So my wordy Wednesday is coming to you on Thursday this week but better than not at all right? I am finding it increasingly hard to get computer time at our house now that my sweet husband is constantly studying. I see a new MAC in our future..hopefully our checkbook does too.With that said I have lots of time for thinking which often translates to things I want to blog about. That brings me to my word for Wednesday, that's right this week there is no real quote or saying but a word, a word I think it would be great for everyone to stop and think about........COMPLAINING! Yes that easily acquired habit of being unsatisfied with any number of things in your life. I often think it's a trait we don't even realize we have picked up, it is so acceptable in our culture to always be wanting more. Always wanting to be someone else, look like someone else, have someone else's car, house, money...whatever! It's something I have to admit I've been doing a lot of since we moved to Syracuse. Starting a new life has been exciting and seeing my husband studying at his desk causes me great joy but it has also been difficult. More difficult than I even imagined, which is probably good because I might not have come if I had known the adjustment. Tim and I had a great life in Kansas City. Looking back now that we live on one small salary we realize just how much money we made. We had a beautiful house, went out to eat all the time, shopped, had amazing friends and were close to our families, often seeing them everyday! Now we live in a very small apartment, about 700 sq feet in a noisy building, we live on one salary, don't really know too many people, no family around, and don't have all of the free time to spend together as we used too.Now before moving I considered myself a pretty positive person and also felt very content in the life I had. But since moving I realized how easy and fast that state of mind can change. For several months now I have found myself grumbling, wishing, hoping, complaining about any number of things about our life that our now different. At first it feels good, honest almost to be free enough to let your partner or friends know just how bad your life really has become. But, after awhile I have started to hear myself, to step outside myself and realize just how yucky my words and mindset had become and I started to feel really bad. So it got me thinking about complaining and thinking about so many people who have a life so much harder than mine I couldn't bear it probably for more than a day. Or how people centuries ago lived and how easy I have it and how often I take the simplest things for granted. It really hit me when I read this list (how can I complain) from one of my favorite blogs about this very idea of complaining. I challenge all my readers to make your own "how can I complain" list.
With the Fall season bringing us cooler weather and Thanksgiving on the horizon, think about all you have to be thankful for and how even the slightest change in our thinking can have profound effects on how we see our world and the effect we have on others.
“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”
Philippians 2:14
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2 comments:
WOW! That was really good! I've discovered that I complain a lot too. Here are some more things to add to the list: instead of complaining about how much time my husband spends at work, I can be thankful that he has a job. When I get upset that he spends so much time doing homework, being thankful that he's going through college to give us more financial security in the future. When I don't want to do homeschool, being glad that I have the freedom to chose my children's education. And then those wonderful insights from the blog you listed - not complaining about laundry when I can just stuff it in the machine, not complaining that I miss my mom when I can e-mail or call her, not complaining about washing dishes when I have instant hot water, etc. I have discovered that if I smile before I get out of bed, my outlook is improved. I just make sure no one can see me smiling to myself, as I'm sure I look silly. :-) THANK YOU for the wonderful encouragement to not complain and to be thankful... just like we're commanded to do!
Well thank you to my beautiful reader Kara for taking to heart this post. It's so easy to let ourselves off the hook with things like this. One thing I keep noticing is the power woman especially have on our homes. We can set the tone for better or worse just by how we act....what's the saying with great power comes great responsibility???
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