The current Bible study I'm doing,Brave by Angela Thomas, has a chapter about being undisciplined. I think it's a chapter that most anyone can relate to. I don't believe there is a single person whose disciplined in every area of their life. It was a chapter that really struck a chord with me, and when I completed that chapter, I sat down and made a list of 7 things that I can do during the day that will help with keeping my home and sanity in tact. I've been doing them for a few weeks now and I wanted to share them with you today. 1. Jesus Our first step, thought, action, etc should always be Jesus. Ok, I'll admit that when I open my eyes in the morning my first thought isn't about Jesus. It's usually- did I wake up before the girls. But, once I collect myself a little, I always try and pray for a few minutes. I find my courage and commit my day to God. I pray for His will to be done during the day and if that means rearranging my schedule, then so be it. When I skip this step, I usually do not have a good productive day. 2. Start Early I'm not a morning person. I've finally embraced this. I'm not the type of mom who's up before the kids, dressed, fed, and ready to go when their feet hit the floor. And that's ok. There are lots of women out there that can do that and it works well for them. It doesn't for me. But, once I'm up and going with the girls, I kill my day if I sit down right after breakfast is over. Because then I stay sitting and nothing gets done. I start on my to do list as soon as breakfast is over or as soon as we get home from dropping off at school. It gets the momentum going and I accomplish more. 3. The 10 o'clock Rule I saw this idea on another blog, and for the life of me, I have no idea which blog it was. (if you know, tell me and I'll credit this idea). If you menu plan like me, this isn't very hard to do. It's just simply knowing exactly what's for dinner by 10 am. When you do this, there's no surprises at 5pm when the meat is still frozen or you're missing a key ingredient. Also, if you're a working mom, or doing weight watchers, or counting calories, or really just want to take the stress out, I would say do this at 10pm the night before. Plan exactly what your meals will be for the next day and have things prepped and ready to go. If you pack your lunch for work or the kids lunch for school, have them partially packed and ready to go for the AM. 4. Write Stuff Down Yes, it's true. I feel so discombobulated when I know I was supposed to be doing or remember something but I have no idea what it was because I didn't write it down somewhere. I have a smartphone, but I'm an old school type of person. I have a good ole paper student planner that I use daily. But, if that's not your style, use your calendar on your phone, make notes, use smoke signals. Do something. Just write stuff down.
5. Have a Flexible Schedule We're semi scheduled during the school year just because of Emmy's school schedule. She goes to school 3 days a week, so we plan around that. But, normally we know that Wednesday is also Library day and Friday is grocery day. I schedule specific things on specific days so that life just runs more smoothly. I plan on doing this during our summer break too. Certain days will be different things- water day, library day, beach day, etc. A routine like this helps my girls too. They know exactly what's going to happen and when. Obviously, don't pin yourself down so much that you create stress with rigidity. If you have to switch things up, no big deal. This is life. It's fluid and not perfect. 6. Schedule Downtime in Your Day From 1pm-2pm there's a good chance I'm sitting in our big brown chair in the living room drinking a cup of coffee. And doing nothing except Facebook, Pinterest, or reading a book. And ya know what? That's ok. That hour and cup of coffee help me reset for the afternoon. If I take that hour to refresh then I'm good to go for the rest of the day. If your day is scheduled, work in some downtime. A few days a week I use this time as "quiet time" for my girls. I have specific toys, books, puzzles they only see during quiet time. Emmy uses this time to work on writing her letters or "homework" from school and Macie normally colors or looks at books. If I haven't worked it in earlier in the day, I use this time for my Bible study time. 7. Clean your "stress space" before bed. I HATE going to bed with a sink of dishes. My morning just runs so much more smooth when I come into a clean kitchen. When I'm trying to pull myself together for the day, it starts me off on the wrong foot when I walk into dirty clutter. So, I've been trying to make a point to get the dishes washed, the counters clear and clean, laundry off the floor (my laundry is in my kitchen), and my floors swept before I head to bed. Makes a big difference in the way my next day starts. Well, there ya have it. 7 things I do to help my most undisciplined life run more smoothly. Although, I don't want to leave this unsaid- There are areas of our life that may perhaps always be undisciplined. And discipline looks different for every person on the planet. But don't let the important things go. God gives us his strength and ability to conquer our undisciplined areas if we commit them to him. And it takes practice. We can't wake up in the morning, tell God we went to be disciplined and suddenly we are. It takes work and intention. And it's hard. But don't bypass it because it's hard. Take God's help and get victory over those areas. And I'm right there with ya. Happy Tuesday!
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Wow, it's been almost a month since I posted last. Time goes by so quickly. I've worked out a bit of a schedule and got some "blog office hours" ironed out. So, hopefully, soon I'll be able to get back to a normal posting routine. Anyways, I have a few minutes now and I wanted to put down a few thoughts I've had. Realizations, I guess. The last few months have been a roller coaster, to say the least. Change, change, and more change coming. We're still in the process of moving somewhere. Our lease will be up at our current home in a month, and we're moving somewhere. Just not quite sure where that might be yet. We've got plan A and plan B, we're just waiting and trusting as God opens doors in His time. I've admitted openly on this blog that I've got serious issues with the virtue of patience. It's probably one of the biggest spiritual issue I have. It's a battle I fight constantly. When something doesn't happen RIGHT NOW I start faltering in the area of trust. When I falter in trust, my hope starts slipping. Then doubt creeps in. But as I dig more and more into scripture and as I come to know God's character more and more I've realized something- God is still on his throne. My mantra has become... Yes, but we've lived. Over the last year, we've been through periods of weeks with, literally, pennies to our name. Sometimes less. Yet, we've made it through each and every time. Aaron's health has been compromised over and over through injuries and accidents, but the Lord has spared him from very serious injury each time. We've been surprised by things that have changed the course of our life, yet it's turned out to be a blessing. Why? Because God is still on his throne. I've learned not to be so short sighted. I know there is a bigger picture. I can't see it yet. I don't want to see it honestly. 10 years ago, had I know what lay ahead for us I probably would have opted out. But, I've learned that God is sovereign. That's a big word. Sometimes it can be kind of scary, especially if you haven't grown up in the church or don't know the "lingo". But, I've learned that it simply means that God is in control. Always. And because of that, He's never once led my family to ruin. He's never led me to ruin. Yes, there have been times of deep disappointment, times of loss or grief, and even a little humiliation. But because I'm realizing that nothing that happens to us takes away God's control and authority over my life, I'm living in less and less fear. Fear of the future, of where we'll live, where Aaron will work, how our bills will get paid. Because God loves me. Because He is good. Because He's in control. I've learned that I am a doubter. When I'm in the thick of things, my natural tendency is to doubt God instead of press into him and trust him even more. But, as life happens, I'm learning this lesson. So, I challenge you with this today- It's never too late to start learning something new about God. If you struggle with doubting Him, doubting his promises, living in fear, decide today to choose to believe. For me, sometimes it is a minute by minute thing. Some days are easier than others. Open your Bible and find a verse that helps you believe God and encourages you. Press into him and remember- God is still on the throne. Nothing you or anyone or anything else can change his control over your life.
Happy Monday! |
HEY, I'M JESSICA!
Christian. Wife. Mommy. Daughter. Pastor. Friend. Saved.Redeemed. Beloved.
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