I'm Busy

"Sorry, I can't. I'm busy."

"Oh, I am SO busy today. I've got tons of things on my To Do List."

We've all uttered these statements in some form or another in our lifetime. Or we say them daily because our lives are busy. We fill our days with activity for our homes or our kids or chores that need to be completed. We, as a society, are always flitting from one place to the next. We do what's urgent and fill in the gaps when we have time. We make do yet it's never good enough. We give pieces of ourselves to many yet no one gets our whole.

Make. It. STOP.

I am tired of obligations and necessities that "have" to get done in order to meet someone's approval. Tired. Being busy can be destructive and, at the moment, I feel it destroying. When God speaks, He can do so with repetition. Every turn I make, there are sermons at church about chaos in our lives. There are bloggy writers stressing the importance of observing Sabbath. There are songs played on the radio that remind me that rest is good. There are verses in scripture that breathe rest to my soul. Rest. It is good. Busy. It is too much.

Recently, my church did a series entitled Masquerade. The last two sermons in the series have spoken volumes to me and my approach to my life and my family. Part 3 is regarding chaos in our lives and redirecting the focus on the family. Part 4 deals with sin and our approach. It reminds us to not only make Christ our savior, but to make Him LORD of our life. Again, refreshment to my soul. If you get a chance and have some time to kill, go to the website and download the sermons. I would love to know if listen and your thoughts.

I feel like my days are slipping and I am barely hanging on. I work, I take care of my kids, I love my husband, I take my daughter to dance twice a week, I serve at church, I host a small group, etc... Starting to see a pattern... It's all I, I, I... Beginning to understand the root of my trouble.

In doing all of my activities, I wonder how I am impacting my children. Am I telling them to be on the move all the time is normal and healthy? Am I effectively teaching them to love the Lord and to consider others more important than themselves? If I weren't so busy, could I do a better job?

"Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind." Proverbs 21:5

I am learning to take a step back. To focus on my family. To say no. To be His hands and feet. What I would love to do is take a year off and step back and regroup. Now, in the way I would like to do this, at the moment, we cannot, but we can take small steps. I am thinking that next year, my kids will not do extracurricular activities. I think that we will spend our time and focus on serving others and giving of ourselves. Does that sound mean that I would not allow my daughter to dance when it is something she loves to do? Does it sound harsh that I will not let me busy boy be in some sort of activity to fill his time?

"Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should." Psalm 90:12

Our days are numbers and are few. I want for me and my family to spend them as we should.