“If you do your best but you expend much of it on the wrong things, you’ve not only wasted a lot of your energy and resources, you’ve also lost time and opportunities you may never recover….. being your best at what God wants you to be doing – that’s the thing to shoot for.” (page 94)
Being aware of what the season is that you are currently walking in is so important. My days and priorities will and should look a lot different as a mom of older teens and young adults than when I am retired and all my kids are grown. If I lived the retired lifestyle NOW sure I would be having a blast…. but my kids would not get the nurturing and guidance they so desperately need at this crucial time in their development. If I was retires and constantly in the “business” of my kids and grandkids, that would be just as inappropriate.
It is important that we carefully consider what we are currently “owning” and start giving back any situations or stuff that belong to other people in our lives that we have taken on for them. Do you know what I’m talking about?
There is a fine line between having compassion for others and wanting to serve and help them and carrying their burdens more than God ever intends us to. The more intimate your relationship with the Lord is, the more easily you will be able to discern if you are properly owning the right “stuff.”
As a mom of teens…. for my own sanity I HAD to become a master at this!!!! Here is my favorite example….
It is 8pm and your 9th grader (Tim) comes up to you right after you got on your comfy jammas and got settled in nicely to your favorite spot on the red sofa:
Tim: Um, mom…… I need you to go take me to get poster board.
Queen Mom: Ok, when do you need it by?
Tim: Well, my project is due tomorrow morning, so I need it tonight.
QM: When did you find out about this project?
T: Two weeks ago….
QM: Oh, ok. Did you forget about it?
T: Yeah.
QM: Well, I have two options for you.
1. I can pick up poster board for you tomorrow when i go to the store and you can turn in your project late for less credit. OR
2. It will take me a half hour to get dressed and go to Wal-Mart to get it for you. It would take you that long to make lunches for all the kids for tomorrow and vacuum the living room to help me. If you do that for me, I will go get your poster board when you are done.
…the decision is theirs and DO NOT go get the poster board until they have completed what you asked them to do for you. This shows them that your time is valuable and teaches them to create boundaries and think ahead. You did not own their issue.
How else does this happen to you in your life? OR…. are you the one who tries to have others own your stuff? Have you mastered this already and have your own wisdom to share?
It is okay to say NO!!!!! What you will find is that the more you say NO to the things that God is not intending for you in this season, the more time you will have to say YES to fill spaces and gaps where HE uniquely designed you to be!
NOW THAT IS FREEDOM!!!!!
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Let’s pray:
Lord, please show us today the areas in our life that we so desperately need YOUR discernment!!! Help free us of our selves and see each situation how You want us to see it and not take on more than You want us to take on… one season at a time! Help us to continue to be more comfortable and confident in our own shoes so that we will not be tempted to take on things that are not ours to carry or own. I thank you in advance for all you will do in our hearts, minds and spirits this week, Father, and may You get all the glory! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!!! <3
Your Assignment:
As you think about those things you want to do but can never seem to make time for, remember the biblical appeal that says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) How could this deliberate act of trust and perspective free you to invest yourself more joyfully in TODAY? Please share your answer with me below….
After you have completed this assignment here, go back to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group, and see what fun activity we have for you there! You never now what we will come up with!! If you do not belong to an Online Bible Study Group, and would like to, please email us at GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we will be happy to add you!
Be a blessing,
Megan 🙂
…Don’t forget about the Men’s Journey over here:
The Resolution for Women- Week 5: Timing is Everything
The Resolution for Women: Week 5 – Boxes
Today, in The Resolution for Women, we talk about boxes. Not the kind of boxes you bring your groceries home in, or the kind you pack your belongings in, or even the kind that you ship something in. We are going to talk about the many boxes that women have in their lives, while still trying to achieve perfect balance in their life.
Are you guilty of having too many boxes? Before you can answer that, you have to know what that question means first. What I am asking here is how many things you have going on in your life that is pulling you in this direction, and that direction, and making you feel like your life is so out of balance!!!
Let’s take a look at our lives for a minute….. How many boxes do we women have in our lives?
1. Box for the Lord
2. Box for husband
3. Box for children / children’s activities
4. Box for taking care of home
5. Box for work
6. Box for family / friends
7. Box for church / ministry
8. Box for Self
9. Box for bible study
10. Box for community outreach
That’s ten different boxes, and that’s even with doubling some of them up into one box!
