How do we spend the bulk of our time?

There are lots of things we love to do. For one person it might be gardening, golfing, decorating. Still another may love to spend hours reading, puttering around their house, or sewing. There is so much to do - scrapbooking, cooking and baking, collecting things, writing, etc.

Whatever it is we love to do - do we spend hours and hours of our time investing in getting it done - to use for the Lord? Or do we spend hours and hours of our time doing something just to have it done for our own satisfaction? You see, I've been thinking about why we are here on earth, what we are to do with our time, and what we can take to heaven with us. And it seems to me that God wants us to spend the bulk of our time either growing and learning more about Him, or sharing His love with others so He is glorified.

I know we all have hobbies, interests, to-do lists, etc. And I think we will always spend some of our time devoted to tasks, projects, and hobbies that may have no eternal value whatsoever. But it's the bulk of our time that we should analyze. If we love to garden - that's great. But then what do we do with it when it's done? Do we donate produce to the church? Do we give flowers to the sick, lonely, and needy? Or do we just enjoy it for our own pleasure?

Almost everything we do and are interested in, can somehow be used for the Lord.

I am on the computer a great deal. I am constantly trying to reavaluate the time I spend on it and asking God to help me purge what needs to be purged so that I don't waste hours and hours of my time when I have a family that needs and wants me with them. BUT -- I can honestly say that most of my time on the computer is used for the Lord. It is the Mission Field He has called me to at this point in my life. And if a lot of my time is spent there - then it's because I am willing and wanting to continue to let God use me to bring others to Him. And I think that's okay. I think it's more than okay.

Everyone has a different calling on their life and a different "mission" where God can use them. For you, maybe your mission field is working in the public school system. Maybe God has called you to leave your family and friends and serve Him in Chile or Germany. Maybe God simply has chosen to use you in a way no one else can be used by working through you at your local hair salon, or through your gifts of baking for others. For me - God has called me to the Mission Field of the Internet right now.

Whatever it is that you enjoy doing....wherever you spend your time - please make sure you aren't simply doing it for yourself. Keep your ear tilted to what God is trying to tell you and ask of you. Be willing to open yourself up for HIS plans for your life. Allow your hard work and dedication to be vulnerable and open as God uses it to bring others to Him.

You see, we can spend hours and hours of our time carving, crafting, sculpting, cleaning, molding, or embellishing something --- but if we don't turn back around and allow it to be used for the Lord - we've merely wasted time.

It's okay to enjoy video games, crafts, movies, and the what-not. Let's just make sure that those things stay as periodic enjoyments from time to time - and never end up being focuses of our whole attention and time. Those areas need to stay open to be available for God to use whenever He chooses.

We are who we are for reasons. Allow God to use your natural "bents"..... your time will never be wasted, if you do.

I have found that I've been having a tough time being motivated or productive around my house lately. When winter hits, I tend to hibernate a bit more but just because I'm home doesn't mean I'm using my time wisely. If I'm cold or it's gray and cloudy outside, I think I tend to curl up into a ball more rather than getting energized and going around the house. Plus, I'm the kind of person who gets tired of monotony and so I can easily grow weary of doing that fiftieth load of laundry or washing dishes over and over. Yet, that is my job.

As I've been looking around my house lately, it has struck me, how my house has bared the brunt of my lack of motivation. There are dusty corners and tabletops, a cobweb or two, mirrors that need to be cleaned, and just a telltale sign of neglect.

I have a game plan. I know what helps get me moving throughout the day. For me, turning on some music seems to help motivate me more than having the television on in the background. I love having Fox News or something on when the kids are at school to keep me company, but it can sometimes hinder me. So I have found that if I can get the music going earlier on in the day, then I can get more accomplished.

I have also found that I need lists. I used to rely on lists regularly but strayed from that somewhat over the years. I can't do that. Lists keep me focused on goals and things that need my attention whereas if I don't have them to look at, it's too easy to put them out of my mind.

In addition to these things, I know that setting my sights smaller rather than on a large goal, is sometimes more advantageous. If I can get just one or two household things done a day and spend the remainder of my time writing, doing basic cleaning/picking up, and errands - then it goes a long way in keeping things maintained.

