Disclaimer: Today's Small Thing will require more than just a few minutes of thought. You will need a calendar, a red pen and and a steely determination to set boundaries in your schedule that will give you freedom to create "Sanctuary" in your home. And you get all weekend to work on it!
This is the time of year when every organization gets geared up to recruit volunteers. And EVERYONE needs help. We need Sunday School teachers, room mothers, carpool drivers, committee members, coaches, leaders, helpers, you name it. If you are a parent, your kids will be asked to be involved in sports, youth groups, AWANA, scouting, Community Problem Solvers, clubs, Honor Society and play groups. Throw into the mix weekly Bible Study, Home Groups, Choir, neighborhood watch groups and co-ops and is it any wonder that our homes resemble way-stations rather than peaceful shelters?
We don't mean to get over committed. We always have good intentions. We want the best for our kids and our families, but there are just too many opportunities out there to fit into a reasonable schedule. Today we are going to take a look at those opportunities and make some decisions ahead of time so that we won't get suckered into being on a committee that will eat up time we don't have.
This works best if you can sit down with your spouse and work on it together, but you can do this by yourself up to a certain point.
Backbone Principles:
1. Don't ever volunteer for anything on the spot. Practice the words, "Let me talk to my husband first and I'll get back to you." Or "Let me think and pray about it first." Often you know the moment you walk away that you should not sign up. That's the Holy Spirit, honey.
2. Talk to your spouse about each activity before committing. At times I've been really mad at my man when he hasn't agreed to something I wanted to do, but honoring him and our family has always been the right choice.
3. Get a grip on reality. Plug in every commitment you already have (work, church, school, sports) and be amazed at how little time is actually left to take care of necessities like grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, homework. These activities must be done and they do take time so don't discount them by filling every moment with outside stuff. These are the things that create sanctuary for your family and they are important. Decide when you will do them.
4. Leave time for boredom. People often remark about how creative our children are and we always tell them that we left time for creativity to happen. When every moment of every day is filled, children don't have time to dream, color, make forts and do things with string. That's a shame. We really do our children a disservice when we orchestrate too many activities and forget to let them be kids. Boredom is good for them.
5. Set a limit on how many activities each child (and each parent) can do. Help your children understand that it's better to do one or two things well than many things poorly. This is an important life lesson.
I see I am getting lengthy again, but this is something we are passionate about as a family. You may feel very hard-hearted and un-Christian to turn away from volunteering for the homeless shelter or being a Sunday School teacher, but remember that you are not called to fill every need that presents itself to you. Your calling is FIRST AND FOREMOST to your husband and children. Your aim should be to create a home that reflects Peace, Order and Beauty....one that glorifies God the moment you walk in the door. That will only happen when we start getting control of our schedules and deliberately choosing which things to let in.
POINTS: 100....for carving out Sanctuary in your schedule...and you get all weekend to work on it! Your calendar doesn't have to be perfect, just deliberate. This might be a great time to try working in a Household Schedule (or this one) or a Chore Chart.
Share your tips! Let us know how your family handles schedule management!
