Modern Christian Mom's Guide to the Galaxy - Prioritizing your Time

Being a successful wife, mom, stepmom and member of the community starts with being a good and faithful daughter to God. Life is constantly throwing commitments, appointments, and opportunities our way. It's hard to determine: Is this something I really need to do? Is it something I really should be doing? Which one of these is more important? Which one of these should I be saying no to?

Because there are many good choices on how to spend my time, I use God's divine list of priorities to determine how important something is and how I will delegate my time.


HOW TO PRIORITIZE YOUR COMMITMENTS:

1. Personal relationship with our Heavenly Father: Assign the #1 slot to God. Before all else, make Him our #1 priority. He goes before our husbands, our children and ourselves. He goes before money, bills, work, volunteering. He goes first. I promise you, that if we make God and our personal relationship with Him our first priority, He will not let the other important things fall. We need to consult with Him during our quiet moments. Take time to read the word He has given us. Lay all things down before our Father. Live our lives in whole-hearted devotion to God.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness 

and all these things will be given to you as well

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD God with all your heart and with all 

your soul and with all your strength.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and 

with all your soul and with all your mind.

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me

2. Commitment to home and family - especially our spouses and children: note that I placed spouse before children. In my blog, I will spend a lot of time writing about being a mom, but I know before I am a mother, I am a wife. That is God's plan, for me to hold my husband above my children. I know some mothers will churn at this and think "no way, my kids come first"....but that is not how God's plan was designed for us. If we truly have a heart for Jesus Christ, we will do this, and we will find it is good. (I will go more into this dynamic in a future post). Also, do not limit this to just our immediate family. Extend this priority to include our extended family as well.

Genesis 2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother 

and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Psalm 127:3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, 

offspring a reward from him.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourself to your own husband 

as you do to the Lord

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ

loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do you exasperate your children; instead, bring them

up in the training and the instruction of the Lord

1 Timothy 3:2-4 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and 

treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious

gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you do I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."

3. Responsibilities to our employer: this is a priority most of us cannot ignore. We need to work to earn wages to provide for our family God blessed us with. We must follow through with our commitments to our employers and those we agreed to labor for. For most people, work is the only way to earn a living but we must be careful to remember that work is #3 on the list. 

1 Timothy 5:8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially their own household,

has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody

Proverbs 12:11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

2 Timothy 2:6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the 

Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

4. Service to community and church ministries: God wants us to get involved and seek opportunities to display his love through volunteering. Whether it's serving in a ministry at our church or coaching a softball team, our Lord wants us to make time to be involved. 

1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful 

stewards of God's grace in ts various forms.

Galatians 6:10  Therefor, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially

to those who belong to the family of believers.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Proverbs 11:24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds 

unduly, but comes to poverty.

When we know how God wants us to prioritize our time, we can sort out our day to prioritize items according to His will. Prayerfully consider each task, then proceed to do the most important things first. Remember to keep God first, consult with Him regularly, stay spiritually fit, and find quiet time to talk with our Father each day.

Subluxing Peroneal Tendon Repair & Brostrom Ankle Repair with Internal Brace - Pre-Op

For many months, my ankle has been in constant pain. My tendon would pop out of place and send a seething pain when it popped back in. It was weak and would give out on me frequently. I am an athletic person. My primary sports now are competitive bowling and softball. I also enjoy a great hike and running around with my children. So, needless to say, the weakness and pain has been interfering with my life dramatically lately, since I can not participate in any activity due to my ankle.

My PCP (primary care physician) suggested I be seen by a foot and ankle specialist. It took 4 months to get an initial appointment, and in that time I had done my own research. I had a feeling I knew it was subluxing. In that September appointment, my doctor could did not feel my ankle sublux but felt some other things he found concerning. He took an X-Ray right there in the office and was able to see that I had many previous injuries in which the bones had not healed right. He stated that the physical exam and x-rays gave enough evidence to warrant an MRI.

The following week, I went to a local hospital to have my MRI. I was laid on a table and my left ankle strapped in. It was not allowed to move, and it was in an extremely uncomfortable position. I was given headphones to drown out the noise from the machine, and the operator kindly tuned it in to my favorite local radio station. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the music and not my intense desire to move my foot into a comfortable position. About 20 minutes later, the test was over. I would get the results in a few weeks in my doctor's office.