I think that perfection is highly overrated. I don't believe that we should kill ourselves to have a spotless house and everything perfectly in its spot. It's unrealistic if you are a mom and want your children and guests to feel comfortable and it's also putting focus on material things instead of family time or on people. But at the same time, I believe we are to be responsible with what we have. Our homes are an extension of who we are, and so we should treat them with love. Neglect only shows we are ungrateful and unthankful for what we have.

It doesn't matter if you live in a mobile home, an apartment, or a huge house. Your dwelling deserves the attention it needs in order to create an environment for you that is a warm, loving, safe haven from the world.

So as I work to reclaim the home that I am honored to live in, I hope that you will join me. Learn what things help motivate and propel you to get things done and find that you feel more alive and ready to just "be" with your loved ones inside of its doors in the process.

The world seems to be shouting at women that if you make the choice to stay home with your family and raise your children that you will be "missing out" on real life. Sometimes mothers can be made to feel like they are "less than" a real person because they don't have a job that society feels is a successful position. Even if you don't agree with this kind of mentality; living in the world we do, we can still be made to feel a little less than valued.

We've heard it before but I'm here to remind you that you ARE valued. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to impact a whole generation. And even if you have to work or you choose to work, you can still proudly tell people that you are a mother and that your kids are a priority in your life. I know that balancing a job and taking care of a home must be so brutal. It's a juggling act that can leave any sane person feeling stretched, to say the least. The corporate world does not value the time a mom puts in at home. They don't understand the investment that needs to be made into the family.

It seems as if sometimes we see kids as a deterrent. They pull on us when we're doing all we can to work and be there for them; they sidetrack us when we give up everything to raise them. But I'm here to tell you that kids are NOT a deterrent. They are a blessing.

Children will be able to teach you more about yourself, your values and your worldviews than any corporate job ever could. And children can teach you to dream again when you think you've given up on your own. They are a built-in blessing that God has given each one of us.

No matter how the world views mothers or thinks that women are "missing out" on life when they choose to spend time with their families; they are wrong. It's good to remember that.

When my life is really hectic and busy, I long for quieter days where I can putz and roam at "will." I dream of a day where I can delve into a project or have everything around the house caught up on, so that I can read for hours with my children or play game after game with them without worrying about the time.

But then when those slow days seem to come, it seems like I look around me and feel like everyone is doing something exciting in their life but me. I tend to feel like maybe I'm boring or maybe I should look into a new opportunity or activity in my life.

Have you ever felt that way? We tend to always want what we don't have. Have you ever stopped to wonder why that is?

I think it's because we don't know how to be content with what we have and where God has placed us in our lives. We take our eyes off of the road He has placed us on, and we look at someone else's road. We fail to take into consideration that that someone could be looking at our road and wishing for our set of circumstances as well! We just carry this mentality with us of thinking that we need to be doing (or not doing) what the rest of the world is doing!

We trip ourselves up a lot with this way of thinking. I know there have been many times where I have wallowed in a little bit of self pity only to remember later on that I had asked for that certain situation or set of circumstances to come up! And when it did, I was only ungrateful.

The grass is always going to look greener on the other side of that fence if we continue to look at what everyone else has instead of looking at how much we have to be thankful for. When times are busy, we can be thankful for friends who invite us to activities, or healthy children who are well enough to participate in sports. And when they are slower, we can be thankful for those times to recharge, catch up around our homes, and spend extra time loving on each other.

I think it's all in how we look at it.

My family and I were watching a Christmas episode of "Little House on the Prairie" last night. I love that series. There are so many valuable life lessons to take from it. Anyways, they were sitting around the fire together reminiscing about Christmases in the past. They showed things like Ma getting potatoes from Mr. Edwards (a rare treat), Hester Sue receiving ONE beautiful doll as her only Christmas gift, and Laura and Mary getting excited over their very own cups to use and a piece of candy and mittens.

As we watched from our comfortable two-story house full from a nice big dinner, we all felt spoiled. And it was good for us. It is so good to be reminded from time to time that we are blessed above and beyond. Don't you think? We (as a people) can get to feeling so entitled that it's good to be knocked down a notch or two from time to time.

