joy in the everyday: shilah’s daily log

This little project is for my friend, Nicole. Last week were talking about where we lacked contentment. Nicole said she feels discontent when nothing new happens in a day. Ditto.

When normal schedule takes over and, though we thrive on routine, the regular schedule of going to work + working out + eating dinner gets old. In all that (or, lack of all that), we forget that God can work in the little things, every day. We are so quick to think that because a day is just a regular day, that it is exempt from joy and hope and all the things that God may use us to do.

When I was in junior high, my mom gave me a journal and challenged me to write five things in it every day that I was thankful for. Sometimes, I was thankful for amazing things that I was able to experience. Sometimes, I was thankful for challenges that shaped me. Sometimes, I was thankful for socks.

It is imperative that I teach my kids that there is joy in the everyday stuff. God works in the everyday stuff.

So, this is a little calendar with a card for each day of the year. Every day, I take out the card stamped with that day’s date and write the year, and finish the line with a note about something the Bug did that day.

For example:

• The first line of the card stamped “JAN 06″ reads, “2011: Went on a walk with Hilary, Harriet, and Ridley.”
• The first line of the card stamped “JAN 11″ reads, “2011: Said ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ specifically to mom and dad.”
• The first line of the card stamped “JAN 13″ reads, “2011: Painting with Shepard.”

Next year, I will pull out the same cards and just write on the next line, “2012: blah blah blah.”

It seems fun that I can keep this one little deck of index cards and end up with a decade of daily memories. So much life lived! Also, with this little project, I can put to rest the horrible fear that I have that I will forget when she learned to crawl or took her first steps. Have I said this before? I  fear that the memories of her childhood that I am responsible for holding on to because she is to young to remember, will slip away. It’s like the micro version of our anniversary letters.

Daily Calendar

What you need:

• 160 4×6 index cards
• Scissors or a paper cutter
• Old date stamp (less than $3 if you need to get one at walmart or office depot)
• Inkpad
• A container where you can put your finished cards

What to do:

1. Cut 180 cards in half from top to bottom.
2. Stap each card with the day of the year.
3. Put the cards in a container.
4. Write on them every day!