What is 31 Days?
It’s that time of year again! Starting October 1st, I’ll be a participant in The Nester’s 31 days Writing Challenge. The purpose is to exercise the writing muscles, dig deeper into topics that you want to explore and to practice honing in on your writing styles. Last year my topic was: 31 days to an Organized Life & Business. I wrote about taking some of my own advice and taking you along on my journey to a life reset. I shared some tips on everything from bookkeeping, shopping, managing kids, intentional parenting, work from home mom syndrome, work/life balance, spiritual reset and more. Not because I am the expert in these fields, but because they have worked for me in the past, and I so badly needed them in my own life and often we neglect ourselves while we are busy working with others.
This year we have had some interesting things that keep pointing us back to the heartbeat of my purpose in all of my business, ministry, artistic and personal endeavors: FAMILY. So when thinking about a topic to write about for an entire month, I decided to keep it simple and just write letters to my own family. It’s a activity I ask for my portrait clients to try in the Story of Family Experience, and even emphasize with my coaching and consulting clients when outlining their goals for prioritizing a business life that gets them home in time for dinner with their family. But as we often joke about the plumber’s pipes always being leaky, I fall short of dedicating enough intentional time to writing letters to my own family. And so here we are.
If you are a writer, I invite you to join us in the challenge here: Write 31 Days
You can follow along on my blog here with this 31 Days Project 2015.
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To my dear children, who are in 6th & 2nd Grade,
It’s not you, it’s me. Right now you are shielded from the immeasurable truth of how ugly the world really is. We have learned just this month that the shield that currently surrounds you is quickly coming down and we face the inevitable truth of loosing you to the world’s influence.
This thought takes my breath away.
As parents we want to believe that we have TIME to teach you and TIME you shield you and TIME to keep you all to ourselves while life is precious and perfect and that we are the only ones on the planet.
You don’t have unlimited access to technology because the world is ugly and I don’t want you to see it. It is not because we don’t trust you or think you are undeserving or unworthy of the perks that come along with it.
Another school was shot up today. In addition to the one that was shot up last week. In addition to the hundreds of schools and churches since you were born.
I don’t want you to know this.
I don’t want you to be scared to go to school to learn your ABCs because you might get shot today. Tears run down my face at the reality of these sad words in our daily lives.
When I was in 6th grade I was scared that people would know my purse was from K-Mart and not Liz Claiborne.
You might get shot today. <—- ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? This is what I don’t want you to know, so yes, please don’t watch the news or read today’s google because you will quickly learn how ugly the world is and I want you to be confident each day you walk out this door.
I want you to worry about the color of lip gloss you picked out this morning and if your friends will know the brand name or lack thereof.
I want you to worry about whether or not the lego station you built has enough room for the storm troopers AND the spaceship.
I don’t want you to worry about getting shot today or see any unnecessary ugliness that is a distraction from your “normal” life. And if you do see and ask me why all this is happening I am afraid these words that are locked up in my heart will come spilling out and I don’t want you to know how scared adults are for you right now. You look to us as your confident protectors and we want you to feel safe and secure for as long as possible. And right now, we just don’t know the right answer.
This I know to be true: The spirit of fear is not from the Lord.
And so we fight daily to overcome our fears and let go of our grip of protection over you. God has a plan for you, and wants to protect you Himself. We want you to be able to stand tall and firm and confident in your life. We do not want to hold you back from stepping into adulthood or shelter you from the world that you live in.
It’s not you. It’s me.
I’m not ready for you to see this ugliness just yet. I don’t have an answer to why crazy people in the world kill kids for no reason. And I’m so sorry that I don’t have the answer and I probably never will.
So in the meantime, if that means you can’t text your friends or post selfies on Instagram, so be it.
We don’t want to keep you from growing up and having a normal life.
We just want you to experience childhood a little bit longer before we throw you into it.
Holding you tighter tonight,
The meanest parents ever
xoxox
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Angelsea Urban is a entrepreneur and photographer helping families to nourish their homes, relationships and businesses through meaningful portrait photography, business consulting and management for entrepreneurs, teaching practical stewardship and home management systems, and creating simple products and tools that maximize the quality of our lives. Her unique photography work focuses on Redefining the Family Portrait Experience by telling the story of family through personalized foundations while creating a space to strengthen family bonds throughout the experience. As a certified tax professional and seasoned business consultant, Angelsea has helped the careers of photographers, restaurateurs, musicians and general small business owners through teaching, workshops, coaching, and hands on consulting. She serves in several ministries and is a Board Member and the Director of Operations for Starve Poverty International. She has photographed for families, brides, Bravo TV, NFL Films, and more and has been published in multiple blogs and magazine print for her work in photography and in strategic business management. Angelsea teaches and photographs throughout the United States, and resides with her husband of 17 years, their two children, and their barely 3 pound Yorkie near Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
To book your session with Angelsea Urban, please visit www.angelseaurban.com
For education and consulting opportunities, please visit www.urbanrg.com
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Ria Costa Mignano - Tears stream down my face so fast and furiously as I echo the sentiments in your eloquently expressed words. I too want to wrap them up and send them warp speed to the planet where only goodness reins and evil is a word too foreign for definition. But until the King of Kings has fully destroyed all the works of the enemy I can only pray that Good strength and supernatural wisdom to out there, like yourself, who are parenting, deliberately, purposely, and with moral and loving and yes, even mean, conviction. I applaud you parent warrior! You are leading the leaders of tomorrow. “In this world there will always be turmoil, but do not lose heart, for I have overcome the world!” Jesus.
Btw…I know your children…they may not know it now but they have the best mom ever. Bless you Angelsea. Great blog!