On Oct 26, 2015, I went in for what they now call my pre-op appointment. My doctor stated that the MRI confirmed the peroneal tendon subluxation as well as the need for a Brostrom repair on the inner side of my left ankle. As I can recall, he described the procedure like this: on the outer side of my ankle he will groove the bone and place the tendon in the groove, covering it with bone. On the inside of my ankle, he will remove the sheer tendon currently there and replace it with an internal brace. Prior to the procedure, I will be getting a nerve block and since he plans on using a thigh tourniquet, he is also doing the procedure while I am under general anesthesia. I will be having this surgery January 15, 2016.

In the meantime, I get to wear this all too familiar ankle air cast to prevent injury prior to my surgery. I was just seen by my PCP, who completed a thorough physical exam and blood-work, and cleared me to have the procedure.

While my surgeon has not discussed with me in full the recovery of this procedure, from my research  I know it is going to be a long rough journey. I'm grateful to have such wonderful people in my life to help this mom get through this. I hope the posts of my experiences with this will help others know what is to be expected. 

Prayers Welcome.

Dear Tired Mom:

Dear Tired Mom,

It's okay.

It's okay to be so tired that when your family is away at school and work that instead of doing the endless list of chores, laundry, meal preps, laundry, paperwork, laundry that you take a seat on the couch and not move for hours.

It's okay.

It's okay that after the 14th night of getting up 4 times each night to get your 7 year old bed-wetter to the bathroom to train his bladder better, to disconnect the alarm from his pull-up so you can both get a solid 5 hours of sleep. He's not going to regress. Those two weeks of work are not going to go to waste. And you will both feel better in the morning.

It's okay.

It's okay to allow yourself to sleep in when your husband graciously offers to take on the morning routine himself. It's okay if he forgets a snack (the teacher has some extra gold fish for these circumstances and she is not going to look down on you), It's okay if your teenager didn't get her hot chocolate because she didn't get up early enough to make it herself and you weren't there to make it for her this morning. It's okay if your 7th grader isn't reminded of the million things she needs to do today because if she forgets, it will be a lesson on being more independence.

It's okay.

It's okay to take a day and do nothing. To read a book. To not take a shower until 2:30 in the afternoon. To put off vacuuming the rug, to take your time sipping your coffee, to put your phone on Do Not Disturb, to take a nap, to play a game on your phone or spend a few extra minutes on Facebook.

It's okay.

It's okay to think about you for a few hours. To take a break for a few hours, because before you know it, the time will have come for you to pick up kids from school, take them soccer practice. help with homework, prepare dinner, clean, referee arguments, listen to an endless Minecraft tutorial, take out the dog, double check homework, help review for a quiz, look up how to do common core....again....hear about the rough day at your husbands work, take the dog out again, field 2,316 questions, panic for 3 hours while your teenager is at drivers ed, get kids showered, and in bed, feed your marriage, pick up before bed, and ready yourself for a full day tomorrow.

So right now...it's okay to do nothing...some days we need to do nothing, because we know nothing won't last long.

Scrapbook Coasters - Pin Test - SUCCESS

I knew we were going to get rain that day....I guess I just didn't realize how much. This was pretty much my view all day:

Flood Warning Alerts came across my phone every hour and the view from my window confirmed the Maine was getting a Monsoon! Since we were trapped, quite literally, in the house, I decided to take the opportunity to test out one of the crafty pins I had saved away. Today, I made scrapbook paper coasters and I love them! 

I started off gathering all of the material I needed:

• Scrapbook Paper (48 sheets pack regularly $5.99, 50% off at Hobby Lobby)
• Tiles (4"x 4" color of your choice) Cost: .05 cents each at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore or .32 cents each at Home Depot)
• Modge Podge (My homemade stuff worked great! I will post the instructions for that another time.)
• Small Foam Poly Brush
• A  Brayer (rubber roller used in decoupage)
• Felt (8x10 sheets at Hobby Lobby .25 cents each)
• Hot Glue
• Waterproof Acrylic Spray

