Stop Grumpy in his Tracks!

Last Sunday, I was listening to the pastor read Psalms 100, and I had a lightbulb moment.

Psalm 100:1-2 KJV
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

If I have a dark room, I don't try to push the darkness out or bat at it with a newspaper. No, I just walk over to the light switch and Woosh! The darkness disappears.

Likewise, if I want negative, whiney feelings to leave, I can't just wish that they'd leave. It won't work to just "stop" grumpiness.

Nope, pushing grumpy out doesn't work. But turning on the light does! I just have to open my mouth and make some joyful noise!

When I feel really down, it is hard to make that joyful noise. Here are some ideas; I have to start with the easiest and work my way to the hardest. I've discovered that I want to stop with the quiet things; it's hard to make that joyful noise. But if I do, Grumpy comes right back. Yuk!
I try to do most of the list to make good and sure that Mrs. Sour Grump has left town!


...read a children's story OUTLOUD, in which the character is excited. (maybe Pooh Bear, Roo, or Tigger). As you mimic his tone/words, your spirits will start to lift.

...Thank God for two things right now.

...take a 2-5 minute walk outside and thank God for everything beautiful that you can see.

...look at the sky and say, "God loves me".

...sigh with contentment (as much as you can possibly muster) and say, "i love being a mother/homemaker/wife (whichever hat you are wearing at the moment).

...smile as big as possible.

... clap your hands 3 times

...sing, "Put a smile on your face, put a smile on your face, don't let mr. frown come around."

...skip 3 steps. Do you remember how? :) Come on, you can do it!

...sing, "if you're happy and you know it say 'amen'. (shout AMEN!)

...laugh outloud for a full minute. For no reason. Granted, it feels ridiculous. It will become real 15 seconds into it because it feels sooo ridiculous!

...and just for good measure, shout, throw your arms in the air and twirl around!


Abraham Lincoln said, "People are as happy as they make up their mind to be."

Happiness is a choice! What are you going to choose?

Perspective

I was spending some time with my aunt the other day, and dealing with interruptions from my toddler and baby.


She smiled and observed, "When my children were little I had little interruptions. Now that my children are bigger, the interruptions are bigger, too.

Instead of
Mommy, feed me!

now it's
Hey, Mom, I'm in the middle of a project and discovered that I need xyz; can you drop everything and run to town for me??"

Hmm...

That's something to think about.

When you are feeling grumpy

When I'm feeling out of sorts, I focus on myself:
"Nobody cares about me."
"Nothing goes right for me."
"I don't like myself when I snap at my loved ones."
"I should choose to be happy, but I don't feel like it."
"Pity poor me."

Are you getting the picture? It's all about me!

But! My study in Psalms 40 showed clearly where my focus ought to be.



Psalm 40:3-4 NLT He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.
Psalm 40:16 NLT, But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”.

Instead of trying to stop feeling grumpy, fill your thoughts with adoration of the Savior!

The morning after I wrote this post, I stumbled on these inspiring posts.
How to be a good mom on a bad day.
Breaking the negative cycle.

What do you do when you're grumpy?

Paige

Make your own Yogurt!

Yogurt is really easy to make, especially now that I've learned a few tricks.



Yogurt
2 quarts milk
1 cup dry milk, optional
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup water, optional
3/4 - 1 1/2 tablespoon plain gelatin, optional
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt

Pour the milk into a large pan. Stir in the dry milk. This makes a thicker set, but isn't totally necessary.

Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the milk. Place on the stove burner. Turn the heat to Med-Hi. Cover with a lid. Turn on a timer for 11 minutes. Do not stir! If you stir just once, you will have to continue stirring until it is finished. So don't stir. And don't worry, it won't burn to the bottom because the sugar acts as a protector.

Meanwhile, combine the water and gelatin. The 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 tablespoon gelatin will set thicker than the smaller amounts. DH likes it somewhat runny, so I use less.

Find a container with a sealing lid to pour the yogurt into. I use a whale-of-a-pail ice cream bucket. Several canning jars would also work. Place the 1 cup of yogurt inside. I buy vanilla yogurt, but any flavor yogurt will work as a starter as long as it contains live active culture (the label will tell you).

Put 3-6 inches of hot tap water into an insulated container. (as hot as you can get out of your faucet. It doesn't have to be exact) I use my 5 gallon drink jug or my cooler chest. An insulated lunch box would also work (make sure your other container will fit inside). If you don't have any of the above, find a non insulated container and wrap towels around it. I've even used my oven as an insulator.

Run 1-2 inches of cold tap water into your sink.

After the timer goes off, take off the lid. Watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. Do not walk away! When it begins to foam (just before it boils over), remove it from the heat. This may take 3-4 more minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.

Stir in the softened gelatin. Add the vanilla. Place the pan in the sink of cold water. The object is to cool the milk as fast as possible.

When the milk is cool enough that you can easily hold your finger in it, pour a little (about a cup) into your yogurt starter. Whisk until blended. Now pour in the rest of the milk. Stir. Put the lid on and place the whole thing in your insulated container.

Leave set undisturbed for 4-5 hours. The yogurt is set when you can take out a spoonful and it leaves a dent.

Place in the fridge overnight. At this point, If desired, you can add 1 quart any-flavor pie filling, any kind of chopped fruit, 1 cup flavored jello gelatin, or applesauce, etc. We like it plain, too.

Enjoy as a stand alone dessert or over pancakes, coffee cake, fruit, or granola.

This will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.