life...how do you do it?

do you ever look at another woman and wonder...
"how does she do it?"
"she seems to have it all together"
"she's always calm...unlike me"
"she probably never yells at her kids"
"she's practically perfect...i don't see any flaws"
...the list could go on and on.

sometimes as women, we tend to compare ourselves with other women. we tell ourselves...well, if mary sue can...
cook 3 meals a day
clean the house
volunteer
take the kids to all their activities
create something new
have her quiet time
excerise...all in one day, then i must do it too!

really...is that how we want to live our life...by the standard of another woman? on the outside it may appear that mary sue has it all together but that is a lie that we all believe! i'm sure she is not perfect, has at least one melt down every so often and loses her patience daily.

instead of trying to be someone your not...be who God created you to be.

i think God has shown me a lot about who i am. He has also revealed to me the things that are important for me to be doing and things that are not so important for me to be doing. for each person it's different.

i don't...
work outside the home.

watch tv.

read entire books anymore.

have my daughter in sports. i know that will change eventually, but the rule will be only one thing at a time.

talk on the phone very much.

homeschool

schedule a lot of night activities for our kiddos. they are flexible, but like a schedule.

there isn't anything wrong with these things, but i have choosen to use my time in different ways. we tend to use our time for the things that matter most to us. that is something i've refined over the years...to be able to say no to things that are good but isn't what's best for our family. we just can't do it all! we can try for awhile, but that will quickly lead to burnout.

i do...
try to have my quiet time daily.

keep my house picked up daily...a clean, organized house brings a lot of peace to me. we make our messes but we also keep on top of it and clean up.

make time for crafts/projects for myself and my kiddos. doing something crafty...energizes me and refreshes me.

teach Awana

attend a women's bible study and mops. i need these in my life, because i cherish my friendships and love being around other ladies that encourage and inspire me.

make time for family time fun. we try and keep sundays as a day of rest and time with the family. it's nice to not have every moment of everyday filled with something.

exercise regularly...huge stress relief!

so, how do you do it? what are the things at are important to you? what can you do without?