The Search for Margin: Part One

July 2, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

You know that thing where you say you’re going to do something and you’re all geared up to try, and then life happens? Yeah, I’m there.

I wanted to post yesterday and start a conversation about how we can find more margin during these not so footloose and fancy free summer days. I even had a great encouraging post to link you to, and funny stories to share about our weekend.

So…..that didn’t happen.

What happened instead was that I got up early to write and finished my monthly column for the paper. Then Monday started and it was a classic bookend for two weeks of busyness and a non-stop weekend. In other words, it was awful. There was a lot of yelling and a lot of crying (actually I started that on Sunday) and a lot of anger and frustration. There was a lot of fighting and whining and irritation. There were still a lot of errands and commitments and chores.

There was not a lot of grace because I was just too overwhelmed to give it.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, ESV)

Maybe yesterday my roots were dry. But maybe not. Maybe instead I’ve been like my poor yellowing tomato plants in our backyard garden and there’s just simply been too. much. rain. So much in fact that I haven’t been able to pause and soak in what I really need.

Is it really possible to have too much good? It seems so for the plants; too much rain is as detrimental to their growth as too little. So, perhaps, this seems so for me as well.

I need a period after the good to pause and rest and drink it up. To let what was thirsty in me become saturated, so I am ready to start again. But lately, we’ve been so full of one good thing to the next with no pauses in between that there’s been no time for that soaking in to occur.

And the result wasn’t pretty.

Today I invite you to pause with me. To clear some activity, no matter how good, off your schedule so you can rest and soak in His grace.

Because only then can you pour it back on those who need it most.

I’d love to hear from you about how you find more white space in your daily routines this summer. Leave a comment or link me back to your site. It encourages me so to know I’m not alone. I’ll be posting about this topic every Monday (or Tuesday) for the remainder of the summer. Subscribe by email so you don’t miss it!

Friday Five · writing

In the Morning’s In Between {five minute friday}

June 28, 2013 Lindsey P. Brackett4 Comments

It’s time for Five Minute Friday! Come one, join the party. Everybody’s doing it 🙂

In Between

It’s still dark enough that I have to squint to see the keys I’m not as familiar with on the laptop I’ve balanced on my lap on a sofa that was painted in nailpolish Monday afternoon. It’s still quiet enough that I can hear the birds in the backyard and the creaking of bed springs as my husband shifts in an effort to avoid the getting up. It’s still early enough for the big ones to be sleeping and my little man is talking to himself in his crib behind closed door not realizing I am up and available to give him his morning banana and cup of milk.

It’s in between the solitude of rest and the chaos of life that I’ve found my moment to write.

I know people who work late at night after bed, people who carve out their own space during naptimes and drop off times, people who can work with the buzz of children in their background and the hum of the words in their heart.

I need the quiet. So I”m trying to get up in the in between, trying to make at least one hour of the day about seeking and sorting and stumbling through this new path.

Five minutes goes by faster than you might think.

Margin Mom · motherhood

The Margin Mom {how I’m reclaiming summer’s white space}

June 26, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

Just before school got out, I had Madelynne make a list of adventures we could have this summer. We have no family vacation plans, and I was already tired of hearing about So-and-So.

Does your family have So-and-So? In my house, this person has unlimited amounts of cash to be spent on everything from the water park to the beach to lunch out everyday. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t keep up with So-and-So.

So instead I’ve tried to keep up with the Fun Mom. Fun Mom always swims with her kids, lets them eat ice cream and pizza for breakfast, and tries to cram her summer full of educationally and spiritually stimulating activities so that no one is ever bored. {maybe I should write a post on how boredom is necessary to stimulating imagination in children?}

Yeah, I’m failing as Fun Mom.

On that list we have so far crossed off three items. But I’ve managed to jam our days and weeks so full I can’t figure out when we’ll have time to cross off the rest. We’re doing all good things. Camp Strong Rock and Vacation Bible School and Camp Pinnacle. MOSAIC Art Camp and Missions Day Camp and Music Camp. Library visits that have Fun with Legos and the ever popular Ms. Sheila’s Snake Show. I’m even squeezing in the occasional jazzercise class and read aloud at night. And did I mention that for three out of their six camps, I’m on staff? That means summer for Gus and Amelia consists of a constant shuffle between nursery and babysitters.

But I don’t really want to be Fun Mom anymore. I’ve decided it’s a lot of work scheduling every minute of their day.

Instead, starting today, I’m going to be Margin Mom. Margin Mom accepts that somedays have busier schedules than others. Margin Mom is going to resist the urge to squeeze in one more fun activity on the only day we have off from all our previously arranged activities. Margin Mom is going to encourage backyard water fights and sleeping late and Lucky Charms for lunch.

