Are You a Flosser? (Wait...is "flosser" even a word?)

[Note:  For those that read my blog regularly, this isn't quite the departure from the subject matter you are used to that it appears to be...keep reading for the usual fare you have come to expect from me.] 

If you ARE a regular flosser... ***fist bump!***   

If you are NOT a regular flosser, don't tune me out just yet. 

You see, I wasn't a flosser for DECADES.  I know the pain of going to the dentist again and again, knowing you'll hear the same words from the dental hygienist, "You need to start flossing."  UGH!

You reply in agreement but inside your head it sounds something like this:  "Yeah, yeah, yeah...fine, whatever, lady.  I'll TRY. AGAIN."  Deep down inside you know you really won't, even though you have really good intentions to do so.

I went to the dentist in November 2005 (after a lot of years of not going) and was told that I had periodontal disease.  I was told that if I would "just start flossing regularly" (easier said, than done) I could reverse the disease.  Then they served up this nugget of truth, "Either start flossing or plan on losing some or all of your teeth starting at age 50."  I'm embarrassed to admit that their dire warning did not change my behavior.

They tell you how bad your periodontal disease is by measuring the pocket, or the space, between your gums and teeth.  Anything over 3mm is considered unhealthy.
 

That day in 2005 I had some 4's, but mostly I had 5's, and even a 6 or two(!) which is very bad...not to mention painful when they poke around your mouth...or when cold stuff touches those super-sensitive areas.

I had to start practicing self-care by showing up at the dentist every three months, instead of the normal six months between visits, to try and sort this out.  Just going to the dentist was a start, but it cost me.

• It cost me money out of pocket, because insurance only covers twice a year. 
• It cost me time off work for these appointments.
• It cost me my pride having to admit that I wasn't flossing like I should have been.  
• It cost me my integrity, knowing I was lying when I would say I would start flossing.

Fast forward almost 10 years to my appointment with the dentist  March 25, 2015.

The report from the hygienist was as follows:  One 4....and all the rest were 3's!

ALL BUT ONE ARE HEALTHY NOW!!!

If you are wondering how you, too, can get the results I got yesterday hear me on this:  

You will need to change your mind...you will need to think differently about flossing.

For me, flossing is now what I call a "spiritual activity".

I can hear you now:  "Huh?!  Say what?  Flossing is a spiritual activity?  You lost me."

Let me explain.  It's only a spiritual activity if you are using a sermon you heard at church about meditation (of all things) as your jumping off point for beginning a new, healthy habit.

[To hear that sermon by Jimmy Evans called "A Mind Set Free", click here.]

Jimmy told us on November 16, 2013 how he quit smoking by changing the dialogue he was having with himself (in his mind) and with others.  Once he decided to become a non-smoker he would say to himself and others, "I am a non-smoker." and that's how he quit smoking.

I had just been to the dentist that week (again) and had just told the hygienist (again) that I would "try" (again) to start flossing regularly.  After hearing Jimmy Evans sermon, I decided that if he could QUIT a bad habit by changing the dialogue in his mind, then I could START a healthy habit the same way.

I went home that day in November 2013, pulled out my label maker and stuck this label above my bathroom sink where I would see it at least twice a day, morning and night, to remind myself of who I was (A FLOSSER!).

I began to floss every night before bed LIKE IT WAS MY JOB.   

Yes, that is the kind of flosser I now use daily.  I love it!  No more messy, gross, tangled mess.

I continued going to the dentist every three months, and slowly, but surely I made progress.  Each time the dental report would get better.  Finally, in September 2014 I had made enough progress, and had a behavioral track record they were happy with, and the report was so good, they told me I could schedule my next appointment for SIX MONTHS OUT!!!  "You mean I'm normal again!?!"  

I was a little nervous at the time, wondering if I really had it in me to be trusted for THAT LONG without their probing instruments that were keeping me accountable, but hey, if they were willing to trust me to keep up the good job I was doing, who was I to argue?  They are the professionals, after all!  It took me from November 2013 to March 2015 to turn things around but I did it!

All that happened because I changed my mind and changed the dialogue in my head and told myself that...

...I AM A FLOSSER.  

Now I feel like I can change the world! 

