I’ve been laughing to myself this week. I posted last week about keeping our lives as simple as possible in order to stay focused on God. So, of course, this past week for me was ridiculously busy! I frequently find when I am learning something and sharing it with others, I then experience a testing of sorts, a bit of life that pushes me to be sure I’m walking out what I’m talking about.
With a busy week, I was forced to see what my real priorities are. You know, the things you always be sure you do, no matter how busy life gets? Unlike some people, sleep is always a priority for me. I’ve always needed a lot of sleep. A LOT! Like 9 or 10 hours. I wish I could function with less sleep, but I’ve accepted (mostly) that I just need a lot.
I was faced with a couple truths about a few other priorities. I say God is my priority, yet I didn’t keep up with my devotional time or journaling. I say writing is a priority, but I didn’t write over the past few days.
I like being faced with truth. Even if it’s hard.
Realizing how the past days went gives me the chance to set some more systems in place to protect my priorities. When we are working to balance our lives, keeping our most important commitments at the top of our list, we need to be checking in with how our days are really going. It’s one thing for me to say God and writing are some of my top priorities, but if I’m not giving them time in my days, I’m not being honest – Not honest with myself or those around me.
With these two personal goals in mind, I saw that I’ve been staying up too late, which then causes me to sleep in too late. I usually use the quiet early morning hours for my devotional time and writing time. I’ve been staying up late because I’m allowing my children to stay up too late. Once they are in bed, I’m just craving a few moments of silence to read uninterrupted. Then, I get caught up in what I’m reading and stay up too late…
So how do we make our priorities match our actual days?
1. Assess how you spend your time currently…
Do you spend more time each day with God or with Facebook? (No judgment, just a question.) Does that line up with your priorities? If you are trying to create space for something new, have you actually cut back on something else? Just look over the past week or two and record where your hours are being spent.
2. Make a change…
If your hours aren’t lining up with your priorities, make a change.
Start small. Don’t try to overhaul your entire life all at once. Aim for balance. Sometimes I want everything to be black and white, cut and dried. I’ll try to make huge changes and then inevitably the changes fail to stick and I’m back where I started. Make small sustainable changes.
3. Celebrate the Victories
When you’ve been able to get your hours to line up more closely with your priorities, Celebrate!! Every victory, no matter how small, is still a victory! Find ways to enjoy the journey. Don’t just focus on one huge end goal. Enjoy the journey!
4. Give Yourself Grace
If you have some rough days or weeks, give yourself grace. Then, get up and try again! One of the most beautiful aspects of grace is how quickly we can move forward again. If we are caught up in shame or disappointment, we usually stand still. Receive grace, from yourself and from God, and move on. As long as you are trying to do your best each day, progress will come. Victories will be gained! Goals will be achieved!
Enjoy the Freedom and the Journey!
P.S. Here’s what has been taking up my time the past few days… Isn’t it awesome!!
