Happy New Year!

It has happened. Another year has come and gone. Which leads me to the thought..I'm getting older. Again. Which has also led me to the thought...what am I doing about that? Not too much the last few years. So many times as a mother, wife, employee, we allow ourselves to get so caught up in those roles that we forget the importance of taking care of ourselves in the process. I know I have. We often don't make giving ourselves time for spiritual and physical health and growth, that we end up burned out and can't fulfill our many roles in life the way God intended for us to do them.

My typical weekday is this:

5-6:30am: Wake up. Get my computer fired up and the coffee made. Sit down at my desk and get an assessment of my work day, and sometimes get a few orders completed, or atleast started on.

6:45am-7:30: Wake up the kids. Get their breakfast made (have to admit, my husband often helps with this task, as sometimes I'm still working on an order at my desk), get their school uniforms ironed, get myself dressed, fix my daughter's hair (and my son's for that matter..have you seen this kid's hair?) and get them loaded up in the car with all of their school paraphenalia and wave goodbye as their dad whisks them off to a day of education at their school.

7:30-till....Sit back at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee and work until I get all of projects that are due for that day, and sometimes the ones for the next day, are completed and turned in to the office manager. Occasionally I will stop long enough to get some sort of dinner started for the evening and try to keep some laundry going. My children get home from school around 3:45, and I try to be through with work by then, but that doesn't always happen. Generally, I am through by 5pm at the latest and spend the evening finishing up supper and getting it on the table. My sweet husband is great about getting the kitchen cleaned up, so most of the time I don't have to do that. By this time of the day, I'm just ready to relax and end up falling asleep or getting lost in a TV show.

As you can see, I haven't allowed myself time to exercise, or have a dedicated time to read my Bible or do a devotion. I do get a few daily devotionals by email, and because they are right in front of me on the computer, take the time to read those, but don't really give myself time to get lost in the Word or just quiet time to talk with God and listen to Him. For the most part, by the end of my "required activities" for the day, I am exhausted and burned out. I'm tired of being burned out.

So, that is my plan for this year. I plan to adjust my schedule to allow myself atleast 1 hour a day that is mine. Mine to exercise, mine to read the Bible, mine to pray and listen for God's direction. I can not fulfill my other duties in life to the fullest if I don't allow myself time to "refuel" and keep my body and spirit healthy. I think the best time of day for me to do this is right after my husband and kids head out in the morning, from 7:30 to 8:30, I plan to absorb God's word, pray and spend some time doing some sort of physical activity. I have tried to start workout plans before, and normally do well for the first week or two, but then allow other activities to take priority over that. It's easy to talk yourself out of exercise. Why is that? At any rate, I hope that if I connect my exercise to my time with God, that I will stick to it. I pray for that dedication and determination. I pray that my hunger for that will outshine any other things the devil might put in front of me to distract or deter. Please pray with me for this!