This will be a short edition because it’s just been that kind of week. (Anyone else?)
In case you need a reminder that no one has their life together, we saw this post today in our neighborhood FB group…
Yep. Those are our mailbox keys that I left for almost 24 hours in the mailbox keyhole. Perf.
Here’s the main thought this week. I saw this quote that kinda stopped me in my tracks:
“Your family’s pace is a nervous system input.”
Man… this hit.
This past weekend alone was wild. We had dinner with friends Friday night to meet their new puppy. Saturday we hit the beach, and Sunday-Monday (Memorial Day) we were at Disney. We got back late on Monday and jumped straight back into school and work routines on Tuesday.
It was a lot. I still feel like I’m playing catch-up.
I wonder sometimes: What is the right pace of life to create for our children?
This troubles me, because we haven’t found a clear boundary or rhythm yet. What do we say yes to? What do we delay or turn down? How do we fill their childhoods with wonderful, magical memories while still allowing them to be bored and unprogrammed? I don’t have the answers (I hope that’s how you read most of these emails), but it’s something I wrestle with.
I’d love to know: Do you have some sort of guidelines for your family to protect energy and calendars? For example, only one social commitment or outing per week? Would love to hear what works for you. I’m also down to share the feedback I get in a future issue if that would be helpful to anyone – lmk!
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Dallas Willard quotes:
“God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being “right”, we will simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our life.”
God hasn’t yet blessed anyone except right where they are. I suppose that means he stands to bless you and me right here in the midst of worrying about the pace we’re cultivating for our families.
Thanks for reading. Seriously. In progress together.
Alyssa
