This is the second post in a mini-series on Spiritual disciplines. You can go back and read part 1: Foundations of Spiritual Growth for the Busy Homemaker. 

Last week we discussed that when it comes to our own spiritual growth, we do have an element of responsibility. But at the same time, it's only in God's strength and through His working that we grow. We rely on God's grace and grow through His strength...but we are also to be diligent in obeying His commands. 

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So how do we grow our faith? How can we get back on track in our Bible reading and prayer with the purpose of obeying God and drawing closer to Him?

Growth should be a normal part of our life

"Growth is also a normal expression of the Christian life. The New Testament writers assume growth and constantly urge us to pursue it. Peter urges us to 'Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ' (2 Peter 3:18). Paul instructs u that by 'speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ' (Ephesians 4:15)." - Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges

As Christians, when we look back and reflect on the past year or the past ten years, we should see growth in our spiritual life. We are not meant to be stagnant when it comes to maturing in Christ.

Of course, we do have times when we fall back into old sins or seem to be stagnant, but we shouldn't be okay with that. And it shouldn't become the normal in our lives. We should be striving to grow with each passing day, even when that growth is very slow and steady. 

"Spiritual growth occurs as a result of intentional and appropriate effort. The word intentional implies a diligent pursuit of a clear goal. Appropriate indicates that we must use the God-given ways of growth given to us in the Bible. We usually refer to these ways of growth as 'spiritual disciplines." - Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges

And that's what we are talking about today. Those disciplines that we practice such as Bible reading and prayer that draw us closer to God. 

We practice these disciplines because:

1) God has commanded us to 

2) They are the avenue through which God has given us to know Him more so that we can be transformed more into the likeness of Christ. 

Too often we wait for a "feeling" or a desire to want to read God's Word. We don't "feel" close to God so we don't pray or dig into His Word. But we shouldn't wait for these feelings, because they may never come or only seldom come. 

We disciplines ourselves to read God's Word and pray, not because we have to, but because we love God and are motivated to know Him more. Bible reading and prayer are simply two ways in which God has given us to accomplish that. 

Bible Reading

It's primarily through God's perfect word that we come to know Him more. We can observe God through nature and learn certain lessons, but it's only through God's word that we see the complete and whole story of who God is and His character. 

It is through studying God's Word that we come to know him more and more. It's through Scripture that we learn to put off the things of this world, to say no to ungodliness and to say yes to pursing a holy life more and more. 

"The primary means of growth God has given us is His Word. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:2 that 'like newborn babies, [we should] crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

Throughout the last year, I had a lot of emphasis on Spiritual Disciplines. I shared a lot about reading God's Word, different methods for doing so, tips and methods for a deeper prayer life and more. 

It was a fun year for me as I really explored what Scripture has to say on those subjects and wise advice from mature Christians in the areas of Spiritual Disciplines. And as it's the beginning of a fresh year, I think it's an excellent time to revisit this topic.

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It's good to come back and revisit this topic of Spiritual Disciplines - that is, those disciplines like Bible reading and prayer that help us to draw closer to the Lord - because it's so easy to get off track. We get lazy, we forget, we don't make it a priority and the busyness of life crams in and shoves out those priorities. 

Before we jump into more specifics next week of how we can jump start our Spiritual growth, I want to make sure we have a firm groundwork laid for spiritual growth...especially as busy homemakers!

How do we grow in the Lord? How do we come to more maturity in Christ? And in fact, what does that even look like? 

The Wrong Responses

I think most of us know that we should be reading God's Word. That we should make a consistent habit out of it. That we should be in prayer. But the ideas of doing so can easily get lost in the shuffle of our busy day. And 1 of 2 things can easily happen

We just never develop these into consistent habits. We may go 6 months or a year or more without every reading our Bible apart from Sunday morning.

We work on developing them into a habit, but mostly so that we can check them off our list and go about our merry way. We can easily equate the idea that we should be doing these things with the idea that we are somehow buying God's favor or his merit by practicing these spiritual disciplines.

It's so easy to either ignore our spiritual disciplines on the one hand with everything we else we have going on in life, or we can turn it into something legalistic, that we just want to mark off our list so that we can feel like we are doing the right thing.

Of course, neither of these responses is correct. And I've fallen into both camps at some points in my life or another.

