Sweet Potato Pie and An Attitude Check

We started Lula on solids Sunday and today we tried sweet potatoes with rice cereal for the first time. As you can see, most of it ended up on her chin instead of in her mouth! But she's getting the hang of it and it's so fun to see her figuring out how the spoon works and what not. She was 4 months old on Monday and still the greatest joy in my life. Now on to the serious stuff...

Seeing a friend's post on facebook the other day where she declared she needed an attitude adjustment reminded me again of a recent e-mail my best friend sent to me without realizing the impact it would have on me. After making several silly and fun comments on some of her blog posts, she sent an e-mail expressing that I had obviously been in a good mood when I wrote the comments. Her intention was not to suggest that I usually wasn't in a good mood, but that I was in a sillier mode than normal. However, regardless of her intentions, the e-mail set my mind rolling. I was disappointed that my sillier, happier mode apparently wasn't the norm for me. I feel like I used to be much more carefree than I am nowadays. What happened?

Life! The typical cliche answer. But I refuse to bow down to that so easily. Yes, it's true that I've become more cynical, rational, realistic as the years go by and these traits often steal my joy, my once common daydreams, and my laughter. But I'm putting my foot down. As my other friend said, I need an attitude adjustment and I'm the only one who can give it to myself. I too often allow myself to get caught up in the frustrations of every day life while I'm longing to do something else. Instead I will choose to enjoy every day tasks and remind myself that even when I'm doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen, I'm not just doing it for myself, but for my family and ultimately for God. Every act I do can either be a chore or it can be a part of my worship to God and a gift to my family. Who wants a gift that's given with complaining and whining and frustration? No thanks!

Several years ago I was in a women's study at my church in Nashville. The study revolved around exactly what I'm talking about and it made a huge difference in my life. Despite the fact that I was working a ridiculous amount and didn't have a dishwasher (!), I sang while I did the dishes. I cleaned my house from top to bottom every week and was happy doing it. It was ALL about my attitude and it was only me that needed to change it. Reading the character of Hadassah's story in Francine Rivers' The Mark of the Lion series also helped my attitude change. Yes, she's a fictional character, but she was definitely inspirational!

I guess the bottom bottom line is: I can choose to have joy doing what I have to do or not. I have to do the dishes, clean the house, make dinner, etc. but I don't have to have a bad attitude while doing it. That's something I can choose to change. So let's go clean the kitchen! It's a mess!