Living on Purpose

Why we need to be decisive about what we want and why we want it…and do it!

Hola, amigos 😎

I’m so late with this blog—I had good intentions, and then ended up sick for several days…but now I’m better, so no more excuses! Life here is full these days—soo much to be thankful for.

Yesterday’s sunrise

Here’s an idea I recently started pondering—how many of our good habits were started with intention? And then follow-through…

Haha…all of them most likely. I will be the first to admit I often waste time, and don’t prioritize well or choose the “hard thing.” When I want to start a new habit, being inspired by others is usually the first step. Another trigger can be getting “sick and tired” of my lack of discipline. It’s a learning process to make and keep good habits. There are a few things I’ve noticed in this ongoing process—from making mistakes and learning from them.

It’s 6:45 am. I’ve been waking up for an hour, have spent some time with Tom, reading and drinking a coffee. I grab my bag with my towel, water bottle, Bible, journal, and Kindle, and head out the door, excited to be alone for awhile. On the way I stop to admire some beautiful flowers.

Soon I’m sitting by the pool, looking over at the intensely blue, majestic Pacific—watching the waves crash onto shore. I’m pondering what a very busy mom-friend with a baby and a toddler said to me the other day: “I never get to think my own thoughts these days, without being interrupted…until the kids are all in bed at 8 pm.” I totally get it!

As I sit and watch the waves, I’m so thankful for this brief time at the beginning of each day to just breathe…pray… read…swim…and think. I could be home cleaning, preparing food, doing laundry… Yes, the old saying, “A woman’s work is never done” is actually no joke!

Incredible views in the morning

Some of you reading this might be thinking, “Lucky you! I just don’t have time to sit and think.” I know it can definitely feel that way, because I have felt the same. Getting up early and rushing to get to work or to care for kids might even be your reality right now.

When I didn’t leave the house in the mornings, there were so many distractions and responsibilities there. I realized I had to be more intentional with my little bit of morning time. And my hubby encourages me to go somewhere. Away from ALL the distractions.

Recently we started to take the girls on “mommy-daughter dates” and “daddy-daughter dates” again. This is something we’d done before we left Canada in 2021. The girls absolutely love that one-on-one time and feeling so valued for the unique kids that they are. If it’s been awhile, they start asking, “When do I get to go on a Mommy-daughter date again..?” It’s a chance to really connect with them and show them how special they are.

Do you ever go to bed so late that the next day you find “morning-you” feeling angry at the “night-you” who kept yourself up so late? I sure have. (*Seinfeld reference). Lately we’ve been working on having a better routine, and getting to bed by 10. That takes some amount of discipline—it’s so easy to stay up watching a show or scrolling through Twitter or Facebook. If you’re a busy parent, it’s easy to say, “Finally…some peace and quiet!” …and then stay up late enjoying it. Something we realized is that we prefer the morning quiet to read. Getting up at sunrise (see top pic) is pretty amazing. Tom gets up at 5:30 and my alarm goes off shortly after his. We wander downstairs, still half-asleep, where we’re greeted by our two beloved cats, and then a hand-full of stray kitties at the door, going crazy for food as soon as they see us.

When we left Canada almost 2 years ago, I also left behind my exercise routine. Our schedule was often all over the map, exploring, travelling, figuring out where things were in a new place, with no real routine. The extreme heat was a factor too. I just wasn’t inspired or driven to do my workouts every day anymore.

Then we moved to El Salvador and Tom was running and doing body-weight workouts daily. Inspired by his discipline—and missing those endorphins—I began to do 10-20 minutes of running or working out. A few months ago, we bought some kettlebells from a guy who’d shipped some into the country for a decent price—some things are definitely harder to find here!

To be honest, I never exactly look forward to my kettlebell workouts. I half-dread them actually. BUT I look forward to how I’ll feel afterwards. The main thing I know is I have to get outside and pick up that kettlebell. Part-way through, I think, This is so great—I’m drenched in sweat, and my body is working hard. On my in-between days, I do 10 push-ups after swimming 10 laps, and then a few stretches. Morning exercise has become a must-do!