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age," - Titus 2:11-12

1) Salvation is of Grace

First and foremost, Salvation is of Grace. God's grace to an unmerited and undeserving people. Nothing we did or have ever done qualifies us for salvation. God freely bestows lavish love and grace on us because Christ died on the cross for our sins and made us righteous before a holy and just God.

When we accept that grace and salvation, and repent and turn away from our sins, then we are made right before God. God has placed Christ's righteousness on us at the moment of salvation, and thus we are saved. This is called justification. We are justified before God.

That's what we first have to understand when talking about growing and maturing in Christ. We already stand before God, forgiven and accepted. But as that passage in Titus demonstrated, we are still to train ourselves up in godly matters and to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions.

All of this takes discipline, effort, and work.

"Used in a spiritual sense,

The last couple of weeks we have been discussing planning a lot. We've covered how to pick the best planner for you this year, how to plan for a year of SUCCESS, how to pick a word for your year to help you get focused, and how to get on track with your daily disciplines (with a free printable). 

Today we are taking all of these concepts one step further - how to make and set goals for your life and homemaking! I know this can sound like a boring topic at first, but hang in there, because it's VITAL to getting things under control in your home. 

If you want to go from survival mode in your home to actually thriving, then a key piece of that is goal planning. 

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If I can plan out my time, set priorities, and even craft some goals for my day and life, then it's so much easier to be diligent and effective with my time. Of course, things always come up: sick kids, you forget to put dinner in the crockpot, unexpected guests and so on. 

We can never 100% control our time, because at the end of the day, God is in control of our time and where it goes. We can plan and set goals but then hold those plans and goals loosely in our our hands and be willing and open to God changing those plans. 

Goal Setting & Our Homes

“Many times busyness is often mistakenly equated with productivity. But those words are not synonymous. Just because we're spinning our wheels, rushing from one commitment to the next, doesn't necessarily mean that we are doing anything worthwhile.” - Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

It's so easy in our culture to mistake busyness with productivity. We may run from activity to activity. Our days may be bursting at the seems with stuff, but when we get to the end of a long week or a long year and look back over what we accomplished, we realize that we've filled it with a lot of stuff that didn't really matter in the long run.

Getting Productive

I realize that those days that I don't feel productive, those days that I feel busy and running around, those days where I get to the end of a long day exhausted and tired but feeling like I didn't really accomplish much of anything...Those days were spent focusing on the wrong things. Or not really focusing at all. 

When I wake up in the morning with some clear objectives and goals (even if those goals are to get dinner on the table by 6pm and take my kids to the park for some much needed fun play time) then I feel like I can dictate where my time goes much better than if I wake up without any idea for how I want the day to go. 

And this all goes back to setting priorities and planning out goals. This topic is really much better than we could ever hope to cover in one article, but I hope to scratch the surface of it today. And I wanted to share, that for a really limited time, I have a super special New Year Bundle on sale. 

It's a collection of my very best goal setting and planning resources to help you make the most out of this year! It includes my super popular goal setting course (a video course that walks you step by step through setting and achieving goals in your home and life), a 7 part audio series on investing in yourself (a critical lesson for every homemaker to learn), and more. Hop on over to check it out - it's on super sale for a very limited time. 

1) Set Realistic Goals 

I am a dreamer and a doer - this can be a powerful combination for setting and achieving goals - but it can also lead me down the rabbit hole of setting far too many goals and g...

I am a huge planner. I love making lists, to-do's, planning out my time and setting priorities for my week. It has become a lot of what I share here in my ministry because intentionally planning can have such a profound impact on how you run and manage your home. 

The funny thing is - whenever I share anything on planning - I always get compliments on how organized and efficient I am. People assume that I am a natural born organizer and that things must just fall into place for me. 

When I hear these comments - I laugh! 

Because the truth is, that is SO not me. I am not naturally an organized, neat,  or tidy person. The current state of my home would attest to that. I am a classic right brain creative type of gal who tends to be all over the place. But I think because of that, I've had to learn how to implement systems into my home and my business...and it makes it all the difference in the world. 

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If I just always go with the flow and function the way that my brain wants to work - then I end up living in disaster and chaos and end up square in the middle of survival mode. Seriously, my home would be a wreck and this ministry certainly wouldn't exist. 

