one step enough for me.

i have learned two things in my quest for order and consistency.
1. one step at a time.
2. doing it badly is better than not doing it at all.
{my perfectionist mother is cringing as she reads #2.  trust me.  she taught me many times "it's better to do it right the first time than to have to do it again. NOPE.  i don't agree.  fear of "not doing it right" is paralyzing and NOT healthy.  we never had curtains in our home although my mother often bought fabric for them-- she was so afraid that they wouldn't be "right".  if i waited for ideal in home decor i would still have an un-decorated home...  "right" is a PROCESS not a destination.  in my humble opinion.}

have you heard the church song, "Lead, Kindly Light"?
i used to hate it.

Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

i remember thinking-- not me!
i don't want to see only one step... that drives me crazy.
i want the whole plan.
i have come to see wisdom in God's "one step" technique.
you see--  sometimes, the whole picture is a bit OVERWHELMING.
sometimes we're afraid, or lazy, or tired, or unsure, or weak.
sometimes we need to take it one step at a time.

1. one step at a time-- 
as i'm trying to develop more CONSISTENCY- i have learned to appreciate this wisdom.

every morning my goal is to read my scriptures and take a walk.
most mornings i wake up and i do not want to wake up.
i have learned how to trick myself-  by only showing myself one step.
i just say, "Just go lay on the couch with your scriptures."
and then i open them and then i read a few verses.
sometimes i do fall asleep, but sometimes i read and learn and love it.
i almost never want to go outside into the cold.
i almost always think i don't have time for a walk.
again, i tell myself-- Just Do It!
just go outside and WALK UP YOUR DRIVEWAY.
just walk to the top of the hill.
just a little walk.
and, i'm accomplishing my goal.
i go for a walk EVERY day.
and, i love it, every day.
and, my goal is to DO it and ENJOY it... not to get my working heart rate to a certain number.
although, if i dare tell you the truth, it feels good to run and stretch... and i do both
(even when i'm walking in my robe and slippers).
when i don't feel like i can climb the whole mountain--
i tell myself "just one step" outside... and, it works.

i do this when i don't want to cook dinner (just thaw the meat), when i don't want to do laundry (just gather it), when i don't want to clean the bathrooms (just wipe the sinks quickly with windex), when i don't want to make an appointment (just find the number)... and, it helps get me over my hump!

2.  doing in badly is better than not doing it at all--
accept imperfection!
in yourself, in your home, in your body, in your children.
it's all mental anyway.  you just THINK you don't know how to do it.
you're just spinning your mind thinking there must be some perfect way to do things that is eluding you.
there isn't.
just do it your imperfect way.
there is no elusive ideal.
STOP looking on pinterest at super-homes.
and start making your home just one step better.
you'll feel great when you throw away your super ideal and just do one thing.

i used to make fun of todd when he exercised.
we would go to the gym and he would just jog for a half and hour and be happy and content.
i would try to run "Body for life" intervals and push myself to the point of exhaustion and hate every minute of  it.
plus, he'd loose weight- and i wouldn't

sometimes, i can't start organizing my house because i can't figure it out...
i don't know the best way to do things.
i don't know how to make a closet better or where to store all the things i need to store.
i know how to do it now.

-- don't worry about it!!

i just take an area that i'm trying to order.
dump it into a big pile.
sort and purge.
then keep my piles together.
i start putting the things i want in the closet back into the closet in an orderly way.
if i don't know where i want something else to go, i just leave it in a bag or a basket or a box until i figure out where to put it.
it may sit in the middle of my room for a few days till i have an idea.
i may just scoot the box to the corner of a closet.
that may not be the BEST place for it-- but it is still an ordered mess.

For me, i have noticed that Ol' Scratch tries to stop me by making me think my task is too overwhelming.
i have learned to just take ONE STEP.
do one thing- and feel the sense of accomplishment.
and-- i have learned to be content with less than ideal.

these same principles have helped me as a mother--
don't get overwhelmed because your five year old isn't the patient, respectful woman that you hope she can become.
teach one thing.
rejoice in your accomplishment, even if she still picks her nose and can't wipe her bottom on her own.
those things will come.
and-- be OK with imperfection.
PLEASE enjoy those cute pictures where your little ones have arms sticking out where ears should be.
enjoy their toddler chosen outfits and how they do their hair with 10 barrettes.
these moments are fleeting.

my closets do not look like magazines.
well, most of them anyway.
but they are ordered.
and they get better every time i sort and purge.

One step at a time.
Imperfection is MORE NORMAL than perfection is.  ;)

time to run...
anna slept on her side and has a dent where her panties were that is just KILLING her.
:)
have i told you that i love being a mom?!!

off to conquer the basement!

 my two weeks is running out!!

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein~


'It’s not the mountain we conquer-but ourselves.’ Sir Edmund Hillary

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.

Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 - 1965)