Should vs. Shall

If there's one word I can't stand, it's should.
You come straight home from work on a freezing night to snuggle on the sofa but you really should have gone to the gym. You sit back watching some trashy reality show but you really should have done some cleaning. You go straight to bed but should have read the Bible, you should have called your Mum, should have done some ironing, should have text your friend, should have should have should have!!

The thing is, it's not anyone but myself issuing these 'shoulds' out. I tell myself I should do plenty of things, don't and then sit there feeling guilty for it.
I suppose we get these expectations from the environment around us, from what those we love do with their time, how they carry on their business and then think we should be doing the same. We then start to live under obligation to fulfil these.

One thing I really enjoyed when I finished full-time education was not having the 'shoulds' of study over me. When I got home from work, there was no studying that should have been done, no revision, no extra reading...I felt free! That lasted all of about 5 minutes before all other shoulds appeared. As a newlywed, they became home-based; cleaning, cooking, mending, working out, hosting - again, all my own expectations.

Essentially, should is a simple past tense of shall. However, shall doesn't seem to have the ugly heaviness of should, it seems full of hope and carries a much lighter sentence. "I shall go and clean the toilet" vs. "I should go clean the toilet"…puts it into a whole new light! I shall because I want to and I will, as opposed to I feel I have to.

I imagine the key to breaking this cycle is to have a good old think about what expectations we feel people have of us, (or most importantly we have of ourselves), why we feel we are under obligation and why we are shoulding and not shalling!

I should really do this...argh! I shall do this...

Trev x

Apple Pie in the Sky

Ok so a million years after everyone else...I'm starting a blog! Woo look at me.
I used to think of blogs as quite egotistical and to be fair, they are! But I still find myself drawn to reading and enjoying them so I've set up my very own. Read it if you like, or don't...

Hopes Set High. This is my statement of faith. I have hopes, I have them set high and amazingly I have a God that exceeds them.
I am hopeful from the minuscule to the humongous.
I am hopeful as a choice.
I am hopeful not because of my own abilities or strengths but because God is faithful, kind and just that good.
I hope that my life will be an adventure, filled with laughter, challenges and love.
I hope that I eat some really good food (this will be a common theme!)
I hope for a new home soon.
I hope that my life will glorify God in all I do.

Now that I've had my Veruca-Salt-style 'I want the whole world' spiel, I need to acknowledge that I've had a good few of my hopes and dreams realised already...
I had a wonderful childhood in a secure, loving and supportive family
I have a great job, in a great church and love what I do everyday.
I married an amazing man who's kind, forgiving and handsome.
I've made precious friendships with people who I admire, love and can be myself with.

After only 25 years on this earth and all those good things, you can see why my hopes are set high!
Well...how else would the little old ant have moved that rubber tree plant?!

I hope that this will be a place for me to share the significant and substantial but also futile and fun things that are happening around me so...let's see how we go!

Trev x