1. Cut scrapbook paper into 4"x 4" squares. For the straightest lines and measurement accuracy, I prefer to use a paper-cutter. Also, don't forget to save the paper scraps. They make great embellishments on future scrapbook pages.
2. Make sure tile surface area is clean and dry. This step is important to prevent creases, bumps and tears in scrapbook paper as you adhere it to the tile.
3. Using the foam poly brush, apply a thin coat of Modge Podge covering the entire top surface of the tile. If you use too much, the paper can become saturated and tear easily.
4. Apply the 4"x 4" paper to the tile, leaving an even edge of tile showing on each side. If after you place the paper, the sides are too uneven, you can carefully peel back the paper and reapply. This must be done before the Modge Podge starts drying.
5. Use the Brayer and roll over the paper to smooth. Rolling in many different directions, paying close attention to the sides and corners will ensure proper adhesion. You can also use a small squeegee or your finger (if clean) to smooth down the corners and edges. I, personally, run my finger along the corner and edges after using the Brayer roller.
6. Allow them to dry for 10-15 minutes. This is a great opportunity for clean-up, prepare 1"x 1" felt pieces, or make yourself another cup of coffee.
7. Using a hot glue gun, adhere 1"x 1" (approximate measurement) felt pieces to the 4 corners on the back side of the tile and allow to dry. Drying will take less than 5 minutes. This step is to prevent the coaster tile from scratching the surfaces it is used on.
8. Spray generously with waterproof acrylic sealer (two coats) and allow to dry. Do this in an open, well ventilated space. I put the table in front of an open window and set up a fan to blow the fumes out of the window. Directions also indicate to wait 10-15 minutes in between coats. After final coat, I allow a couple of hours to dry in front of the window prior to stacking them.
9. ENJOY! Keep a set for yourself, give as a gift, or sell at your local craft fairs.

Thank you for reading my post. I hope you love your new home-made coasters as much as I love mine! Here is a sneak peek at some of my upcoming projects:

• Restoration of a Candy Skull Mug
• Make It Yourself Modge Podge
• Easy DIY Pallet Shelf

This is Her Story.

On November 13, 1999 I underwent emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. My fallopian tube was one thin layer from rupturing. When I hazily came out of anesthesia, I overheard the doctor telling the nurse that the pregnancy was over. I had lost my first baby. Although I had never heard a heart beat, saw her move, or felt her kick, she was a part of me. (I always imagined it was a girl, and in my heart has named her Sarah Elizabeth). I remained in the hospital, sleepless and heartbroken for 24 hours before being sent home to rest and go back to life as normal. It was one of the most emotionally painful experiences in my life. More than anything in this world, I wanted a baby.

Days following the start of the new millennium, I was elated to find I was pregnant again. I was determined to be the perfect incubator for this tiny human whom I loved more than life. I would only eat and drink healthy things. I, without hesitation, gave up anything I thought could potentially harm this precious baby. I was sick very often. I spent nights in the hospital from vomiting so much, and as I approached 3 months I had lost weight. Still, I would do anything to keep this little person growing. On an early morning in May, the day I was anticipating seeing my brother Mark graduate from the University of Maine, I woke with a warm, wet sensation between my legs. Instinctively, knowing something was wrong, I reached down to touch the warmth with my hand, and saw the wine colored stain on my fingertips. I don't know if I had ever moved so quickly in my entire life. In mere moments, my husband at the time, was driving our little white Ford Aspire, a two-door bubble on wheels, as fast as he could to the emergency department. I laid my seat back as far as it could go, and propped my feet on the dashboard hoping gravity would play its part of keeping this baby inside of me. During that drive, I prayed the most earnest prayer I had ever prayed in my life. I said to God that if he gave me this baby, I would do everything I could to make sure that the baby lived for Him, I would know that the baby was His and would bring Him glory. I pleaded with God to bless me with this child and in return I would make sure this child knew who it's Father (the Lord) was and how to love and honor Him. The Lord's answer was yes, and 10 weeks later, although still 10 weeks early, he blessed our lives with a baby girl, and we named her Rachel.

  

Rachel came home from the hospital in August of 2000. Three weeks after she was born and 7 weeks before her actual due date. She was the strongest, and most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen. I remembered my promise to God, but didn't know where to begin. Rachel's dad was not the 'church going' type, and I had fallen away from the body of Christ years ago. We divorced before Rachel was 3 years old, and shared her in what people call a 50/50 split. For awhile, it was a week with him and a week with me. Then school started. He had moved to the Auburn area. I kept her during the school week and he had her weekends and school vacations. We alternated school years some, and in that time, I found my way back to God and back to the church. As she approached her middle school years, I understood that most people thought I should be the primary 'school' parent. However, I knew how important it was for me to introduce her to God, His love, and His salvation. I knew that her dad and stepmother were capable of handling her education, and I knew I needed to help her on her spiritual walk with our Heavenly Father. 