So for me, I've had to learn how to adapt some more left-brained tendencies of being more organized and analytical. I've had to intentionally work on my weaknesses to create a more balanced approach to my home. And surprisingly, I've fallen in love with systems, planning, and home management because it makes my home flow and function so much better. 

Learn your personality 

You might be the opposite of me. Maybe you are hyper organized, neat, and tidy...but maybe sometimes its to a fault. Where if things don't go the way you want or something is out of place, it devastates you and your day. In your case, you might need to learn to go with the flow a little more some days.

So that's my first advice: take a look at your strengths and build on those, but also recognize those areas you are weak in and might need to improve. 

For me, for my personality, and for the fact that I run a busy household of seven people...I need and CRAVE more organization in my day. If I'm not intentionally planning, then my day falls apart. 

(As a side note: If you want to get laser focused and intentional this year, then I HIGHLY suggest you pick a word for your year. You can see my word for this year and some tips and suggestions on how to pick your own.)

Defining Success

So how do we plan for a year of success? The first thing we need to address is what does "success" even mean? What does "success" look like?

Ask 10 women what success means, and you will get 10 widely different answers. And this gap becomes even bigger when we ask what success means to a Christian or a non-Christian. 

Our identity in Christ changes everything. Especially what success means in our daily life.

But before we really get into the meat of this stuff, I want to share that I have a FREE PDF guide and video for you called 5 Keys to Planning a Successful Day. It covers a lot of what we are talking about today in depth and gives you a great PDF guide for implementing it. 

Back in episode #47 of my podcast, we covered this topic of defining success in more detail. You can hop on over and read that or listen to it. 

But essentially having a successful day, year, or life doesn't necessarily mean you have a certain amount of money ...

2017 is my third year picking a word for my year. In 2012 my word was Intentional. I stuck with it for a couple of months and then it just kind of fell off my radar. 

Then in 2016, I decided to try again and my word for the year was Joy. And it had such a big impact on my year. It helped guide my focus, my goals, and my direction for the year. While we had some ups and downs, I can honestly say that my 2016 was dominated by joy. Or at least learning some really powerful lessons about joy. 

I'm hoping in the next few weeks to share some of the big lessons and things I learned from my year of joy. But today, I'm excited to share my word for 2017.

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Create.

I thought a lot about my word. I was first thinking about the word GRACE. I toyed with this being my word for 2016 as well. Giving grace to others, giving grace to myself, learning more about God's grace and how it plays out in our lives. I think grace will still have a big part of my year, but ultimately I landed on Create as my word for this year. 

Create

to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.

to evolve from one's own thought or imagination, as a work of art oran invention.

I think this hits on several things I want to focus on this year. Here's why I chose Create as my word: 

Craving Some Creativity 

It all started in 2015. Most of that year was spent in survival mode for me. The first half of the year I had a very difficult twin pregnancy which resulted in two very happy and healthy 7lb boys. But wow, was the last three months of that pregnancy rough! Then the second half of 2015 was busy spent surviving life with four kids, 2.5 years old and younger. 

Between four little kids and a rough recovery from a c section in which I lost a ton of blood (I had no idea your blood levels could have such an effect on your energy). 

With all of that going on and then having FOUR kids, under three....the remainder of 2015 was a blur of exhaustion. Then in December of 2015 we took the gigantic leap and Jason quit his job. As of January 2016 we officially became a work at home family running our ministry here full time.

So then that moved us into 2016 which was my year of joy. My focus was to start to dig out of survival mode and learn to live with more joy in my home, in my marriage, with my kids, and in my life. Throughout all my study, I ended up developing my free course, Finding Joy in Your Home - Essential Habits for Christian Homemakers and it has since impacted over 5,000 and counting who've gone through it. 

I am so thankful that God led me to have this focus on joy throughout the year because in May, we got a gigantic surprise! As my older twins were not even 3.5 years old and my younger twins were just barely 9 months old, we found out we were expecting again. 

With my history of twins, our plan was to wait longer between these pregnancies. But God had different plans and all we could do was face our future and these close pregnancies with joy. 

Over the summer, we found out that indeed, God's plans are amazing! We are pregnant with one baby girl. And as of the day I'm writing this in early January, we are eagerly awaiting her arrival any day now. 