***********************  

For more information on changing your mind and the dialogue(s) you have with yourself, check out the following resources:

Bob Hamp's books:  Think Differently Live Differently; as well as Think Differently Lead Differently; available for purchase at: www.bobhamp.com

Dr. Caroline Leaf, author of an incredibly helpful book called, "Switch on Your Brain", available for purchase at: www.drleaf.com; along with that book's very helpful companion App called "The 21 Day Brain Detox" available for download at:  www.21DayBrainDetox.com
 

Jen Hatmaker Knows Who I Am!!! (sort of)

This week I started a ruckus on Jen Hatmaker's Twitter feed with ONE TWEET and a HASHTAG.

The tweet was about her forthcoming book, "For The Love - Fighting For Grace in a World of Impossible Standards", which is set for release on Aug 18, 2015.  

~ You can pre-order at B&N, Books-a-Million, or Amazon ~

You see, I applied to be on her Book Launch Team.  They had 5,000 applicants and only 500 spots, so there were 4500 of us that got the sweetest rejection letter EVER telling us all that we are "still her people"...ALONG WITH FOUR (4) SAMPLE CHAPTERS to read in advance!

I was so excited that I tweeted her:  (Jen loves hashtags and good food, so I refererenced both in my Tweet and made up this hashtag on the fly.)

I cracked up Jen Hatmaker, you guys.

WAIT! WHAT?...Jen Hatmaker REPLIED...TO MY TWEET!?!

That ONE TWEET and HASHTAG (along with a famous person's reply, of course) started what Seth Godin calls A RUCKUS!  The hashtag went viral...(ok, fine...it went viral on Jen's Twitter page)....but then it spilled over onto Facebook in the form of a group (i.e. a non-stop paaartay!...that Jen has peeked in on!) and OH MY GOSH.  I CAN'T EVEN.  

Basically, #The4500 said that while we may not have made the "official" launch team (initially), we are still on your launch team, Jen!  In other words, we didn't take 'no' for an answer. 

Then there was that day that Jen tweeted and re-tweeted my tweets, and called me "The dearest thing ever" and has tweeted "So in love with #The4500".  Even Brandon Hatmaker got in on this deal tweeting "love it" alongside "#The4500".

Then we heard that #The4500 was 'all the talk' (someone discussing it at the water cooler) at Thomas Nelson (Jen's publisher) because THIS KIND OF THING HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!!!

And now Thomas Nelson has gotten involved with our group, and THAT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL to me!  Katy is on Jen's marketing team and is giving us guidance and direction about how to help promote Jen's book in ways that will actually help her.  (As opposed to all the ways in which #The4500 just went nuts doing our own thing.)  Herding cats is more like how I'd describe Katy's fun, new job duties. 

Katy may need therapy when this is all over with, but I'm dying of happiness, you guys! I don't even know what to do with myself anymore.  

I'm not sure I'll be of any use to anyone for days, maybe even weeks or possibly months.   

AUGUST 18th, 2015 CANNOT GET HERE SOON ENOUGH.

   

Bless The Teachers

God bless the teachers, one and all, today and everyday.  

I definitely went to school to soak up love and acceptance from my teachers.  I always worked extra hard to please them and was crushed if I felt their least disapproval.  I loved every single one of my teachers, but I absolutely adored my third grade teacher.  I distinctly remember the sadness I felt on the last day of school that year.  I wanted that school year to go on forever and ever.

After escaping the cult at age thirteen I was enrolled in a small, Christian school.  My teachers there left indelible impressions on my heart.  They were conduits of His Love to my desperately needy heart. When they found out that the last name I was using (Marston) wasn't my real name, they went through the trouble of changing all my official school records so I could have my father's last name.  That is when I became Anna LeBaron. In a huge way my identity was restored to me.  

My 1st grade teacher once wrote on my report card, "Anna keeps me on my toes!" 
(I'm sure she thought I was just precious...of course she did.  Yes, I'm sure that's how she felt...)

Even though she meant that I was a handful (me...a handful?!) I received those words on that day as a compliment and felt loved and known, but mostly I felt SEEN and NOTICED in a sea of other kids at school and at home.

Today I suggested as much to Holy Spirit, writing in my journal that I must be a handful with my messy heart and with everything I still need to learn...and this is what my heart hears:  

"Anna, you are even more precious to me."

And I'm wrecked. Undone.  

I'm undone in the presence of THE Teacher.  The Teacher that worked through each of the teachers that went before Him and paved the way for me to come to know just how very loved and precious I truly am to Him.