Here I am planning on making numerous Christmas goodies in a few weeks, and the Ingalls' girls were excited over one piece of candy. I can go to the grocery store any day of the week and have my choice of aisle after aisle of produce, cans, fruits, meats, and vegetables. And yet Ma was practically brought to tears to be brought some potatoes.

It wasn't just a show. It was a reminder of a way of life. Our ancestors worked so hard to get what they had. In this particular show, the family all got snowed in. The storm put a barn board through their window and broke it. Did Ma get all upset that her window was broken and she'd have to pay for a new one? No. She just immediately set about cleaning up the glass while Pa and Almonzo secured the window shut. And because they had unexpected guests sleeping over, were they whining that they didn't have enough beds and the men had to fall asleep at the kitchen table? Did Ma complain that she really didn't plan on feeding that many people? No. They were just so blessed to be all together. They loved each other and were so full of that love that it erased any discomforts or minor nuisances that invaded their plans.

I want to be full of that love. I want to smile when friends or family grace my home instead of stressing about what to feed them. I want to make those who enter my house feel as comfortable as possible, but instead of fretting over not having a big enough table, or worrying that I have to put people on the floor to sleep, I want to have enough love in my home that it will overcome any physical drawbacks. I want people to be drawn to me, because of the love that my family and I show them.

This is who I want to be. This is who I want my family to be.

I want to remember and be reminded to be thankful, feel blessed, and to simply love - forgetting minor inconveniences. I want to treasure the simple and the pure of heart.

Yes, it's good to be humbled sometimes. It's good to be reminded. I'm so thankful that this show did that for me last night.

Moms are their own worst enemy, I think. We are graced with such a valuable role, we have such privilege to be so influential on those around us - and yet we are constantly trying to achieve a higher standard. Not that having a high standard is a bad thing, but it's self-defeating if that high standard continues to go higher because reaching it is never good enough.

I think our problem stems from the fact that we compare ourselves. We think we have to have things a certain way, live a certain way, do things in a certain way. We fail to take into account our own personality, lifestyle, gifts, or circumstances.

For example -

Who says that you have to cook your family dinner every night? Maybe a couple nights a week would be good enough to work with your families' activity schedule.

Who says that you have to do your devotions first thing in the morning? Maybe you are not a morning person and during naptime, or after the kids go to sleep at night would work much better for you.

Who says that your house has to look like it came out of a magazine? With kids who live there and hopefully feel comfortable enough as they grow up to want to stay home and invite their friends there as well.... Wouldn't simply being "mostly picked up" suffice?

Who says that you have to volunteer for every activity your children are involved in? If you get overloaded and stressed from doing too much, can't you simply go attend and support your children by your presence instead of being in charge of something that affects your state of being and happiness in your home?

Who says that you have to buy every item your child brings home from school to sell if you don't need it or really don't have the extra income? Isn't buying one thing once in awhile and honestly telling them you need to watch where you spend your dollars - a more valuable lifetime lesson?

Who says get-togethers at your house have to be super fancy? Sometimes the presence of friends is enough and being comfortable around each other with nachos and dip.

Who says you have to look happy and pulled-together all of the time? Sometimes life stinks! It's okay to acknowledge you're going through a tough time but are doing the best you can.


I think we have this "image" of the perfect wife and mother ingrained in our heads. But reality doesn't always measure up to that image. And so when it doesn't, we practically break our backs trying to make it measure up to the way we think things should be.

I think we need to look outside the box a little more often and not be afraid to do things differently. They might fit our family and us a whole lot better than some ideal we have stuffed up in our heads.

So for today, let's stop and pause every time we feel we are entering into the "I should" or "I have to" do things zone. If you don't have time to make dinner because you held up a friend in need on the phone for over an hour - let it go. Your family won't be deprived. You can all enjoy sandwiches together with laughter instead of falling in a heap exhausted over a fine meal.

We need to let go of our unreachable expectations and let life take us on the curves and detours that it chooses to. It will be good for us to have to "roll with it" sometimes and learn more about ourselves and where our priorities should lie. I bet we will discover that we really do stress about too many little things.

Enjoy this process of discovery and where it will lead you.