Heading into a New Year 

And now, as we head into 2017, I still have parts of my life that are living in survival mode,

I'm so excited to have Jason taking over my blog today. I shared my own 2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Women yesterday and I just knew that we needed to put out a men's companion challenge. If you're a man, feel free to follow along with this challenge by yourself OR wrangle your wife into the women's companion challenge. 

If you are a woman reading this, send over the link to your husband and you can then go through this challenge together! It's a great way to have a built in accountability partner. Many of the books are the same but Jason changed the feminine and homemaking categories to male equivalents. - Jami

Like Jami, I am an avid reader. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than cracking the spine on a new book and inhaling that paper and ink smell. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the picture. I love to read. I find it relaxing, enjoyable, and a great way to invest in myself and learn new things, or increase my knowledge of important topics.

Listen to the Podcast:

Jami and I hopped on a podcast episode to share all about the challenge, my tricks for finding the time to read in a busy schedule, a little bit about the books I picked and more! Listen below or keep scrolling down to read all about the challenge. 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

However, I am also very busy, and reading is something that easily falls by the wayside if I'm not intentional about making it happen. Thus, the creation of a reading list and challenge. What better way to keep reading on my mind than writing down a list and giving myself a timeline?

Yesterday, Jami posted her reading list, which is geared primarily toward women. So she asked me to put together a companion list to hers that would be more male-oriented. Many of the categories and book recommendations are the same, as there are LOTS of books out there that are great reading for both men and women. But I've tweaked the list to add some books on things like fatherhood, being a husband, etc. 

Also, like Jami's list, I have not included any fiction suggestions in the list. I personally love to read fiction, and would encourage others to as well, but, at least for me, picking up a novel is much easier than digging into a history text or book on theology, and so I tailored the list to non-fiction only. I highly recommend reading some fiction as well, though. Go ahead and add a few novels you've been wanting to read, or, if the 13 or 26 books on the list is already the maximum you want to commit to this year, swap out a few of the categories for fiction, keeping the total count the same. Bottom line, this list and challenge is for you, so don't hesitate to customize it to your liking. As long as it gets you reading, I've done my job.

Download the Toolkit to make it easy: 

Jami created a FREE toolkit to give you all these resources in one handy place. You will get tips and ideas on how to find the time to read as well as the full challenge and a printable sheet to keep track of your reading goals. Download for free below: 

Here's How it Works:

The list is broken into 2 levels:

13 books for the year, which breaks down to 1 book every 4 weeks

26 books for the year, equaling 1 book every 2 weeks.

Jump in on the first 13, and set your own pace. Just stick to level 1 if you don't have a lot of reading time or are new to all this, or blow through level 1 and dive into level 2 midway through the year.

Note: I recommend one particular book for each category in the list, but you can see below that I've included several other books for each category. You should choose which book you want to read for each category,

UPDATE: You can now find all the details for the MEN'S companion reading challenge here. Wrangle your husband into doing the challenge with you or send to a man in your life who might want to dig into some amazing Gospel-Centered books. 

Reading is one of the best ways that I invest in myself, in my homemaking, and in my spiritual life. But with four little munchkins and one on the way, it can be really tough to find the time to read (and to find books that are actually worth the time)! 

Jason and I are both avid readers and love to do so, but if we don't plan to make time for reading (and put together reading lists) then it just doesn't happen. I've been thinking about my reading goals and lists for 2017 this month and just came across Tim Challies' 2017 Reading Challenge late last week. 

Listen to the Podcast:

Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why I developed this reading plan, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories I chose. Or skip the podcast and head down below for all the info :) 

And don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

On Friday night, Jason and I sat down with a pen and paper and started mapping out the books we would read to follow along with this reading challenge. We are doing the highest reading tier which is 104 books in the year (yes, we are crazy)! 

But as I started writing out the categories and trying to pick books, I realized that I was going to be fitting into books that I really didn't interest me and leave no extra time for other Christian books I knew I wanted to read. 

I'm ALL for broadening my reading horizon, which is why I was so excited about this new reading challenge idea. But in my busy life and schedule, I just don't have the time for some of the categories: read a book that won a prize, a book of poetry (poetry so does not speak to me), a graphic novel, a book of comics, etc. 

So then I started thinking about this wonderful community here on my blog and that while I'm putting together this reading challenge, since I'm going to go off of it anyway and create my own, that you might want to follow along with me! 

