*Newsflash* There ARE Enough Hours in the Day!!!

Last week, I read a startling fact.  One that I've known all along, but must have never really allowed to sink in. It has changed my perspective on daily life and how I prioritize everything that I need to do. 

Are you ready for this?   Wait for it...

There have always been 24 hours in a day.  Never more, never less.  Since the beginning of time; God created each day with only 24 hours.

So if God created a day...the perfect day...to be exactly 24 hours (and he even created us to require 8 hours of sleep, cutting that day down to 16 productive hours, but I digress...) WHY IS IT that I feel like I can't accomplish everything that I need to get done in a single day?!?

The answer is simple: PRIORITIES. 

I'm reading the book, "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (which I highly recommend, ladies) and this concept was one of the lies she discusses. Since reading it last week, my perspective has been completely transformed.

From the book, "Years ago, I read that the average woman today has the equivalent of FIFTY full-time servants, in the form of modern, timesaving devices and equipment.  That figure may or may not be accurate, but we certainly have many conveniences available to us that were unknown to women of past generations.  Imagine going back to the days when there were no dishwashers, microwaves, washing machines, dryers, or automobiles - or even further back to a time when people had never heard of indoor plumbing or electricity."

The fact of the matter is that whether we lived in 1800, 1900 or 2011, as women, we DO have enough time to do everything we're supposed to do.  What we need to determine is the answer to this question: What IS everything we are supposed to do? 

The Lie: "I don't have enough time to do everything I'm supposed to do."
The Truth: "All I have to do is the work God assigns to me."

From the book: "The frustration comes when I attempt to take on responsibilities that are not on His agenda for me. When I establish my own agenda or let others determine the priorities for my life, rather than taking time to discern what it is that God wants me to do, I end up buried under piles of half-finished, poorly done, or never-attempted projects and tasks.  I live with guilt, frustration, and haste, rather than enjoying the peaceful, well-ordered life that He intends."

What I realized after reading about this topic is that the "job description" that God has for me right now, in this season of my life, is to raise my young kids, support my husband and nurture our family. Everything else is secondary.  I need to take care of:

• my mind - studying God's word on a daily basis
• my body - making healthy choices for myself, inside and out
• my family - physically (making meals, helping with homework, etc.) and emotionally (teaching them Godly character, kissing boo-boos, arbitrating disagreements, etc.)
• and our home - keeping up with dishes, laundry and making sure we are in a relatively sanitary (not necessarily sparkling clean) living environment

If I am able to do all of these things with plenty of time to spare, then I can make myself available for friends, extended family and volunteer opportunities that arise.

What helps guide my decisions is determining which roles others cannot play for me.  I am the only wife to my husband.  I am the only mother to my children.  In my case, I am the only daughter (and only child) to my mom. 

I am not the only parent who can aide in the classroom.  I am not the only neighbor who can bring a meal.  I am not the only person who can volunteer at a church function.  I am not the only friend who will show up at Bunco night.  My child is not the only one who was invited to the birthday party (that I need to drive to/from or chaperon).

Don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting that we stop serving others around us or withdraw from all social activities.  The problem is when we convince ourselves that we have to do everything we're asked to do. Some of us need to learn to say, "no."

That is the other related lie that women in our generation believe: "I can do it all."  I went through that a few years ago; I had it in my head that I should be able to be the perfect wife and mother, keep my house clean and organized and beautifully decorated for each holiday, plan and prepare healthy, home-cooked meals for my family, save hundreds of dollars with coupons, run the mom's group at church (among several other church commitments), volunteer at my child's school, post on my blog every day, stay physically fit, keep up-to-date scrapbooks filled with beautifully photographed pictures all while working from home part-time. 

Even looking at that list is absolutely exhausting.

I really enjoyed that season of my life, but at the time, I didn't realize that my home and my family were suffering.  By the time I was ready to engage with Mike or the kids, I had given so much of myself to other things that I had nothing left to offer the people who meant the most to me.  I was mentally, emotionally and sometimes even physically drained.

Since adding Jason to our family, my activities are down to virtually nothing, yet some days I busy myself unnecessarily.  Only to feel overwhelmed and frustrated later.  I've intentionally cut down many things that ate away at my time.

• I say, "no" a lot more, giving myself permission to change my mind later.  
• I'm very choosy about social activities; park days, which birthday parties we attend and everything else that tries to overtake our calendar.
• Certain tasks have a permanent place in my daily routine, like exercise and, recently (ahem...since reading about this topic) reading the Bible daily.
• I choose 3-5 MIT ("Most Important Things") to get done each day instead of 10-20 revolving things that overwhelmed me.  The MITs are crossed off first, then if I have energy for other items on the list, great.  If not, I have the freedom to do whatever I want, guilt-free.
• I hardly ever talk on the phone to friends anymore.
• I rarely schedule play dates, and when I do, the parents don't stay.  It's worked out as a babysitting trade or a kids-only play date, so my kids have fun while I'm able to get stuff done around the house or give Jason my undivided attention.
• Neighbors and I "double up" on errands by calling or texting each other when we run to Costco, Target or other stores.  This cuts down significantly on last minute trips to grab pantry staples. (It's like a grocery carpool!)
• I only scrapbook about the main events in my traditional scrapbook, keeping track of the day-to-day in my Project Life picture-of-the-day albums. (I'm doing the digital kit this year so I can cut and paste from my POD blog)
• The blogs I follow has been significantly scaled back.  I skim most of my friends' blogs and still have a handful of larger blogs that encourage/inspire me, but the time I spend reading posts is a fraction of what it was a year or two ago.
• In the last week or so, I've also decided that I'm going to stop Facebook for a while.  It sucks me in and I'd rather be spending that time doing other things.

I feel like I stay home a lot more than I did before.  It's a much slower pace and I'm a much calmer person as a result.  Since having this epiphany last week, I procrastinate less.  When I see a sink full of dishes or am tempted to plop down to relax, I push through and finish what needs to be done first. I've stayed ahead of my to do list and am experiencing the peaceful, well-ordered life that God intended for me.

And I can go to bed most nights feeling confident that I accomplished the plans God had for me that day.

P.S. I've been wanting to blog about this for last past 10 days, but other things were a higher priority, so I didn't get to it until today.  :)  That's how I roll now...