I stumbled across the book Breathe: Creating a Space for God in a Hectic Lifewhile browsing PaperBackSwap.com for decor books.  It turned out to be a fantastic book and exactly what I needed to read, although I have no idea why it popped up when it did.  {Que creepy music.}  I’ve compiled a few of my favorite passages from the book that I would like to share–perhaps it will give you something to think about, too?

On packed schedules…

Despite the fact that a doctor is telling us that to hurry will cause us to feel fatiqued or depressed, gain weight, and lose interest in sex, we still find it hard to slow down. Why?  I think it is in part because we believe the lie that “if I am busy, I must be important.”

On how we identify ourselves…

It’s as if we believe that our value comes from what we do. [...] Our value comes not from what we do but from who we are.

On rushing through our lives…

There are times we need to prod children to get going, but often we push them even if there is nowhere we have to be and absolutely no reason to hurry.

On clinging to our hectic lives…

We live in a culture focused on doing.  That’s one reason so many of us wrestle with being a parent: time with our kids doesn’t seem like we are producing anything.  To ruthlessly eliminate hurry would make us feel “unproductive,” which we’re afraid is actually a sin.  We’d also have to actually be a parent, to connect with our kids, and we’re not sure we can do that well. We don’t know how to measure our success there, so again, we feel unproductive, which is very uncomfortable.

On material possessions…

Waste lies not in the number of possessions but in the failure to enjoy them.  Your success at being frugal is measured not by your penny-pinching but by your degree of enjoyment of the material world.

On humility…

[...] pace yourself so that your family gets your best.

If I am being honest, I would have to say this book dropped in my lap because I have a fair bit to learn from the pages inside.

A few good eggs this week:

• If I suddenly become social enough to host a Halloween party, I will make these napkin rings.
• I admire people who know what they like.  This looks like warm cookies and milk.
• The same can be said about this young woman, except her room looks more like hot toddies and cigars.
• I’m always on the look out for inexpensive, but stylish, lamps.
• I plan to nourish my family with a few of these fall soups–and then make something on the side for His Royal Highness, Nicholas, after I cave from the frustration.
• This soup was delicious.  Try it with the cinnamon bread, no matter how odd that sounds to you at first.  We all loved it, except His Royal Highness. (I tried, Jen, but the boy hates soup.)
• I like what Summer had to say about decorating her new home.
• It’s Pretty Good.  Because, apparently, the url Down Right Fabulous was taken.
• I’m sure these taste awful.  Heaven help me.
• Mikey is doing better, in a way.  The fever is gone(ish) but left behind a large water blister on the pad of his lip.  The doctor says it’s not a cold sore–more like something you would see on a parched man left dying of thirst in the desert.  It’s a sign of how hot his fever burned.  He’s getting plenty of fluids and some Vitamin E ointment.  Thank you for your prayers and warm thoughts.
• Next week is going to be awesome.  Because I said so.

• I want to cook and bake from scratch more often.  I haven’t been doing that as much since Nicholas was born, and that bothers me.
• I want to play with my boys more and do more crafts.
• I want to incorporate handmade items (my own and my kids’) in our home.  A reader (and a new friend!) offered sewing lessons.
• I want to make curtains, ottoman covers, and maybe a dish mat, similar in style to this one.
• I want to be present more and pensive less.
• I want to go on walks without threat of dismemberment.
• I want to buy Nicholas a helmet and armor.
• I want to feed my family wholesome, nutritious meals to build their immune system.  (Everyone is sick again with Man Colds!)  Maybe I will try this next week.
• I want to stop thinking about the new car I don’t need.
• I don’t necessarily want this to happen to me, but the opportunity to see how little we really need is enviable.
• I want to be creative and talented.
• I want to appreciate and use the gifts God gave me.
• I want to regain control of my relationship with food.
• I want to be like Miranda and tell people I like their blogs instead of lurk.  It makes them feel good, and it’s a nice thing to do.
• I want to accept that it is only a minute, not a lifetime.
• I want to stop finding typos and grammatical errors after I hit publish.
• I want to say that I like very much this picture I took of fading Society Garlic without feeling arrogant.
• I want to impress upon people the importance of capital letters, punctuation, and complete sentences without sounding snarky.
• I want to be better.