Category: time

Encouragement · Help for busy moms · Motherhood · Overwhelmed · Priorities · Refreshment · time

How Am I Supposed To Get Everything Done?

RefreshHer6 Comments

Lake1

The week before Easter was one of those overwhelming kind of weeks.  There was so much to do, so much to prepare for, so much to finish up – on top of all my normal daily routines.  I felt like I needed to jump out of bed and start to work in order to accomplish it all!  I wondered as perhaps you often do –

How am I supposed to get everything done and still have time in God’s Word?

That question truly drove me to my knees in prayer, because I knew there was no way that I could come up with a plan that would work.  Yes, I added one more “thing to do” by stopping at my chair to read God’s Word, then drop on my knees to talk to the Lord about my busy day/week.  Continue reading “How Am I Supposed To Get Everything Done?” →

time

Summer Plans and An Exciting Goal

RefreshHer7 Comments

strawberries a

Happy June everyone!!  I’ve sure loved our spring and I look forward to the summer ahead!  Our tomatoes are planted, my flower boxes are full, the fire pit is primed for marshmallows, the grill is ready for delicious entrees’, pizzas, breads and treats, and the patio is fully decked and ready for guests, afternoon naps and dining alfresco.

My calendar is also filling up with some planned events that I’m excited about – visiting family, shopping excursions, day trips, Bible studies, prayer with friends, home improvements and ICE CREAM are just a sampling of the goals on my list.

Another item that I’m planning is time to work on a project that has been on my “To-Do” list for a very long time.  Some projects take an afternoon, others a week, and yet others months (maybe years!).  This adventure will be taking good chunks of time each day and I’m asking the Lord to help me be intentional to accomplish a long-time desire and get this accomplished.  What am I desiring to do?  I’m longing to do some writing.  But in order to accomplish that, I have to say “no” to some other responsibilities or even interruptions.

My blog is a true love of mine, but it takes lots of time each day.  I’m always thinking about my next post and what I want to share.  Then I write, edit, post photos, edit the photos, edit some more, and then schedule the entry.  I’m not leaving my blog for the summer, I just couldn’t do that after NINE YEARS and  2,195 posts!!     Instead, I’m planning on writing new material every Monday and Friday.  So you’ll still be getting new recipes and ideas for your kitchen on Monday.  Then on Friday I”ll probably post about a sundry different topics.  Tuesday through Thursday will be re-posts from my blog from over the nine years.  I’m sure no one has read every single post, and even I forget what I’ve written!!   So hopefully even though it’s not new material, it will still benefit you to reread it.

My goal is to have a theme for each week ~

  1. Sensational Summer – Ideas for fun with your kids, meals, and dates
  2. Parenting – The joys the struggles, the helps for tough times
  3. Conflict 
  4. Home Comforts
  5. Helpful Tips for Home
  6. Frugal Living
  7. Godly Friends – Being one and and having one.
  8. Knowing and Doing God’s Will
  9. Effective Evangelism

Now, let me ask you, are there other topics you’d like to see covered this summer?  Leave me a comment here and I’ll definitely do what I can to add that to the list! 

I’m excited about what the Lord will do this summer!  How about you?  What plans do you have?  Do you have any ambitious goals you’re seeking to accomplish?  I pray you will do whatever is necessary to make the most of your time for God’s glory!

Lovingly,

Denise Signature 150 px

time

How List-Making Can Be a Game Changer

RefreshHer2 Comments

planner.jpg

Let me start today’s post with three questions:

  1. Do you ever feel frustrated that you’re not accomplishing the tasks you need to do each day/week?
  2. Do you feel like you don’t have enough time to get everything done?
  3. Do you make a list of your tasks and needs?

If the answer to the first two questions is “Yes,” and the answer to the last one is, “No,” I want to give you some encouragement that will be a true Game-Changer!  What is a game changer?  It’s a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way.  Making a list of tasks, things you need to remember – dates, items at the store, special events, etc. will keep you organized and help you to accomplish more than you ever thought possible; it will “change your life in a significant way!”

I’ve always been the type who has made lists.  Even as a child, I would write down what I needed to pack in my suitcase, or what was to be completed before a party or upcoming event.  However, there have been many days as an adult that I set my lists aside and just figured I had in my head what I needed to do.  It was on those days that I floundered.  I’d start one task and find another one that needed my attention.  I’d waste time doing things that should have been the last item on my list.  I’d forget to take a borrowed book back to my friend at church, or I’d forget to purchase a birthday card for a family member. Then I’d realize my problem – I had no real direction for my day.  Here’s what works best in my world; maybe it will help you, too.

  1. Start the day out by getting up with the alarm.
  2. Make time in God’s Word my priority.  Read Scripture and pray, asking God to direct my steps.
  3. Check my list that I made the night before of what needed to be done today.  It’s written in order of priority.
  4. Start with number one and don’t move on to #2 until the first task is completed.
  5. Continue through the list until everything is finished.
  6. Then I can add on Facebook or Instagram time, hobbies, books, etc.
  7. Keep a list of extra tasks to be done by the end of the week.  As I have time, I may be able to work ahead on one of those tasks.
  8. Check the list before leaving home – or I might even take the list with me!  See if there’s something I need to take as I head out the door.

Another list that is important is a menu for the week.  That way I can write on my daily tasks to take the chicken out of the freezer, or marinate the steak first thing in the morning.  If supper is started early in the day, it’s another great boost of accomplishment!

Even if you’ve never been a list-maker, I encourage you to give it a try.  You could start with any kind of pad of paper – it doesn’t have to be a fancy planner.  Make a list and keep working until every job is crossed off.  There’s a great feeling of accomplishment to see a check mark by six or eight items and it’s not even supper time yet!

We’re instructed to number our days and apply our hearts to wisdom (Ps. 90:12).  I think numbering the tasks that need to be done each day is a wise way to do just that!

Do you keep a list?  If not, will you start and let me know how it goes?

 

time

The Path of the Slothful

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Can you imagine walking through this hedge?  If it was even possible to do, you couldn’t do it without coming out looking like a porcupine!  Proverbs 15:19 says,

The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns:
but the way of the righteous is made plain.


In other words, the way the lazy person takes is a hard path; he makes things more difficult by his slothfulness.  How so?

  • The lazy person doesn’t prepare the night before for the next day.  They rush around in the morning looking for something clean to wear, the “other” earring, and their car keys.  It’s hard.
  • The lazy person has no idea what they’re having for supper so they run to the grocery store at the dinner hour and buy something to make for their evening meal.  It’s expensive.  Supper is late.  The family is hungry and cranky.  It’s hard.
  • The lazy person is too tired to get up and have their quiet time in the morning.  They sleep in and read the verse for the day on their Bible app on their phone.  When a crisis comes that day they have nothing from which to draw, due to their lack of time in the Word.  It’s hard.
  • The lazy person raises children who are dirty, unattended, and left to their own devices and the children grow up to be lazy adults instead of God-honoring stewards of their time.  It’s hard.
  • The lazy person wastes their bosses time and spends more of their day avoiding work than producing any. 

However, the way of the righteous is made plain.  God wants us to be productive each day, living it to the fullest for His honor and glory.  I Cor. 10:31 Whittling away the hours on Facebook games, Internet sites or television is not productivity.  That’s the lazy way that makes our day hard. 

Money Saving Mom has posted some great ideas and ways to Make the Most of your Mornings.  Have you read this?  If not, check it out here.here.  It will encourage you, and maybe get you out of the thorn hedge!  What changes do you need to make?  Maybe they’re just little changes that will keep you from the path of the thorns.  Ask God to help you to make the most of each moment today.

With love,