Thursday's Thoughts..

If your plate is too full,

remember

you can always have left overs!

 

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man's heart,

but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

 

 

When the to-do list is never ending,

the unexpected always seems to happen,

and the tensions are high,

quit trying to fit it ALL in......

let God prioritize your days!

 

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course,

but the LORD determines his steps.

 

 

 

SuperMom Syndrome

We seem to be in a time of the SuperMom.

Super busy lives, super committed, super dedicated, And last but not least Super Stretched to the limit.

I will admit, I set the bar for myself to become a SuperMom. I really wanted that title. I wanted to be the mom that volunteered for everything, helping at school, at church, and on whatever sporting event my kids happened to be playing. These all sound like great ambitions.

And, isn't that the goal anyhow? To be everything to everybody?

  It really does sound appealing and for some of you that can pull it off without flinching, you do have my respect!

However, I have found in my short 9 years of parenting that the more I stretch myself, the less effective I become. When I volunteer for all these great things, I have great intentions. The problem lies in the fact that it steals hours from my priorities. I find myself curbing my time with my kids to be behind the computer, I drive from point A to point B forgetting half the items I need, I find my stress level rise, and lose my temper and patience too quickly.

Most importantly I over commit and under deliver.

These variables don't add up to SuperMom!

The good news is, God has been speaking to my heart.

When you fall on your face or even just have a small stumble along the way, God is so good at giving you a good reality check on what is really important. I am thankful to step back and re-evaluate my priorities.

Pride and Ambition have to be given a backseat in order for God to drive the Mom bus on the correct path!

Does this mean that I have to say no to everything?

No!

But it does mean using my time well in keeping aligned with my God centered priorities.

I may have really wanted to be SuperMom

but I will take the title of simply Mom.

Please forgive me if I say no,

if I try and fail,

& even if I commit and disappoint you!

I know I will fall,

I  know I will stumble,

But for now the only stretching I want to do

is to stretch my arms around my kids

And just be there!

Be Careful what you wish for....

You may just get it! 

So, if you havent read my earlier post on the conveniences of this world,here it is in a nutsell....I was talking about how life is so busy!  We multitask everything and dont slow down for much of anything.  Between all the media, social media, and communications in general, our lives are filled up with informaional overload. 
So, I have been praying for God to direct my path, to remove any distractions in life that take my focus away from the Lord. 
We just went on a trip and I was looking forward to sitting by the pool, relaxing, and having quiet time.  I loaded up my bag with my Ipad, Ipod, phone, Kindle, camera, Itouch, bible, and journal. I read devotionals, a book that I have been meaning to read, took sunset pictures on the beach- Life was good!

It was 85 degrees out, so I thought I would take my bag back to the room and go for a swim.  On the way back to the room, I dipped my foot into the pool to check the temperature of the water.  I lost my balance and fell in!

And YES, I fell in with my bag full of electronics!

I went into panic mode, laid towels out, took batteries out of the electronics, ran to the hotel desk and asked for rice (to help draw the water out of the devices).  After the initial shock set in and I was back in the room, I realized that this was a very clear message that I had been praying for!  No, I don't think God pushed me into the pool but yes, I do think that this was a pretty timely incident.
The next day, something happened....EVERYTHING worked, Ipad, Ipod, phone, Kindle, camera, Itouch, all in almost perfect working order.

It was amazing!

I took this as a test.  God can easily remove temptations from our life but that would be too easy.  He wants us to grow in dependence in him and learn self control, to set boundaries for ourselves. 
I was very thankful that everything worked, but more importantly I was glad to have clarity.  It is time that I prioritize my time more efficiently.  I started by deactivating my personal facebook account and have made a commitment to be more intentional with my time.