One of my biggest motivators is something that seems to come up time and again through things that I hear and read, is that I have enough hours in a day to do all the things that God intends. Phil 4:13 says 'I can do all this through him who gives me strength'. Notice it isn't I can do all things. I'm not supermum! So how do I know what I should be doing? The answer lies in being in tune with God. Knowing his voice when I ask just what I am supposed to be doing. It usually starts with a feeling. Whether I have a peace about what I am going to do. Then looking at the options. What is important vs urgent. Something I learnt from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. My key bible verse at the moment is Rom 12:2 which you will find at the top of my blog. We live in a busy time, rushing from one thing to the next and it is so easy to overcommit our selves and our children and not really enjoy anything that we are doing. John 10:10b says 'I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Daily we need to make a commitment to stand out from the world and do what is right with God
This leads me into my next train of thought. If there are things that I should be doing does it mean that I have to leave the things that aren't a priority? One thing I have heard countless times as a mum is the old adage that the washing will still be there tomorrow so we can leave it and do what is more important like playing with our children. They grow up so quickly etc etc. True but along with that days washing comes tomorrows and soon we are overwhelmed with the day to day things that drive us crazy. So I find I have adopted more of a theory of the need for balance. While I would love to plan my days and be organised for what is coming up I have learnt that my circumstances do not allow for it. At the moment I have an overall picture of what I what to get done and do things one at a time. When I feel I haven't been doing something in one area say creative I make time to do something. The same goes for time with my husband and children, organising, business opportunities. One thing that I am beginning to understand more is how to use my time more effectively. My thinking was I needed long stretches of time to really get things done. But I would be waiting too long because it just doesn't happen. So I found that spending small amounts of time on one thing gets me that much closer to my goal. It is amazing what you can do in 15 mins. A tip I picked up from my reading and notes about scrapbooking that I have been reading. While some might call the things I do over organised. The systems I have put in place save me time that I can use for other things. And ultimately I can enjoy my life.