Margin Mom is going to allow the white space left on that summer bucket list to be white space because sometimes that’s the place real summer memories happen.

Come back on Monday and I’ll launch a Margin Mom linky party. Let’s celebrate and encourage the empty spaces in our lives that only need be filled with ordinary moments. How do you create margin during busy summer days?

On a side note, Amelia is obsessed with this Clemson Tigers cheerleader costume. She wears it everywhere. If you want a good laugh, just follow me @lindsbrac on Instagram.

http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · madelynne · motherhood · summer

What I Saw at Camp Pinnacle

June 24, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. Brackett1 Comment

We arrived at Camp Pinnacle on Friday after the “Colossal Coaster” ride of Vacation Bible School and after not a few meltdowns from this mama and those girls. We were tired and I honestly didn’t believe I had the energy for a mother/daughter overnight camp. Check-in complete, bags in the cabin (pretty nice lodging actually), chicken nugget supper (a cafeteria classic), and slowly I was starting to unwind a bit. Slowly, I was starting to enjoy actually seeing my daughters.

I read this post the other day about how women fear becoming invisible. It only makes sense to believe our daughters fear this too. Until this weekend, I hadn’t realized how little time I actually spend seeing them, and how many moments I miss because I’m not tuned into their little moments. I saw Annabelle grin delightfully and Madelynne watch me intently. I saw the spark of joy that comes when they’re discovering a new talent, realized how much they want me to focused on them as individuals and not just as the first and second sisters.

This weekend gave me an opportunity to do something I hardly ever do: play with my kids. After a brief and fun introduction to worship, we all gathered on the lawn for Color Wars, those notorious camp relay games and my girls were so proud that their mommy was competing with them. They were astounded to learn I could jump rope and super proud when I hopped to the cone with a ball between my knees.

After games, we went on a mission walk with our counselors and learned a little about the camp’s mission focus this summer, which is the city of Atlanta. Madelynne volunteered to pray and Annabelle drew a picture of her cross necklace and wrote “God Loves You” and snuck a peek at me to see if I had noticed. She’s finally started talking faith with us, and this week between VBS and camp, was the first time I can remember seeing her participate wholeheartedly as though the songs and messages meant more than she knows how to confess.

There was a classic camp bonfire with s’mores and songs and silliness and my girls tried to catch lightening bugs and were giddy that the time was well past bedtime. We slept in bunks that rustled all night once the cabin of giggly girls settled down and were up again early for breakfast and quiet times to talk about putting on the armor of God.

My best mom moment came when they observed I had put on my bathing suit: “Mama, you’re getting in the pool with us? Really??” I never swim with them. I always watch from the sidelines, usually with the baby, on the very edges of their excitement. But Saturday morning I shivered in the cool blue water and played Marco Polo and beat Madelynne in a swim race and cuddled with Annabelle when we were both covered in chillbumps.

On Saturday morning, I got to guide my daughter’s hands around a pottery wheel and learn from the other how to fire an arrow from a bow. I got to sit in a swing by the lake and worship in a chapel filled with women of all ages. I got to give thanks to God for giving me daughters and beg for mercy and guidance to raise them.

Thank goodness there was a place this weekend that helped me see them.

Friday Five · motherhood · reflections

The Rhythm of It All {five minute friday}

June 21, 2013September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

Rhythm

I turn dough over onto my table worn slick and tired by the beat of plastic spoons and the bottles of nail polish spilling over and the bread kneading on its cracked surface. There’s flour everywhere but especially on me, and the tv is too loud and the girls are too bicker-y and the baby is trying to climb up my legs and I’m kneading dough.

And I wonder: how in the world did Ma Ingalls do all this? Did she make bread in the quiet before the sun rises and the non-stop pulsing of children begins? Did she ever throw up her hands and want to quit? What did any of them do, these pioneer women who managed all these households where everything was made from scratch and there was no playground at Chic-fil-a to escape to and laundry had to be hung to dry and then ironed and then put away? What did they do about the arguing and the messes and the complaining and the tired?

Or are we just fooling ourselves? Have we created worlds that are so unnatural and so hyped up and so tricked out that we can’t fathom a world of simplicity and routine that exists just for survival?

I knead dough and turn it over and work it smooth and cover it with a dishcloth. The baby has moved on to the leftover pop-tart on the floor under the table and the girls have settled on some stupid sitcom I should make them turn off and the table needs cleaning before lunch can be served.

But I settle into a chair with a forgotten cup of coffee and listen for a moment. To the rhythm of this crazy life.

It’s Five Minute Friday everyone! Grab a laptop, a pen, an iphone, whatever and join up!