t attempt to instruct her husband through feigned questions. Her questions are sincere inquiries concerning his will.
A wise woman is always learning. She is open to change. She is ready to hear. She wants to know. She doesn’t cloud her mind with the foolish folly of entertainment. She uses her time wisely.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Pondering

First of all, I knew this would happen. I already have not been keeping up with this like I would like to. The days just get so busy so quickly! Second of all, Leilani is upstairs going down for a nap and she is talking and cooing to herself and I think it is just the most precious sound ever! I am so blessed that she is able to put herself to sleep on her own. Also, at only 5 months old she is able to play with her toys on her own without me "entertaining" her for sometimes an hour at a time! She is such a good girl. Something I was thinking about today though is that it takes work and consistency! One of my friends commented to me today that it seems Leilani is the "perfect" baby. I would not go as far as to say that, she does have her grumpy moments (like the last hour before bed time). What does the perfect baby consist of in peoples minds though? A baby who stays on a schedule, sleeps through the night consistently, takes consistent naps during the day and can play on her own for a while. The more I thought about it, yes, Leilani DOES do all of these things, but she wouldn't if I didn't train her to. It has taken work teaching her that this is the way things are done. It took a little while to teach her that bed time is bed time and once she's in the crib there's no getting out unless it's for a quick diaper change if she gets stinky. Same thing with nap time. Nap time is nap time, no way around it. Sleeping through the night? When she started sleeping through the night from 9-6 almost every night and then all of a sudden one night decides to wake up at 2 I went in and told her it's still bed time, flipped her over and gave her a kiss goodnight. She put herself back to sleep. Same thing happened a few times and I consistently did the same thing. Did not pick her up, did not give her a bottle, just simply flipped her over in her crib, gave her a kiss and said it's still night night time. Mommy loves you. Goodnight. Now, occasionally I hear her wake up and start moving around at 2 or 3 sometimes even 4 but she almost never cries at these wakings but instead coos to herself for a minute or two and then puts herself back to sleep until her normal feeding time between 6 and 6:30. The only reason that I believe she is consistent in her sleeping is because I am consistent with her in what I expect. Naps are the same way. If she wakes up before I know she's ready, I don't get her up. I go give her a kiss and tell her it's still nappy time and she will then put herself back to sleep. Yes, sometimes there are some tears and crying, but I stand my ground and she always goes back to sleep. Nap time falls within the same small window of time every day. Things are kept consistent. When I do something that is NOT consistent with her schedule, oh boy look out! Grumpy baby time!!! So, to sum that all up, consistency is key! I did not even start this blog with the intent of writing about Leilani but apparently I needed to let all of that out. Now onto the reason I actually started writing today...
In my daily Bible reading I have been having a hard time getting motivated to read lately. You see, I am in the beginning of 1 Chronicles which for the first 9 chapters is mainly one big genealogy. So hard to read through those! It did get me thinking though, how interesting it would be if I knew my genealogy. I wish I had a better listing of my family members past, who I come from, what their stories were. I know that to some extent you can trace back family trees pretty far nowadays, but who has the time or money for that? Definitely not me. Still, I want to know the stories! A lot of times when I think about my family I think Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Great Grandparents and for whatever reason that's where it cuts off in my head. Almost like Great Grandma and Grandpa didn't come from a family, but just sort of existed all of a sudden and then came my little world. Seriously though! Who were my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents? Where did they live? Where did they come from? How did they meet? What were their family gatherings like around the holidays? How many kids did they have? What did they do for fun? Who were their close friends? How cool would it be to be able to watch a movie or read a book about my family from so many generations ago? These thoughts made my interest in reading through the "boring" genealogies in Chronicles just a little bit more interesting. These have been my ponderings for today...