Love: Personality Plus!

I LOVE personality tests. When I picked up one of the teen fashion/love/whatever magazines growing up, I always loved taking the quizzes. That carried over into my college years and in my communication major I had the pleasure of taking a lot of quizzes about myself. I now realize that, while knowing about my own personality is important, it is so much more important to know more about the personalities of those I love.

A lot of time and money has been spent on personality research with varying results; however, it is almost universally understood that different personality types have different needs. Those needs make it so much more important to know about the personalities of those we love. If we know their personality type and know what their needs are, we can make a conscious effort to give them what they need when we interact with them. I am always most interested in introvert vs. extrovert, especially considering I grew up very close to my introvert brother and then married an introvert. I am off the charts on extrovert, so opposites definitely attract!

A friend of mine posted a helpful quiz on Facebook today (thanks, Kimberly!) and I thought I would pass it along. It is a personality quiz based on the Myers-Briggs (an abridged version) and can tell us so much about ourselves. Here is a link to the test: http://kisa.ca/personality/

Once you have identified yourself or others in your life as introverted or extroverted, the information below should be helpful!

Pray, Love: Being Still

Still. Quiet. It's that special time of day when my husband and daughter are in bed and it is just me, reflecting on the day. I am so tired after a long day, but this quiet time is something I will gladly take advantage of in lieu of sleep. I spent years running from the quiet, but now I savor it.

This by no means makes me an introvert. I have taken the Meyers-Briggs personality type indicator many times beteween trainings for work and college classes. I have experienced some changes in some of my ratings, but I am always off the charts on the "E". The first indicator rates you as either an extrovert or introvert and my sky-high score as an extrovert leaves no doubt that I love people. I get my energy from being with others, my husband and daughter included, and I am a person who really needs people.

That being said, I am so thankful to sit in this quiet house and spend time in reflection and thought. I will give thanks for a Godly, hardworking husband. I will give thanks for an adorable child with a giant smile and sweet personality. I will give thanks for the caring family with which I have been blessed. I will give thanks for the faithful congregation of the Lord's church where we worship. I will give thanks a job I love, where my hard work is rewarded with a fullfilment in the work we do. I will be thankful for the quiet, a quiet that I have spent the better part of my life taking for granted, even hating at times. I will give thanks for God's word, for the wisdom it holds, and for the recollection God gives me of his word so that in times like these I can think on the things that matter.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10

 

 

Being a mother has brought me so many blessings. My heart has grown larger than I ever knew possible. My time has grown more valuable than I ever expected. My plate is more full than I ever imagined it could be. My life has more moments of joy than I realized could be fit in to a day. For me, motherhood has taught me to appreciate the "be still" part of that scripture. When I am still, I know God's blessings, providence and guidance. When I am still, I remember the blessings. When I am still, I know He is here in our midst. When I am still, I know that nothing in this world is as important as my relationship with Him, and that everything will fall into place when I am still and I know God.

 

 

My quiet time ends and I head off to bed with a clear mind and a full heart, ready to start a new day after a little bit of rest. I peek my head in for one last reminder of why those hectic days mean as much as the still and quiet and say one last prayer of thanksgiving for a full life. 



Eat: No, thank you.

 I wondered when it would happen. I looked forward to the first tooth, the first Christmas, the first word, but I have dreaded the first family shared vomiting illness for some time. Last week I was headed home on a Wednesday evening planning on having our regular hectic midweek evening. I was going to get home, have about 30 minutes to greet the hubby, give Lily a snack, get us dressed and get on the road to church. Then I would sing songs for 45 minutes with the adorable 2 year-old class and finally rest when we landed at a restaurant somewhere for our Wednesday night dinner out. As I drove along the highway mapping out the evening in my head, my phone rang. When I answered, I heard gagging and groans before my husband finally said, "Lily is vomiting." That simple statement was followed by more gagging and groans, none of which were Lily's. 

 

My poor husband. When I married him, I knew what I was signing up for. He made no secret of his aversion to blood, vomit and stench.  I remember the evening I sliced my finger while chopping some peppers and onions for shrimp creole. I asked him to run upstairs and grab a bandage, but when I looked behind me I realized he had seen a bit of the blood and was taking a seat before he fell backward on the tile. When we took our lamaze class, he was the guy who clenched his eyes shut during the mild, not at all graphic C-section video. The first trimester of pregnancy was harder on him that it was on me because honestly, hearing me vomit was harder on him than actually vomiting was on me. Now here he was, with a vomiting two year old, doing his best not to pass out or vomit on the child. 

 

When I arrived home, Doug looked sicker than Lily. He quickly volunteered to run to the store for Pedialyte and get anything else we might need. He needed the break, I could tell. When he made it home from the store, we began talking about what we needed to do about childcare the next day. I had a really important presentation the next day, and he said that he would stay home. What a guy! It was more than just him being willing to get behind at work so I didn't have to. He was signing up to spend the day with his greatest nightmare: a puking toddler. 

 

In the end, we all ended up with the virus. That's the reason I haven't blogged in a while.  I realized now that this virus thing taught me a few things. A toddler sitting in your lap will not warn you before puking. When your child goes to sleep at 7 instead of 10 she will wake up at 4:30 ready to play. Pedialyte does not taste as good as Gatorade. Women recover more quickly from bugs than men. A toddler will make a wreck of a house while her parents hug the toilet, leaving her unsupervised. Most importantly I learned, well, was reminded that I have a really sweet husband. :) I couldn't think of a better person to share a virus with.