Balance

Samuel, just being cute.

I was super encouraged last week at my small group regarding balance. Every Wednesday, I get the treat of leaving my baby at home with his Daddy and attending Cindy Acton's Moms' mentoring small group. I can't tell you how encouraging and much needed this group is in my life as a new mother. One thing that I asked the girls about last week was how do I achieve balance in my life between being a mother, wife, housekeeper, cook, laundress.... you get the picture. And these girls really gave me some great advice. Most said that I'm going to have to let some things go at home and become okay with that. And really Steve has said that as long as the baby is still alive and fed when he gets home from work then that is all that matters to him. Well that isn't all that matters to me. I thrive in a clean, organized environment. I don't like messes and I can even handle if things aren't that clean as long as they are neat and organized. But here lately our place looks like it has been hit by a tornado and I just can't handle that. So the ladies in my group suggested that I do one load of laundry every morning and do one cleaning item that day like either ironing, dusting, cleaning the toilets and so on. So I made a schedule on my Apple iCal for cleaning (it's color coded pink :) ) and have been using this method since last Thursday and I can't tell you how much better I feel about our place and myself. I have actually gotten more done in the past week than in a long time. Because I let go of that endless to do list that just looked so overwhelming and just kept it simple with one task a day. Pastor Chris preached on chaos and being frantic this morning, and that sermon rang true in my spirit. Just by having my new found plan, I have found more rest each day. P.C. stated that rest is a state of mind and that is so true for me now. While I'm more active than I have been in a long time (I was a couch potato during my pregnancy) I feel that I have accomplished my goals each day and feel good about our place and my role as housekeeper and stay at home mom. And that my friends equals more peace in our household, which is a very good thing. :)