Happy FUNday: A Mother's Thoughts on How to make SUNday a FUNday

If getting my family out the door for church on Sunday was like the Willy Wonka Factory Contest, then I've got the Golden Ticket. I mean, I HATE to “toot my own horn” but hey, what can I say? I've got it DOWN. You probably are dying to know my secrets. Ok, ok...out of the kindness of my heart let me expand so that all of you can follow my lead and you, too, can get to church on time, and maybe even EARLY, every Sunday morning. In fact, I almost guarantee that after implementing the ideas below, you'll no longer call is SUNday. You'll call it FUNday.

1. Get your coffee ready the night before. Every Saturday night, I get my coffee all ready. Apparently my coffee pot has a timer on it, but I have no clue how to use and can think of at least 1 million things I'd rather do than read a coffee pot manual. But alas, look at me, being all “prepared” and “ahead of schedule”. (smug smile) Too bad this morning I forgot that I had already poured in the water last night and poured in MORE water this morning causing my pot to overflow all over my counter and kitchen floor making a huge giant mess. But I digress.
2. Lay out your clothes the night before. You see, this is VERY IMPORTANT to do, especially for those of us who have young kids. One can never be too organized. That's my motto, at least! Of course, today doesn't count. It's not MY fault that my son grabbed a bowl of yogurt and spilled it all over his Sunday clothes so I had to put new clothes on him. It's not MY fault that my daughter hugged my son when his clothes were drenched in yogurt causing me to have to put on a new outfit for her, too. Nor is it MY fault that when I sat down on a chair in my cream-colored pants that I sat down in a glop of ketchup from the meal the night before thus having to also change MY outfit. Nope. NOT. MY. FAULT.
3. Start the spirit of worship as soon as you wake up. This is KEY to starting your Sunday morning off RIGHT. Every now and then you may find yourself “slipping” into your old ways, but press on dear friends. Not everyone is perfect. For instance, this morning my husbands first words were, “CRAP! YOU STINKIN' SET THE ALARM FOR PM INSTEAD OF AM!” To which I Christianly replied, “What are you smokin'? YOU set the alarm last night, NOT ME!” We have this slightly unpleasant exchange as both of us are throwing the covers off and scrambling to get ready before our precious children wake up...only to find that 1 of them is standing in our doorway. With wet pants. And an entire wet bed which had to be completely stripped of all its blankets and sheets BEFORE church so they would be ready AFTER church for nap time.
4. Fix nutritious breakfast's and pack a lunch if necessary. Think ahead. How long will you be gone? For us, it's 3-4 hours every Sunday. So not only do I make sure my kids get a nutritious breakfast for their long morning, but I also pack lunches because they are always starving when we leave. (and we live 35 minutes away from our church) [Misty says to husband Jim as they drive to church: “Jim, thank you so much for feeding the kids while I got ready.” Jim: “I thought YOU fed the kids while I got ready.” Misty: “So the kids have had no breakfast?” Jim: “Nope.” Misty: “There. Casey's. Get some donuts.” Jim: “But we're already late for church.” Misty: (the “look”) Jim: sigh.]
5. Be Flexible. Believe it or not, even when you plan ahead and do everything right just as we do, SOMETIMES things don't always go as planned. For example, this morning, right after I had yelled, “EVERYONE. GET IN THE FLIPPIN CAR NOW!” I picked up my youngest only to realize he felt hot with fever. I grabbed a thermometer only to have my suspicions confirmed so he and I had to stay home. Never mind that I now had a splitting headache and hives from head to toe. Never mind that I had rushed around getting the entire family ready, made breakfast, packed lunches since we're always gone a good 3-4 hours, changed 3 outfits, packed the diaper bag, and stubbed my toe on the toy I told my daughter to pick up a million times this morning. You see, I just take it all in stride, with a smile on my face and Jesus in my heart. Cuz I own the “golden ticket” of Sunday's.
6. Pull together as a team. Mom/dad teamwork shows our children how harmony, rather then disarray, certainly can get us to church happier and in a worshipping mood. I was VERY disappointed when “someone I know” recently said to her husband, “Hunny, I got the diaper bag, the sippy cups, the packed lunches, winter coats for the entire family, the favorite blankets, my purse, your sunglasses, both of our cell phones and oh, here's your wallet...you left it on the counter. Thanks for grabbing our Bibles.” The husband looks blankly and doesn't respond. Wife says, “You DID get our Bibles right? I mean, that was the ONLY thing you had to remember to pack and we are GOING TO CHURCH where we learn and study GOD'S WORD.” Husband continues to stare blankly. Wife gives husband silent treatment the rest of the day.
7. Arrive early to prepare your heart. Always allow plenty of time to check the kids into the nursery and find yourself seats before the service starts. That way you and your spouse get the most out of the service. Oh...ummm...what? You saw us sitting in the lobby with both kids running around? Oh yes, well, (clears throat) that was because you see, we just happened to arrive a tad late today and since there was only 10 minutes left of the sermon we thought it pointless to take our kids to nursery since it takes 15 minutes to check them in, so uh...let's move on to the final point, shall we?
8. Make Saturday nights the START of your Sabbath and get to bed early. Forget the fact that our dryer broke a week ago and I couldn't see my bedroom floor from the piles of dirty clothes that needed to be washed but the part came in yesterday and my hub's finally got it up and running so now we can do 30 loads of laundry and stay up until wee hours of the morning getting it all sorted, folded and hung. Forget that fact that my son is teething and was up off and on the entire night. Forget the fact that my daughter is currently having night-terrors. Forget the fact that my dog woke me up at 3am needing to go outside to the bathroom. Forget the fact the I woke up at 4am needing to go the bathroom from drinking too much water while doing the laundry until 2am. But other than THAT, get plenty of rest.

See how easy it is! So the next time you find yourself a teensy bit cranky on a Sunday morning, maybe these words will ring in your heart and you'll think to yourself, “Yes! Thank you MISTY! I'll do things JUST LIKE HER!” Don't look at us with envy. We're people. Just like you.

Happy FUNday, The Terrell's