Do you have some of those things? Maybe it’s your morning smoothie or your daily walk or run? Maybe it’s daily stretching. Maybe it’s eating a healthy diet. Or reading a good book. Or spending focused time with the ones you love. Probably several things combined. Those are all things that we do with intention, that bring value to our lives. SO MUCH value, we CANNOT leave them out. And those habits in many ways BECOME our lives.

There are several habits I want to incorporate into my life still. Habits like  regularly de-cluttering and being more organized. I’d been saying for months how I wanted to take Spanish lessons, but I didn’t take action. Then a friend started taking online lessons, with a lady from a neighbouring town who she highly recommended. Now I’m taking lessons with her too, and she’s great. I knew if I didn’t sign up and start right away, it would be another good intention without any follow-through. Finally I’m progressing with my Spanish. It’s hard work, but so worth it.

One thing we got into awhile ago to get out of our comfort zone (and we’d heard about the health benefits) was ice baths. Tom’s personal record is 17 minutes and mine is 6. The first 2 minutes are absolute torture, but after that it gets easier…and then later it gets super painful when your fingers and toes are frozen—Tom knows!

But that tingly, rejuvenated feeling after you get out is so exhilarating!!

I think I can…I know I can…I got this!

Imagine not living intentionally. You’re sitting around on your phone all day, not going for that walk, not giving your children the valuable attention they need. Not eating well. Not exercising. Day after day, those negative habits become your life. And soon, your mind and your body are stuck in a rut…and a vicious cycle begins. “I can’t exercise cuz I’m so out of shape. I’m depressed, so I can’t speak positive things into my kids’ lives…”

Wait! Hope is not lost, even in a rut. I’ve been there—believe me. Making one small choice can change things. In the past one little choice was, “Ok, I’m busy, but I can do 5 minutes of cardio each day.” Our family also started to eat better. And to prioritize sleep. Overall, Tom and I feel healthier now than we did 10 years ago.

Recently, I was at a friend’s house and she had made some sauerkraut from a red cabbage. It was delicious. I knew I needed to work harder on having better gut health, so a couple days later I decided to make some. Even the girls eat it. It’s one of the few fermented foods in our diet. If we’re not being intentional about health, we often end up eating the wrong things, and then feeling sluggish or even getting sick. Tom and I try to keep with the 80/20 rule. We definitely don’t always succeed! But we aim for 80% of our diet to be great in order to “splurge” a bit on the other 20%.

Being intentional requires being aware of what our bodies and minds (and kids!) need. In the last few months, I started to get overwhelmed by how often we were going out to gatherings. I realized it was too much for me. And so I started to stay home from a few of them, especially if it was a bigger gathering. I much prefer smaller groups of people—I even enjoy them (see below). When the girls stay home with me, we can enjoy a quiet evening, with popcorn and a movie or playing games together…and even get to bed on time!

Another intentional thing Tom and I have added back into our lives is regular date nights. We didn’t have any dates for over a year while we travelled and then settled into a new country. And we missed them a LOT. We’d forgotten how important they are until we started them up again. Couples need that uninterrupted time one-on-one to reconnect. And to put on nice clothes for their partner—haha! Now we go out every 2-3 weeks, even if part of that date is spent working on our land, like last Friday was. I planted papayas while Tom worked on these much-needed hillside stairs. You can’t tell by the picture, but it was scary trying to get down this steep slope before!

If we don’t live with intention, we won’t prioritize the things we value the most, so they won’t happen. Days slip away from us. Instead of being in control of our lives and deciding how we want to spend our time, we end up feeling like others dictate to us what we should do. When we prioritize what we value, we are more empowered from doing the things that are the most important to us. And we feel much more inspired about life, and much more able to take on the challenges.

Thank you / gracias for taking time out of your day to read this!

I so appreciate each of you and all the positive feedback!

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See you soon!

¡Nos vemos pronto!