Photo Credit: Courtney Dirks via Compfight cc
Ouch! I am so guilty of living differently than I say I want to. I say that God is my highest priority, but I have not been disciplined enough about spending time in his word, and times of prayer. Most of my days consist or prayers of desperation and frustration. But I do want this to change. As I’ve begun getting up early to exercise, I want to somehow add quiet time into this routine. I’m honestly not sure how to do it yet. Usually by the time I’m done working out the kids are up but I worry that if I pray first I’ll lose all motivation to exercise. So I need to work on this. Ideally I’d read a devotional in the morning and spend some time in scripture before bed. That way if I miss one at least I’ll have the other. I appreciates Sara’s reminder in this chapter that we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we make mistakes, just strive to do better next time.
Like Sara, my husband is also supposed to be a high priority for me. I want to give him my best, not the leftovers. This isn’t easy because by the time he gets home at the end of the day, I often feel tapped out. If anything I feel like I want to dump my responsibilities on him and just get a moment alone. But I do want to strive to serve him better, lovingly and selflessly.
My kids are a tough one too. One of my girl friends said the other day how ironic it is that we can’t wait to have kids and then once they are here we can’t wait to hand them off to someone else. Because we plan to homeschool, I’ll be spending a lot of time with my kids for the next few years so I need to figure out how to co-exist with them, both spending time with them and still having time for myself. I need to learn to let go of my expectations sometimes and just be with them, no matter how long my list is.
Mary Challenge
Come up with a list of priorities that makes sense to you and your family. Rate them on a scale of 1-5 based on how you think you are doing. I mentioned a few of them above but there are definitely other priorities on my list.
Martha Challenge
Kitchen-Wash your window treatments or clean your blinds. Wash the inside of your windows. I only have one window in my kitchen and it doesn’t have a curtain but it could use a good cleaning. So I’ll tackle that this week as I analyze my priorities.
Just looking at my list of priorities makes me tired. It seems like so much and I honestly don’t have this all figured out yet. So if you read this blog and it’s titles and think that this is me having it all together. I don’t. I’m still finding my way a little at a time.
31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way
Created to Give Life: 31 Days to Clean
10 Ways to Give Life to Your Home: 31 Days to Clean
A Place to Put Your Feet Up: 31 Days to Clean
