Bible study

This week, I'm leading a Bible study for a friend.  She'll be out of town so she asked me to take her place.  The group is studying "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George.

 I love this book and I've read it numerous times. I believe it was my beginning to my study of being a wife and mom.  It inspired me to study more and read more about this huge and rewarding task of being a home-maker.

This week's chapters are 15 and 16.  I'll only be discussing the first chapter today, it's called "A Heart That Creates Order From Chaos".  After all my posts on de-cluttering, you all know I don't have it all down, but it definitely is something that I'm striving for.

Reading this chapter, inspired me to set up a schedule again - to do the same things, at the same times, so that the kids and I know what to expect.  Recently, I had looked at another book of mine, "Managers Of Their Homes" and thought "Oh, I don't need that anymore.  I have this thing figured out. No more scheduling each 1/2 hour for me." 

But I've changed my mind about that.  Yes, I do need more structure, and the kids do too.  I can be a better mom and spend time with my kids.  I'm not saying that every 1/2 hour needs something in that spot, or that if I mix things up and do things differently for a day that things will go terribly.  That is simply not true. 

But better, for me, is time that is managed well. 

Have you been reading my blog long enough to know that I love to plan a schedule, but hate implementing it?  Yep, that's me.  Oh, I just love spending an hour or two puzzling out a schedule that works for everyone, with each one getting all the care they need and all the bases covered - room, AWANA, piano, school, chores.  But when it comes to sticking with it.  Ugh!!!!

My suggestion is just add one new thing to your schedule, say every week or even every month if it sinks in better that way.  We have slowly expanded our scheduled times and it works great for us.  I try to make sure things run smoothly until we leave for school.  After that, we work on school till lunch.  And at certain times I ask each boy to take one half-hour to watch the little ones and play with the babies. 

So there is a somewhat rigid schedule in the morning - doing piano, rooms, AWANA and dishes, and then a bit easier of a time with the boys.  Afternoons, we work together outside, but aside from that it's leisure as well.  Then evenings are a free-for-all - not saying that's always  a good thing in this house, but that's what it is.  Someday we'll get to that.

A verse that stood out to me from this chapter was from Proverbs 14:28, I think, "In all labor, there is profit."  I need to think on that regularly and remember not to just sit in front of the computer.
Making the most of today,
Steph