I wear many hats...most women do! In this day and age women are expected to carry a tremendous load. While everything I do I absolutely LOVE, there are times when I am exhausted and on complete overload. I, like many other women, become overwhelmed at times with all of the things we must do. I've recently found it very hard to accept when I can't do it all...when I feel as if I've failed or let someone down I take it very hard. I always feel as though I could have done more or something different. There are even times that I feel I have failed God for not being able to tackle everything on my To-Do List.
But I thank God for his love, mercy, and compassion! Most of all I am thankful for His Holy Spirit for witnessing to me during these times of guilt. How do I deal with it ALL? Allow me to share how I get through those times when the enemy tries to steal my joy:
1. One Thirty-Six
One Thirty-Six is how much time a day I devote to my Lord, an hour and thirty six minutes. Recently I asked my husband to list for me the order of my priorities. Oftentimes, we give the textbook answer to what our priorities are by saying "1. God, 2. Spouse, 3. Children, 4. Work..." and so on. But, what is truly most important is that with which you spend most of your time with. Truth be told, most of us don't spend most of our time with God and our families...
So he did, and let's just say I was not happy with, not what he wrote (I cannot place the blame on him), but with what I show him. My actions did not illustrate what I deemed as most important. I decided to take a stand and do something about it. He listed ten things that I do often. Me being the math nerd that I am, manipulated an equation or two to determine how much of my awake time I should spend with each of those things and BOOM, I should spend at least One Hour and Thirty-Six Minutes with God EVERY day.
During this time, I pray, I study The Word, I journal about His Kingdom, I self-reflect and use His Word to analyze my heart, I even include the time that I share Him with others. During this time is when I find that God really speaks to me. His Holy Spirit calms my heart and gives me peace. I find serenity in Him.
The Lord gives His people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
Psalms 29:11 NLT
2. Planning
I keep a Home Making Binder that I must update weekly with my daily to-do's, meal plans, appointments, work schedule, homeschooling schedule, my homework schedule, practices, functions, get-togethers....pretty much EVERYTHING I do. If I didn't write...it didn't happen...nor will it happen. My mind gets so full of things I need to do, that I have to write down every single detail before it's gone! An organized Ashley is a happy Ashley! Don't get me wrong, do I get it right every week? NOPE! And I pay for it usually around mid-week. Chaos for me right now is unacceptable. I'm responsible for too many things and I have to be prepared.
Things will sometimes not go according to plan...it just happens. But my One Thirty-Six definitely prepares me for any change.
We can make our own plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9 NLT
One Thirty-Six and Planning are my keys to dealing with the stresses of life. So far, so good. I pray you devote time to God every day and plan accordingly. God will bring you so much peace! Have a blessed day.
