Boring people are bored

"Mom, I'm bored. "

"Boring people are bored." That is always my answer. 

They hate it when I say that, but  then they almost always find something to do before I assign them an activity. Now, I don't actually think that only boring people are bored. But it gets their inner creative juices flowing.

Let's break this down a bit. 

Bore - verb (used with object), bored, boring. 1. to weary by dullness, tedious repetition, unwelcome attentions, etc. 2. a dull, tiresome, or uncongenial person. 3. a cause of ennui or petty annoyance: repetitious tasks that are a bore to do.

Boredom - the state of being bored. 

Boring - adjective. Causing or marked by boredom. The state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. 

When you think about this in terms of literalness, boredom shouldn't be something that constantly plagues us. As an adult, I can certainly think of boring things for which I've listened. Boring speakers, preachers, presentations, etc. The subject matter may not be something of interest to me. You will certainly encounter things that are not fascinating, interesting, and exciting. But that isn't what I mean. When you are at home and in your leisure time, there is absolutely no reason to be bored. 

I mean have you looked outside lately? Have you seen what God has given us to enjoy? People. There is no reason to be bored. If you live in my area of TN, you have mountains, water, and a ridiculous amount of beautiful nature. Now if it is a day where the weather isn't permissive of allowing us to enjoy nature, what is one to do? Well, how many hobbies are out there? I mean really...out of all the things to do in the world, there isn't one thing that you could be learning or doing? For most of us, we have the internet at our disposal. You can pretty much find a tutorial on how to do anything on You Tube.

I think the problem in our current culture is that we expect to be entertained. Don't even get me started on children who expect to be entertained. Within five minutes of one of my children complaining of boredom, they usually end up drawing, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline or swimming, building legos, playing dolls...the list goes on. TV, movies, and video games are not our first resort, especially during pretty weather. And quite frankly, people who do nothing but spend their free time watching non-stop television are pretty boring. I'm not dissing TV, movies, and video games, but I'm saying it should not be our go to.  Don't get me wrong. I have a few favorite TV shows and I love to watch a good movie, but it isn't the only thing I do. 

We need to ask ourselves why we are bored? Are we unsatisfied with life and our experiences? Are we yearning for something else? Are we spending all of our free time playing addictive iPhone games or scrolling aimlessly through our Facebook feeds? Are we fulfilling our innate need to expand our experiences? We need to get out and live our lives and learn new things.  However, we also need to learn to be content. But being content doesn't equate being bored. There is a fine line and many of us find this confusing. When I look in the scriptures to see what God says about boredom, I'm drawn to the following passages. 

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!" - Philippians 4:5, NLT

"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have." Philippians 4:11, NLT

Honestly all of Philippians chapter 4 is full of wise advice on contentment.
 
"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT 

"Each time he said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9a

I don't know about you, but I think the bottom line to finding contentment and an end to boredom can ultimately be filled by Christ. Whether it be using that time of boredom to bless your family by cleaning the house, reading Scripture or a new book, learning a new hobby or perfecting an old one, or loving on your friends and family - I  think the message is clear. God has given us so many things to rejoice and so many opportunities to serve Him and others, that we probably aren't really as bored as we think we are.

- Peace out, my homies. I hope you can find contentment and joy this week.

 

Randomness for March

I haven't felt really random lately, but I am tonight. Probably because I'm bored. My husband isn't home and I haven't seen him all day because he left before I work up for the day. My children are in bed and I'm slowly sipping a glass of wine and I really want to snack, but my thighs don't need me to snack.

I often have to remind myself that the little things may not make sense, but they will add up to the big picture. That seems to have been my motto for this past week. The Big Picture. 

I'm really excited that I'm going to Bonnaroo for the first time ever this summer! I'm going to camp with my niece, Amanda, whom I love dearly. I have some super cool friends going as well. Since I have been a mom to three children, I have not been away from them. Actually, I don't think I've been away from my children since Kadie has been born. I really need this break. It is still three months away. Sam isn't weaned yet, so I will take my pump and I am pretty worried about how that will work out. Chris said if he gets too crazy, he will bring him to me so I can nurse him.  I mostly excited about seeing Phish since they were one of my favorites in my early twenties. I'm pretty excited about several of the bands and looking forward to finding new musicians.


I've made my spring cleaning list and even if I work diligently on it every day, I think it is going to take me two months to complete. We have a lot of projects that need to be done. We have quickly outgrown our home and I feel like all I do is reorganize rooms to make them more efficient.

I really want to adopt a child from China. Not this year, but within the next several years. I started researching the country requirements last night. It is hella expensive. Going to keep praying for open doors and signs. Our current house wouldn't really accommodate another child, so many things will have to change.

So, I'm starting to run again. I'm only really a week into it. I'm absolutely determined to be able to run a 5K by this summer. It really has nothing to do with weight loss. I mean, I'd love to lose weight, but I just want to be able to run without stopping.

If we end up getting Harrison a keyboard or piano for his birthday, I'm totally learning to play with him. I have ALWAYS wanted to know how to play the piano. Just because I'm about to be 35, doesn't mean a thing.

Speaking of 35....ugh. Seriously. How is that even possible? It makes me want to vomit. I don't really feel 35. Many days I feel mentally feel like a 12 year old. Most days, I probably act like a 70 year old. Ha. But seriously, Chris better make this depressing birthday extra special or I just might lock myself in my bathroom with a bottle of wine. (Chris - take this as your written hint that I need extra attention on this birthday to deal with my depression of being old). Chris actually asked me last night that if we already act like we are 70, how will we really act when we are 70? I should add, that he is equally the mental 12 year old that I am, and has the actions of a 70 year old. We were truly made for each other.

I really love my fleece owl PJ's that I'm wearing. These happen to be the exact same pants I had to wear inside of Battle Academy because Harrison was late and I had to walk him into the office for his pass. (Note to self: change into sweat pants tomorrow morning, just in case the owl PJs are some kind of bad omen)

This morning, I took a picture of our giant mound of laundry and texted it to Chris. The message attached said, "I've been involved with Laundry since I was a teenager. This weekend, I tried hard to ignore Laundry because I feel like I spend more time with Laundry than I do with you. Well, Laundry simply will not leave me alone. I can't get away from Laundry. So as much as I hate to say this, I'm never going to be able to kick Laundry out of my life and I hope you can forgive me. :)"

I'm thankful he gets my warped sense of humor and understands this weird unwanted affair I have with Laundry. I'd actually really like to break up with Laundry, but dang it...Laundry won't go away.

I will end this post on that note. For anyone who made it this far...thanks! haha.