Well, I say this with a little hesitancy...there are those of you who may have the impression that you have to organize EVERYTHING in your life. Just not possible, makes you kinda crazy to even try. What I am suggesting here is the day to day chores and functions that turn chaos into enjoyable tasks. If you cannot remember what all you did today, I am talking to you!
You already know my story of keeping children in my home. The biggest key to this is God's hand. The second thing that makes it possible, is organization. Even if you do not keep other children or maybe work outside your home, this may help give you some insight into getting rid of the chaos.
-Quiet time in the morning is a MUST. If you already rise early, this is a healthy challenge for you. I rise at 6 AM, so that's pretty early. Quiet time is not for just sitting and staring out the window as your brain wakes up. Okay, you can do that for a moment. Talk to God while you do it. After your conversation, pick up that Bible and read! There have been SO many times I was not "feeling" it, but was so blessed by the words, it affected my entire day!
-After you read, your morning has begun. Do what you do. Exercise. Get the kids up. Get breakfast started. The quicker you stand up, do some stretching and get to it, the better your morning will be. After all, you have coated yourself with God's word and are giving it time to sink in as you take to your morning duties.
-Here are some things in my home that help me do chores quicker and more efficiently. PREPARE. One word says it. Always lay out clothes. This takes looking at the weather sometimes the day before. Plan meals. You don't have to plan a week at a time. Just the day before if you choose. Write down the times you need to start cooking or start getting ready for a function or your daily agenda. I am benefited here by a home binder that I have shared before.
-Chores. Hard truth here. These are not optional. Also, they should not be a dread. In this line of thinking, take time to look at your schedule and see what you can fit in and where. This is a dear one to me, as I am completely focused on taking care of my home first. If the chores and duties in the home are not met, the other outside functions will slowly erode. There will not be any order to come home to when life goes wild out there! Keep in mind too that we as wives are making sure our husbands needs are met. One of his needs is having an organized home with a loving wife. Lastly, we cannot expect our children to go joyable about their chores if they see us sulking. There may be some truth to "whistle while you work"...
This is such a sore spot for most of us. Somehow we think that the chaos of life is just part of it. Pretty soon we will look back and wonder what exactly we were trying to get accomplished. Although I could get more opinionated here, I will leave it alone. Our families need to see an example of a little order to life. If you feel like all these words are impossible to your situation, let me be the one to break it to you...you may need to change your situation. Maybe take out a few events. Maybe scale down your schedule. For your own sanity, for the furthering of the Lord's Kingdom, and for the sake of your family. Too much craziness and we cannot possibly be intentional on our mothering...
One more thing...use one of your quiet times this week to slowly read Proverbs 31. How enlightening!