I would continuously pray for Rachel when she was not home. I would pray the she could feel the Holy Spirit, that she would listen to His guidance. I would pray that she could feel my love for her and how much I wanted to be with her. Summers were wonderful as I got to spend so much time with her, throughout the week and on the weekends, but it seemed to end entirely too fast. School came and once again, I went back to seeing her only on weekends, knowing how important it was for her to experience church, to build friendships and relationships in the church, and that she have the special time with God. The wonderful thing, is she not only understood, but wanted to go to church. She enjoyed the arrangement we had, and welcomed the opportunity to have youth group with youth her age. Everything was going at a pace we all felt comfortable, secure, and content with. Then it happened...

On a Wednesday in the crisp fall of 2012, I received a text from Rachel's dad that we needed to sit and talk. This came as a worrisome shock to me, as he and I rarely talked about anything unless it was serious. Most of the things we wanted to know could come right from Rachel, or I would talk to her stepmother. After our difficulties getting along, it just seemed to work better for us this way. I knew this had to be serious, and my overwhelming feeling was that they were going to be moving far away. There was a possibility Rachel would be leaving me, too. 

I prayed and prayed and prayed. On October 17, I wrote in my journal "I'm trusting God to always care for Rachel. I promised her to him. She belongs to God. I pray that I am doing the right things with her to help her become closer to him. I love her so much and am so thankful for her. I pray that she follows Gods plan for her, and God, I pray that you show me what I need to do, as her mother, to help her follow your plan as best I can". 

On Friday morning, the morning of our 'meeting' I went to the scripture looking for hope and guidance. I have many Bible translations, and that day I was reading in the NLT translation. It didn't occur to me that I didn't ask in prayer for God to be with me in this time with the scripture until after I dove in and saw what He wanted me to see. I was confused by the scriptures that spoke to me. As I was reading in Isaiah, there were two verses that God wanted me to really focus on were 49:13 and 49:18.

In the New Living Translation, Isaiah 49:13 states Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering. Having entered into scripture, without prayerfully asking for the Lord's help, my mind was a complete mess and all I really noticed was "will have compassion on them in their suffering." After I read this, I felt the Lord was preparing me for the suffering to come should Rachel leave.

I continued reading when the Lord pressed upon me to focus on Isaiah 49:18 which began Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. Again, having the wrong focus, I feared that God was preparing me for her to leave, telling me that she will come back. What happened next was clearly the spirit telling me I was not taking this in the right context.

I immediately sought out my sisters in Christ, trying to post a message to them telling them what I read and how it made me feel. After composing this long post in Facebook, my computer froze, restarted, and I had lost it all. I typed it over again, and in my rush (or by God's hand) slightly moved my thumb the wrong way at the same time pushing the wrong button, resulting in my erasing what I had so eagerly wanted to share. Frustrated, I slammed my computer shut, I was running late, but wanted to highlight those scriptures to share them and my feelings regarding them as soon as I could....I grabbed my scripture pencil only to find the lead was broken deep inside the wood. It was then that it was clear to me that something was wrong with what I had read, or how I was interpreting what God was set on telling me.

As I was exiting my home, I sent a text to a couple of wonderful, trusted members of our church, asking if I should go to scripture in search of answers without praying for God to be with me in this search, could Satan misguide me? I received a few amazing answers, putting my soul at ease. I was told to remember how Satan misquoted scripture to tempt Jesus. I was told that if I entered scripture just using my own understanding, I could be susceptible to the enemy invading my thoughts. I was told that if the Lord wants you to see a particular scripture it will come alive to you as you read it and resonate in your spirit. I knew those scriptures were exactly what God wanted me to see, I just didn't see them the way he wanted me to....yet.

I arrived in Augusta, and easily distracted myself with lunch with my mother until 3:30 came around. Rachel and her father arrived right on time. We sat in the living room as he proceeded to tell me what I had feared. They were moving...far away...to Wyoming. At the of the conversation, it was made clear that my responsibility would be to decide where Rachel would be spending her school months, including weekends, and where should would be spending her summer vacations.

I spent the ride home talking with Rachel, who by the time we reached Bangor, clearly determined she wanted to spend her schooling months in Bangor with me. Before making a decision, I did as I promised her father and thought carefully about the decision. I prayed. It was clear what God was telling me. He was compassionate in my suffering. He saw me working hard to fulfill the promise I made that May morning in 2000. He was fulfilling His promise, and returning the daughter I birthed home to me.

Rachel's father and his family left the end of November is 2012. We have adjusted to this new schedule and we are all loving life. Although I know things are always changing, I know that the enemy tries to discourage me when I am doing the right things, and I know to always expect the unexpected, I also know that my Jesus, my God, is bigger and stronger than anything the enemy can do. The Lord will have compassion in my suffering. My children will return to me. Praise God, for He is so good!