So I sent out a quick email to my weekly newsletter ladies and got hundreds of responses that you would love to join a reading challenge if I created it geared towards Christian women. And thus, my 2017 Christian Reading Challenge was born. Ready to jump in? 

Please note: Jason (my hubby) is putting together a companion lists for men. So if you're husband wants to follow along the reading challenge with you, stay tuned for that list coming tomorrow or download the free toolkit to get access to it immediately. 

2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Women

Here's how it works: 

I have given you category suggestions for each book as well as my book recommendation. I personally recommend all of these books and tried to think about the very best books I recommend all women read. If you've already read that book or simply want a different suggestion, scroll down and you will find more book recommendations for each category (OR feel free to choose any of your own books). 

Then download and/or print off the reading list to follow along. 

A note about fiction: This list does not include any fiction. I LOVE reading fiction and read many fiction books throughout the year. However, since this is for entertainment and relaxation for me, I don't need to add these in as reading goals. When we are on vacation, or I have more down time (like during Christmas), I read a lot more fiction. But I'm already prone to being lazy and reaching for a fiction book more than a ...

It's only been recently that I started truly understanding the deeper meaning and purpose behind Christtmas. And it has radically changed how I approach this month, teach my kids, and look forward to the next year. 

Of course, we all know the true meaning of Christmas: Christ's Birth. But how often do we go deeper than that? Can we put into words the power, the majesty, and the real beauty of that? WHY is Christmas such a time of celebration? 

This might seem like an easy thing to answer at first, but the heart of Christmas takes us into the very heart of the Gospel - and our lives as Christians. Understanding Christmas on a deeper level is the very first step in truly teaching our kids (and our own hearts) about the manger scene and why it's so significant. 

Listen to the podcast: I’ve recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. You can read it here, or if you prefer, listen to it as a podcast below! And don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. 

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Christmas becomes such a busy time. Time for parties, looking at Christmas lights, making cookies, buying and wrapping presents...If I'm not very careful, my entire month can get swallowed by all the fun and practical parts about Christmas. 

So much so that I have no brain power or energy left at the end of the day to really focus on the larger picture and meaning of Christmas. 

Discovering the Deeper Side of Christmas

I've been so thankful because for the past several years, I feel like God has been confronting me with the importance of the Gospel. The importance of relying on God and His strength for everything and starting to see the bigger picture at work. 

And this is especially true when it comes to my view of Christmas. Throughout my study, I've really come to see that the Christmas story is really just the story of the Gospel, or at least, the beginning of it. 

Through baby Jesus, we glimpse the entirety of God’s redemptive plan, and when we truly understand that story and how it unfolds, then we see the immense beauty and celebration of the tiny babe born in a manger on that dark night.

In essence, to understand Christmas and the Christmas story is to understand the basics of the Christian faith: The Gospel.

Why Was Christ Born?

The first thing to look at in understanding the celebration of this season, is to first ask why Christ was born? Why do celebrate his humble birth in a stable?

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

- Luke 2:8-15

Jesus didn’t come simply to perform miracles, or teach his disciplines how to lead moral lives, or to even simply point people back to God.

Jesus had a very clear purpose in coming to earth as a human baby: He came to one day die on the cross for all believers. For you and for me. He came to be our holy sacrifice and to die in our place...

Today we are talking about thankfulness. But I don't want you to tune this message out just because it's a thing we tend to talk about this time of year. This message today goes far beyond the week of Thanksgiving and goes far deeper than uttering off a few quick "thanks for..." lists. 

Choosing to put on gratitude and thankfulness is an essential element of the Christian faith and it's vitally important to the life of the homemaker. 

Listen to the podcast: I’ve recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. You can read it here, or if you prefer, listen to it as a podcast below! And don't forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. 

 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

This is an especially important topic in our chaotic, crazy, and fearful world we live in today. Everywhere I turn there is more bad news of a couple I know getting a divorce, my heart is heavy for a family who is struggling to get by, there are new reports of child abuse and terrible things happening around the globe. 

It's enough to make anyone fearful, worried, anxious, or over burdened. So as head wade through the bad news, pray for those who are hurting, and try to piece together a response, where do we turn for HOPE? How can we focus on Christ throughout all of the turmoil, bad news, disappointments, and the everyday heart ache of life? 

By choosing thankfulness.

