I can do all things...

So an ideal day for me would be to have quality one on one time with God, my husband the kids and even myself. But the reality is, many days it seems like the only one that is getting all my attention is the least appreciative... my house:( I'm telling you, at least once a week the lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman pop in my head, "You're picking up toys on the living room floor for the 15th time today. Matching up socks, sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away..." Even with all that work, my house shows it's disgruntledness and I'm at it again the next day.

On Monday, I usually start off very optimistic, then by Wednesday evening I'm counting down the hours til Friday when David will have off. In the the midst of the week if I get enough time, I daydream about the spending a good heart to heart convo with God. Where I actually make time to listen and not just talk. Then spending time with each child as if they were the only one. Also I dream of spending time with David as if we were still engaged (What? Holding each others hands instead of holding two others while pushing a stroller in between us?) Of course I can't forget hitting the gym for an hour or so because in order for me to get the same results in high school, it seems that I have to do double the work. I would love to do all of this and come home to a clean house and still get at least 8 hours of sleep. Yes, that would be ideal, but reality is some days only one or two of these get accomplished and rarely do all of these get accomplished. But that's ok.

I am a part of a moms group that is so incredibly awesome. They generally are held twice a month and the meeting consists of guest speakers, devotions, crafts, games, food and great fellowship. During one meeting, one of the guest speakers said something that stuck. She explained that the scripture "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" wasn't intended to encourage us do to everything. We as moms are so great at multitasking that oftentimes we take on too much and sometimes take on more tasks even while we're overwhelmed. But the scripture is encouraging us that we can do all the things that God has in His will for us to do, the things that He intended for us to do. Maybe He didn't intend for me to be Martha Stewart, and instead of me devoting so much strength to cleaning, I should devote more strength to enjoying my kids now.

The speaker also pleaded with us that one thing we shouldn't sacrifice is our alone time with God and to really try to do it first thing in the morning so that we may ask Him to prioritize our day so we may be productive in His eyes even if in our eyes we didn't get much accomplished. This is a struggle for me because I am such a busybody, but I'm asking God to show me to handle my tasks with quality and not just quantity. Hoping that I will not be under the illusion that if I don't have an ideal day, then it's not a good one. I will trust that God will give me the wisdom to know which tasks to undertake and the strength to do so. Do you also sometimes feel constantly overwhelmed? Could it be because perhaps your trying to execute your priorities even if they are not God's?

~ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~Philippians 4:13
~ In the morning, Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. ~ Psalm 5:3