New Year Challenges

Instead of resolutions I am doing challenges. Two challenges actually, that came from reading two different blogs: the Rocking Chair Challenge and the memory verse challenge from the Beth Moore blog (Living Proof Ministries) which I am too lazy to find don't have linked.

Now the rocking challenge is roughly to rock your child(ren) 15 times a day or as much as you can. The key is to seek them, out pull them close, and just rock and love on them. I commented and committed to rock as often as I can, but due to work schedule I can only rock a couple of times a day. And I have already blown it, but am going to keep pluggin' away.

See yesterday morning on the return to school day after a laid back two weeks, we had a very bad morning which ended in tears (G) and anger and frustration (G and me). So I told G we needed to rock to re-connect before leaving for school, so we did. This is also where I blew it. Instead of using the time to love on her and reconnect, I used the time to lecture. I told her everything that she did wrong that morning that lead to the tears and frustration and what she should do to fix it. Bad, bad, bad, bad me. (This morning I prayed for a better morning. It worked, why do I doubt?)

Yes, I realized the lecturing was not good and was duly pricked in my spirit on the way to work. Of course I couldn't do anything about it until last night. I took the time to tell her what I did wrong and apologized. (Of course last night after bath was terrible too but that is another personal failure post.)

So we rocked and read a chapter of her book. In the evenings we rock and I read to her at the same time. I am thinking it kills two birds with one stone and G, for the most part, will let me rock and read to her. Of course G would let me rock her (not to sleep) all day if I could while she wallows and wiggles and hugs and just is.

The challenge though is to not let my little OCD child (and yes she is to some extent) demand it or bring it in our lives as an absolute need which she tends to do when I introduce something new which then becomes a different battle of control to have her way.

By the way, I usually lose that challenge and end the "something" intended to connect/change us. Just like this morning she asked to rock, but she asked before I could really tell her if we had time to do so. Then she continued to ask and demand it, pouting when I couldn't promise. We did end up having time and I set a 5 min. timer to just rock her and love on her so she would have a clear end to the rocking.

So now for the verse challenge, I didn't commit in the blog comments because I didn't want to be held accountable due to not being sure I could do it. The idea is to take one verse and memorize it from the 1st to the 14th of the month and then add another on the 15th which would add to 24 verses a year memorized.

I am already sort of ahead because I am an over achiever G has to memorize one verse a week with Upward sports (last two coaches didn't require or encourage it), and I decided to memorize her verses with her. Everyday we practice her verse as well as my own chosen verse. She also has verses she must memorize for karate which relates to the fruit of the Spirit and goes with each belt level.

Everyday I send a note in her lunch box with a few questions and a pen for her to respond. I also have started writing her verses out so she can read them in the middle of the day. She and I both need the verses. So for now we are meeting the New Year challenges, but the year is early yet and I pray I will be deeply changed through the success of these challenges. Because obviously the change needs to be in me!