November is a hard month for me personally as my mom died suddenly three November's ago. It's a time that brings up a lot of grief, anger, and even resentment. Whether you are struggling with a loss, battling anxiety over a new situation, or just wading through the every day struggles and the ups and downs, you desperately need this message. 

Now of course, our natural tendency is to often sit in worry and anxiety. To wonder why God allows certain things. To stew in anger or bitterness. To get so consumed with the small details of today that we can't look forward to the future with joy and hope. That's where I am coming from today. I'm looking at this concept of thanksgiving through a lens of troubled times and anxious hearts. 

So we need to recognize that thankfulness and putting on a grateful heart is a choice and that it can have a profound impact on our lives. 

5 Reasons We Need to CHOOSE to be Thankful Today

1) Gratitude is a matter of obedience

Thankfulness and gratitude are not simply good ideas, God commands us to have gratitude. And the kicker is, we are to be thankful in ALL things! Not just the happy things and the things we often think of as blessings. We are called to obedience and that means learning how and choosing to be thankful in our life.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thesselonians 5:16-18 

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:14-17 

If you really want to study praise and thanksgiving to God, then study through the book of Psalms. There are countless examples of turning back to God over and over again in praise and thanksgiving.

In her book, Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh Demoss discusses the idea of finding God's Will. She says:

"Sure, details matter to God. The specifics of what church to attend,

I'm not sure why, but it's often really hard for women to invest in themselves. To take some time away from their busy schedules and do something for them or take care of themselves. 

I know for me, as a busy mom of four almost 5 kids, a business owner, a wife, and a homemaker, it feels incredibly difficult to find some time to invest in myself. There are just too many things I juggle each day...adding in time for myself just doesn't seem to happen. 

Listen to the podcast: I’ve recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. You can read it here, or if you prefer, listen to it as a podcast below! Enjoy!

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But what about those other things that we know are important that just never seem to work their way into our schedule? Things like drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, finding the time to exercise, actually reading a book from start to finish and then those other things we might really enjoy like going on a run, scrapbooking, baking, or whatever your hobby might be. Maybe you don’t even have a hobby or know what that would be because your schedule is consumed with so many other things.

I have learned these lessons the hard way - I've burned the candle at both ends, worked late into the night, gotten up early, and worked worked worked. All for my family and all because I wanted to serve them and the Lord. And when I give too much, work too hard, and forget to pour back into myself every once in a while...I hit burn out, depression, and fatigue. 

And suddenly, I realize that I'm facing my days with begrudging duty rather than looking at my days with joy! 

Learning to Invest in Ourselves

The lesson I've learned throughout the last 4 years (with three pregnancies and almost five kids) is that I have to take time each day to invest in myself. 

Especially in these busy days of toddlers and babies, it feels like there isn't 10 minutes I can take for myself. If I decide during nap time to put my feet up for 30 minutes with a cup of coffee to read a book, I feel guilty. If I take that time to read, it means I'm saying no to the sink full of dirty dishes, or the pile of bills on the counter, or vacuuming the chips off the living room floor. 

If I take 15 minutes for myself, it means saying no to something else in that moment. And with the demanding day to day needs of my family, that often feels selfish and like wasted time. But what I have learned the hard way over the past 4 years, is that I have to take this time for myself. I have to set aside time in my day and in my week to care for myself a little bit so that I have the energy and stamina to care for my kids.

I have to take 15 minutes during nap time to do something for me, so that when all four kids wake up hungry and full of energy, I have the energy to tackle the rest of my day, change diapers, get dinner on the table, and greet my husband with a smile.

“In the Bible we see Jesus taking time to be alone and refuel. This is especially apparent after times of busyness, such as when he fed five thousand people. Our commitments should not overrun our lives to the point that we don’t take care of ourselves. Quiet time to invest in ourselves and become restored is incredibly important.” - Jessica Turner, The Fringe Hours

Wow, what a powerful lesson to remember. Jesus often went by himself to pray, to talk to God, to refuel before going out to minister again. He knew he had a very limited time on this Earth before returning to Heaven. It would be understandable if he didn’t even sleep to get all his work done.

But he also knew that he had human limits and had to take time to rest, refuel, and most importantly, slow down long enough to spend quiet moments with God, talking to Him. Even Jesus, who is GOD, took time,