Maintaining Priorities

I have been praying about how I can be a good steward of my time and stay in line with my priorities, which are really God's priorities for my life. It is becoming a repeated message that I need to stay diligent in "saying no to the good so I can say YES to the best". I struggle with saying no when there are so many things, including GOOD things that I want to do, not just for my own self-fulfillment but also to do what I believe is God's work. I LOVE variety and trying different things and I enjoy being "busy" because this helps to keep me actually more focused and motivated than when I have extra time on my hands. There is a healthy balance I must maintain as well, of scheduling everything I'm doing and being overly scheduled. The last 2 weeks have shown me that when I get out of balance, I become a good steward of NOTHING!

I was reminded in my scripture reading this morning from Genesis 2:2-3 that God rested after creating everything and that this was not just about taking a physical break from work, but about having time for actual mental rest as well. I find it so interesting that God ALWAYS gives me the right scripture when there is something that I need to work on! Hmmmm...how does He do that? Maybe I should listen more often??

During our mental rest is when we can hear God's voice. Sometimes I think we think we have to fill this time with talking to God because we feel guilty that we don't do that enough. But have you ever thought about how you HEAR from God? I think about it all the time and yet I struggle so much with having QUIET time...especially in my house with 2 teens, a 5th grade boy, a busy husband, and 3 dogs, some fish and a lizard. Now the fish and lizard don't really make any noise so they are off the hook. But we have a busy household and I recently moved my "office" back into the corner of my bedroom so that I can remove myself at times from the activity of the house at any time and not just early in the morning or late at night. I can go away when needed and close the door. It doesn't always cut out all the noise but it does help me to focus on what I need to focus on which is not just quiet time, but doing my other work in a timely manner so that I CAN make time for my quiet time at other times of the day.

And I absolutely LOVE hearing from God. When He speaks to me, it is not auditory, it is like it is coming from deep within. It is like what John Wesley spoke of when talking about being "strangely warm"...like a peace comes over me and I KNOW without a doubt that it is God. Other times I hear "voices" (um, yeah, I do, but no I'm not crazy!) and I am unsure who's voice it is and therefore I know that this is of the world, or of my own agenda, or of Satan, the enemy. When I am not sure, this just means I need more time in the quiet asking God to reveal His voice to me that I might hear Him LOUD AND CLEAR!

With all that said, I am evaluating which activities God wants for me to make priority and I have made the decision, (even though I am disappointed about it) that I must put my blog writing aside. The original purpose was to inspire others to read the Bible and to share some of the insights that I am gaining from my own reading. I cannot focus both on doing my OWN SOAP devotionals, AND all the other things I am doing, AND make my family priority, while continuing to make updating this blog a priority. It is something I love and if I am honest it is something I really do for myself and my own fulfillment. I love when I get feedback about how something I have written has blessed someone, but I can't really justify making it priority when only a few people are reading it and my focus is on how the feedback fulfills ME. I think I will maintain it periodically as the Lord prompts me to have something to share from my own SOAP devotionals, but my priorities must be maintained and here are just some of the other activities that I will continue to be doing instead:

Global Media Outreach online missionary - answer emails with those that are searching for God and a how to have a relationship with the Christ; in addition, I will be providing support as a community leader to other missionaries as they do the same.

Small group bible study leader for 11th grade girls at my church - this includes preparing my weekly lesson, maintaining administrative activities, praying for my girls, communicating with my Co-leader, texting and facebooking my girls to keep up with their lives and keep them informed, and meeting with my group weekly.

Moms In Touch prayer leader - prepare weekly prayer sheet, communicating with other moms, and meet to pray for our kids and school; periodically do "words and deeds" for our school to let them know we are praying

Ministry consultant - provide my services to small churches to help them firm up a foundation in areas of ministry where they might struggle (children's, youth, adult, women's ministry, etc.) primarily serving as an outside resource to provide prayer, guidance, and training for lay and paid staff within the church

This is in addition to my regular job as a part-time music teacher, running my CM business, maintaining my kid's schedules, helping them with homework, and all the other things I do as a wife and mom...the list is long, but very much a priority. And I am having to cut out a few other things in my life as well...I am keeping a "Doing and eating" journal this week to evaluate where I am spending my time and what I am eating (another area that I am working on :)

So it is with sadness that I will not say "good-bye" but "see you later" until a time when God says it is time to pick it up again.
Be Blessed!