When Priorities Collide

As with a lot of moms I've talked to, I have daily chores that get in the way of just spending time with my kids. They cry out for my attention and I long to give it to them always, but I've got soap up to my elbows and a greasy pan in my hands! Sometimes little collisions over time can cause big hurt.

For me, it's helped a lot to prioritize my day and write out our natural routine so that I can be more proactive. One thing that's helped me a lot is "My daily docket" from simplemom.net - one thing I like the most is that there's a section for "inspiration" which a friend of mine (who let me in on the daily-docket secret) told me that's where she writes her scripture memory. And by golly, it has worked! I've got Psalm 119:1-8 memorized! And I'm still going. This tool, along with http://www.thecompleteabookchallenge.blogspot.com, & "A Place of Quiet Rest" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, & reading through the Bible has drastically changed my life.

Also on the simplemom.net is a grocery list. I know, for a lot of families meal planning, grocery shopping (esp. if the kids are along), and budgeting for food is a huge challenge and another one of those "collisions" because who doesn't want to eat great tasting healthy meals everyday and have time for the kiddos and still have money in the bank? :)

(Both the daily docket and the grocery list are free downloadable pdfs http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/ I hope this link works, it wasn't loading on my computer today for some reason.)

I like to sit down, grab 4-6 good dinner meal recipes, a highlighter, and this list and go for it. Reading the recipes, I just highlight what we need and go. This week I printed out 4 meals from http://www.kraftfoods.com under their budget meals and went for it. It took maybe 15 minutes total - all while the kids ate lunch.

Back to the big hurt I referred to, for me not being able to do it all makes me feel like a huge failure. And sometimes being the best christian, wife, mother, teacher means knowing where each of those pieces fit and then giving each area the space and attention it (they) deserves. I guess I just need to work my thoughts out on paper to really make sense of it all.