We women have a lot of responsibilities in our lives! Many different boxes to take care of. As you can see just from the boxes above that include just normal life, there is real good reason to see how a woman can get stressed sometimes, especially if she is focusing in so many different boxes that she isn’t able to give completely to the boxes that are important.
When we take on more than what God has called us to take on, our boxes begin to fall and crumble. They don’t stay in their neat stack, the way God designed them to be. When we don’t consider God’s priorities in our lives, we find ourselves having to move this box ahead of this one, and pushing that one behind another, and stressing because we really did need to do something with the original box, but now it needs to wait because you’ve fallen short in another box. Can you see how this can happen??
God has called us to have order in our lives. He has called us to set priorities and boundaries so that we can live a life that is balanced and not in chaos; feeling as if we are being pulled in so many different directions, that we don’t even know which direction we are supposed to go anymore.
So, how do we get our boxes neatly stacked and in order again? You start by seeking God and what He wants as a priority in your life. Then you start removing the boxes He says needs to go. If that means you don’t do as many bible studies or serve in as many ministries as you once did, then so be it. God knows what will bring balance into your life; and He knows which bible studies you need to be working on!
Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, that we find ourselves involved in so many bible studies, or Facebook groups, outside activities, community events, and so on, that we find other areas of our life is suffering because we are spending so much unnecessary time on these other activities that God didn’t want us in, in the first place!
Home life begins to suffer because we have so many different boxes that we are involved in. Which is our main priority…home or ministry (also insert community events here)? Your home is your first priority. Your home is your ministry. If your home is suffering because you are never home due to the number of ministries you are serving in, or other events you have volunteered for, you need to learn to start saying no. God will find someone else to fill that position for that ministry or event, no doubt. You do not have to do it all. You are not Superwoman! We like to think we are….but we are not!
Another thing to consider about being out of balance is that once we stretch ourselves into so many different boxes, we begin to get weaker. Think of a rubber band. Before the rubber band is stretched, it has a lot of strength and resistance. But the more and more we stretch the rubber band, the less strength and resistance it has, and sooner or later it snaps!!
Spreading yourself too thin and into more and more of what God has not called you to do is like stretching your own rubber band. The more boxes you put into your life, the further and further you are being stretched. The further and further your rubber band is stretched, the less strength and resistance you have; the more health problems you begin to have; the more chaos you will see at home; and so on….and sooner or later, YOU WILL SNAP!! Then what good are you to anyone, especially God??
Ladies, it’s time to take a serious look at our lives and the boxes we have lined up in front of us with our name on it. It’s time to start seeking God and asking Him which box you can close and put it away neatly until He calls you to take that box out again. It’s time to set some priorities. It’s time to say no to some things, even if they look fun or popular!! It’s time to step away from the things in our lives that is sucking the life out of us. It’s time to start taking back your life, your family, your time with God, and time for yourself!!
Priscilla says on page 91, “Balance is not when the boxes are equally filled but when we are free to fill only those that are important for now, without feeling guilt over the ones that we’ve left for another time and place. This is balance, little sister. Remember it.”
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Let’s pray:
Father, we seek You today and ask Lord that You show us the boxes in our lives that need to be removed and stored away for another time in our life. Father we ask that You give us wisdom as we review the areas in our lives that may be causing us to become out of balance, and give us direction on how to close these boxes. Lord, help us to say no, when we need to say no. Help us to not feel guilty, or that we are letting someone down if we don’t say yes. Help us to achieve the kind of balance that YOU want in our lives; the kind that will bring us the peace that we so desire Lord. Father, help us to put our priorities back into perspective, once again. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
Your Assignment:
Share below which boxes you currently have in your life. How many different boxes are you handling? Then ask the Lord which box(es) He wants you to remove from your life, to help you find more balance. In the comments section below, share which box(es) that is, and how you plan to put that box away for now. How will you find balance in your life so that you are more able to serve Him.
After you have completed this assignment here, go back to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group, and see what fun activity we have for you there! You never now what we will come up with!! If you do not belong to a Online Bible Study Group, and would like to, please email us at GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we will be happy to add you!
Be Blessed,
