Let's Not Get Our Tinsel in a Tangle. . .

There's so much about the holidays that can be stressful. Families are coming in or going out of town, there are presents to buy, homes to decorate, cookies to bake, songs to sing, gifts to wrap. . .and if your life is like mine (and I know I'm not alone!) there are also all the normal, everyday stresses that are still thrown in the mix with raising kids and keeping up with "life". It's easy to get our tinsel in a tangle, if you know what I mean!

Just the other day, I woke up to silence. And everyone knows that when you have two toddler boys, silence is never EVER golden. It means there is mischief, there is conspiracy, there is disaster happening somewhere in your home. I pulled myself out of bed, and found my way into the kitchen to behold their latest catastrophe. There's nothing more lovely than waking up to a TP'd bathroom, pee all over the bathroom floor, and bright red lollipops in your toddlers mouths. Both were stripped down nude, coloring pictures on the kitchen floor with dry erase markers. ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR. We must have been out of construction paper, forgetful me. But they weren't bothered. My boys are improvisers. All of this, friends, before my coffee. . .yes. . .my tinsel WAS tangled. I rounded them up, dunked them in the tub, and set out "righting" the bathroom "wrongs" and kept my tongue from firing all the darts of fury their way. After all. . .hadn't they let me sleep in until ten a.m.?! God bless their little souls!

I've been thinking a lot about stress lately. How it really does get the better of us. And in the "hap-happiest-season-of-alllllll", shouldn't we be doing our darndest to REMOVE some of the stress from our lives, not just add more fuel to the fire?!

A friend and I are embarking on a "stress FAST" of sorts. Not that you could actually remove stress all together (if that were the case, this blog would go viral in a matter of minutes! I would bottle that shiz up and sell it on the street corner!). We've decided that the only logical way to counter all the stress in our lives is to gain new perspective on why we are stressed. Isn't that what stress really is. . .losing one's perspective on life? Forgetting that all things aren't permanent, that we shouldn't dwell on the temporal worries of each day, but re-prioritize, put God back in control instead of trying to do everything on our own, and spend more time with Him. . .THIS is what will relieve us of the stresses of life.

With that in mind, we took Jen Hatmakers lead in her book "7", and decided to set aside seven different times throughout the day to pause and reflect. In these seven moments, we would read a scripture and spend time praying about a particular aspect of life, whether it be patience, servanthood, forgiveness, purpose and work, family, intercession, joy. . .we would cover it all at some point every 24 hours. Currently, my alarm is set to go off at 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight. I'm only one day into this month of commitment and I've already witnessed a miracle (that's reserved for another post!). I've learned that I don't get too selfish if I focus back on God every three hours. What a difference it's making already! I would recommend this commitment to anyone who wants to see God literally live through them on a daily basis. I've not experienced anything like it. Why have I not ALWAYS done this?!

So that's on my agenda this month. Hold God's hand through December like I've never done before. Also. . .don't kill my children. So far, I'm set to accomplish both goals! Do you know what gets me through most of my parenting woes??? Reading about other's moments of disaster with their little monsters. It reminds me that I'm not alone and my children aren't the only ones that could be the next traveling circus act.

But seriously, I would LOVE to read more about your parenting stories of chaos and bliss! That is why, I will be co-hosting a new Friday feature segment on my sister site EpicTots called "FOR REAL?! FRIDAYS".  We would love it if you would submit some of your funniest stories about your kids!  Stories that others can relate to, laugh at, and nod in emphatic agreement at the overall hilarity that is parenthood. We want you to rant with us, tell us some of your life lessons learned, or just share some plain and simple hysterical moments in the life of your family. We want to give those stories a voice to inspire and encourage others. If you have something that you'd like to whip up, email your submissions to michelle@missbananapants.com.  I'll let you know when you're story will be featured! I can't wait see what you have to share! In the meantime, take some time to check out EpicTots and read about some of my personal moments of parenting failure. I'm sure you could all use the laugh!

Happy December Friends! And remember. . .let's not get our tinsel in a tangle! :)