Detox Day 8

We are done with the 8th day of our detox! I had a good day at school and I enjoyed my new classes. As far as I know my first test went well too :).

For breakfast we had the potato/kale/onion mixture with an egg and salsa and an orange. 

             

At school I found a nice chair and ottoman in a study room to eat my lunch. 

I really enjoyed the brown rice salad and roasted carrots that I made yesterday.  

Chris has requested chili every night since we finished our chili last week. So, we pulled another bag out of freezer and ate it for dinner tonight with goat cheese. Instead of eating anything for dessert after dinner we just ate an extra bowl of chili. It was delicious :). I will post the recipe soon!

I felt bad after my post yesterday where I complained about all the things on my to-do list and my stress level going into this week. I thought a lot about it this morning on my commute to school. It made me think about a sermon we heard at church yesterday when our pastor talked about excuses we give for not reading our bible. One of the main excuses is that we are 'too busy'. He said we need to get a reality check and realize we that we are not that important. Everybody has busy lives and I am not special or the only one that is stressed or busy. 

What I need to do is take responsibility for my actions. I can choose to procrastinate on my studies or stay up late wasting time on the internet. But then I can't complain about being stressed about a test that I am not prepared for. Going in the other direction... I can also choose to make prayer and bible study a priority, and stay on top of my homework and eat well. I have to be honest with myself and realize that being 'busy' is not a valid excuse for not taking care of what needs to be done. 

Right now, when I have so many things on my plate, I think a lot about wanting to simplify my life and create more margin. Even though I can't do anything to change my schedule, what I can do is create simplicity in my mind and heart. I create a lot of unnecessary clutter in my head when I worry and fixate on how I wish things could be different. I know I am responsible for my actions. So, moving forward I have to power to choose to live with patience, be faithful with the little, and wake up each morning thankful for another day to live. This year I want to be filled with gratitude and expectation for the challenges and the busy days. They teach me new things and cause me to grow. 

Well, those are a few thoughts that I have been mulling over as I went about my day. You know, 2014 is going to be a great year and I am excited to live it!

Happy dreams.