The Price of Dreams

Marybeth Whalen from Proverbs31 Ministries posted this blog this morning about her struggles with balancing a writing schedule, momhood and her husband being out of work.

Marybeth has always been very open and honest on her blog, and this is no exception. I find her post very apropos because I, too, am a writer. I am following my dream of working from home as a writer and editor and, yes, it does come with a price - multiplying dust bunnies, paperwork that never seems to get filed, mounds of dishes that never seem to go away.

No, it's not what I envisioned when I decided to work from home and I'm working on my scheduling so I can actually get some of these things done, too.

Anyway...pop on over to Marybeth's blog by clicking on the title above and see what she has learned through her experience.

Timing

I don't know about you but I can identify with the mom in today's Baby Blues comic (see Time to Laugh).

As a freelancer, there's always a delicate balance between work and time for myself and family. More often than not work wins out. Work as a freelancer is not guaranteed - at least not yet for me.

The last several months have been a lesson in listening to the Lord's voice and letting Him tell me (and following) what he has planned for my day. He has planned every minute of my day. He knows what is coming and leads towards those things, today. (My very step is planned.)

Some people would see this as oppressive and not being free. I say, it frees me from the worries of trying to figure out what comes next or what I should do now. There is less pressure I find when I follow the Lord's leading in this way and that I actually get more work done than I thought. I have seen this week where the Lord has actually slowed the progress of time - time didn't fly by quite as quickly - which motivated me to continue.

On my desk sits a to-do list, very much like the one in the comic. I've worked very hard over the last couple of days in particular to get through the to-do list. But I've always found that it doesn't matter how many check marks I have on to-do list, there's always going to be something that will not be finished and will remind me of that fact. The victory in accomplishing twenty things on my to-do list will vanish in the light of the one "failure".

Despite my best efforts I can't please everyone, but I will still follow the Lord's plan because I know that is the only way I will ever get anything done.

You are NOT a Failure

I love today's girlfriend devotional. So often we can berate ourselves for what we see as our failures, but when we see us as God has created us it should change our perspective--I know it does mine. I don't always feel like a great mother. I look at the other mothers, young and old. Those with many children and those with a couple. Those that are SAHM and those that work outside the home. Those that keep a tidier house or who can bake at the drop of a hat...Sometimes, many times, I wish I could be more like them. Have the perfect at home job, making what I would make in an office, with a tidy, well-kept house, kids that obey me without question; instead of struggling to make a living, even though I know what I'm doing is right, a messy, cluttered house with unfinished jobs surrounding me and mocking me, and a 13-year-old whom I've been struggling with all year getting him out of bed on time and getting him to adhere to a schedule (which heaps coals on my head because I know he had a schedule before I went to work full-time and in a sense I feel like I abandoned him and now I'm paying for it with a son who would otherwise have kept to that schedule and my mornings would be less stressed).

Well, I feel like I have the perfect job, not sure that I have managed to successfully find a balance between job and home, yet, though.

Anyway. If you have another second jump on over to the Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional, which is by Glynnis Whitwer, today. An amazing vision. I once felt the hands of Jesus on my shoulders during a time of despair. And just thinking of Jesus sitting beside me as she describes gave me shivers. May we give Him all the praise and honor, today.

Getting Organized

Earlier this month I was talking about being domestically challenged. Here's a site that can help you organize anything. I tried the Flylady.com program, but it was too structured (can't believe I said that) and I felt really made for those moms who are at home and are not working. I found the schedule too much when I was working outside the home--of course I had a one-hour commute each way....

Anyway...see how this one works for you.

http://www.justmommies.com/articles/home-organization-plan.php

Dar

Reflection on Today's Thought

I love today's thought.

I don't know about you, but this past week was one of those having too much to do and getting stressed over clutter weeks. Deadlines, laundry, messy rooms...all led to a very stressful week.

In the last few months I have been trying more and more to listen to that still small voice when I ask "What should I do now?" I know I have to do one thing at a time. It's just a matter of figuring which thing would be best served at this particular time.

I suppose it's the Christian version of "wait and see". I'm not a wait and see kind of person. I'm a planner. I have a schedule and not very much can break me of that schedule. But, I have realized as I yield the flow of my schedule to the Lord to guide me with what I should do next, the burden is no longer there. Yes, my house and desk and to-do list is still cluttered, but I see the progress being made, things getting done, and as I start clearing away big things and small things from that to-do list, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I have just finished reading a Christian suspense book, "Collision of Angels" by Michael Carver and, even though it's fiction, I have really learned what it's like to take everything--absolutely everything--to God. Before I do anything, I pray I about it. Before I agree to do anything, I pray about it. As I stare at all the things I need doing in my house, I pray about what would best be done in the time I have at the moment.

I have been fretting over my schedule and one morning when Brent woke up around 5, I decided to stay up and get some other things done before I really got going. For the last few weekday mornings, I have used the time to do my devotions, update this blog, get through my e-mails and spend 30 minutes on the treadmill reading a book.

I have found this also gives me time to throw in a load of laundry, fix my 12-year-old son's lunch, get the baby up....When I was working full-time outside the house, I hated getting up at 5. Now, I look forward to it because I can see the progress I make on my day. I'm not as stressed as I was when I would reach 10:30 and only just be finishing getting through my e-mail.

As you go through your day and week, remember to take everything, every moment, every household chore, before God and commit every action to him and let him guide those actions, you will find that your schedule, while still packed, seems just a little less overwhelming.

Interview with Cara Putman

Just click on the title to see an interview of Cara Putman with Marybeth Whalen.

Cara Putman is a homeschooling mother of three who is also a writer! Since I'm also a writer I thought her words of wisdom really spoke to where I am, as did her words of handling the stress of trying to manage a schedule with homeschooling and her relationship with the Lord.

A good read. And it's not very long!

Enjoy