Rhythm & Joy

For so many years I lived joylessly..waiting for something to happen that would make my life easier to bare. 

It was a sad, tiring time. I want to write to encourage anyone who is in that place right now. Please know, you can get out. 

Here was my main problem: I was running this very strange race where I would exhaust myself getting to the next task, then when arriving at it, I felt like I had not done enough. I was beat and not getting anything done? No joy. 

The problem was in my attitude toward my work. "Let me hurry and do this so I can then do that..." The beautiful truth of enjoying the journey was beyond me.

I began to slowly formulate a plan. There are two main points at this stage that helped me greatly. 1) eating food for fuel (because I was going to need it) 2) deciding what should be at the center of our lives.

Listen, if you are in a rut right now, I know how you feel. You could be reading these words and leave more discouraged than before because it all seems unattainable. Or you can get excited, feel a glimmer of hope until your reality comes waking you up in the morning with a big, fat: hello, failure.

So the very first thing I want to tell you is to be gentle with yourself. These things take time, and that's okay.

When negativity comes to whisper lies to you, call it for what it is and fight back. You have to remember that God is patient, trustworthy, and merciful. He's the final Judge - and if He can be that way with us - surely we can be that way with ourselves, too.

Now look how simply, yet profoundly rhythm turned into joy for me.

A few years back when I was researching different educational philosophies I came across Waldorf education. I did not adopt all of its concepts and today our homeschool is not based on Waldorf, however, I took away a very powerful idea.

Enter rhythm. Where your life follows a rhythmic cycle - yearly, monthly, daily - creating a very peaceful and calm routine. Its affects have been phenomenal on my children. It really does help people to know "what's coming next."

But I want to talk about how it directly changed my life. Many Waldorfers follow this rhythm of the year by following the patterns of the seasons and holidays or holy days. So the Christians would follow the liturgical calendar and pagans would celebrate the equinoxes and such, Jews the Feasts of the Lord, etc. etc....

Who knew that I would fall within the circle of Jews. For when I took this concept to test it to the Bible, I found a very detailed, amazingly prophetic calendar of events: The Feasts of the Lord.

If you celebrate Christmas and Easter, those would be part of your yearly rhythm. Whatever you celebrate - birthdays, anniversaries, church events, etc., these are the things at the center. You're looking to build a cycle.

And guess what this new rhythm brought into my life?

Enter Joy. Because when God is at the center of your life, you will have joy!

So I grabbed a note book and wrote some columns. I labeled them Yearly, Monthly, Daily.

This took me months, seriously. And my rhythm is still changing. But it's a start, and a good one.

For the sake of time and space (because this post can go on forever ;) I'll share now my simplest tips to help the mom who is in a bad rut.

Write down a weekly plan. Grab a paper, a board, whatever works for you. Write down the seven days of the week and write down a simple accomplishment you'd like to achieve for each day. If you are totally new to this I'd like to encourage you to weave in a food plan within this rhythm...

Also, if you are new to using food as actual fuel maybe eating raw is a good place for you to start. Consider nuts, berries, dark leafy greens. If you are detoxing from sugar (which is a huge energy sucker and disease inducer) you will have cravings for quite a while. Nothing in this life is easy and I want to urge you forward. You can do this. For the benefit of yourself, your family, and for the glory of God.

Already washed salads are available and make things so much easier sometimes. I have one in my fridge now that has kale, spinach, dill, parsley, frisee, arugula, beet greens, collard, red and green chard, red and green oak, red and green romaine, tango, lolla rosa, red mustard, and mizuna... top with walnuts, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, avocado, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil (for good fat that you need) and you have a good meal to boost your energy and clear your mind. Lemon water is a great, simple drink to help you gently detox.

Bone broth is one of the healthiest things you can consume, please make some big batches. I hope to talk more on this.

Because everyone is different, you will respond and be inspired by your own preferences. Pay attention to these things. For instance I love candles and music. So the start to a good day for me include lighting a candle and playing music.

Here is a sample rhythm, it's not mine:

Sunday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, rest, church

Monday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, bake - don't be intimidated. A simple coffee cake, dinner rolls, something simple that can last all week

Tuesday: Read psalm and proverb of the day, take a walk

Wednesday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, spend time on your body - an oily bath, trim nails, oil hair

Thursday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, laundry/house cleaning (listen to a podcast while you do this)

Friday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, catch up on phone calls - people who encourage your heart - give them a call, take a walk

Saturday: Read psalm and proverb of the date, Make roast chicken and start your bone broth

For all you home schoolers, where life is just a tad more hectic, I have something for you, too ; )

Here's another simple thing, if you can manage to make dinner at lunch time that will save you the night time fuss and exhaustion. Many times my girls and I will eat the main meal at lunch time and then a raw, fulfilling snack at night like, raw milk kefir, nutritional yeast popcorn, fruit salads, nuts, homemade popsicles, homemade power bars with oats, peanut butter, almonds, cranberries, raw honey (yum)...then I can just reheat my husband's supper. When we eat the cooked main meal at night, I try to eat raw for most of the day. I still love my oatmeal and scrambled eggs though! But power bars with uncooked oats are just.so.good.

Freezer meals are the surest ways to feeling more sane, for sure.

When I began to enjoy the things I had to do, I suddenly wanted to add more things to that list, such as crocheting, sewing, trying my hand at more difficult dishes, etc.. I found great joy when I embraced my role as homemaker. When I began to ask how can I take my position further. If I were working in a particular field I would progress, I would get promoted..well, same concept. How can I step up my game? This has led to pursuing herbalism and taking control of my family's health. I also have many ideas for the future.

Now my rhythm includes things like oiling my girls hair, making medicines, baking for my neighbor, in-depth Bible studies, lots of reading, treating my husband to full body spas and foot soaks, and slowly - I am beginning to write again.

I hope you have gleaned some inspiration here..there is much more to say and I hope to do so soon.

love, tanya xo