Matters of the Heart: Lining up our Priorities

I love Saturdays! I truly do. This year I had worked every other Friday, so it is nice to know no matter what, I won't work on Saturdays! Good thing about teaching preschool! Saturdays for me are a big mix of family time, and house blessing time. As I age, I realize how much I truly enjoy working around the home. I guess maturity has kicked in, and I realize inside within me that when I embrace the work God has for me, it is a way that I can honor and serve Him.

It's all about laying out our priorities, and tackling them one by one. I didn't have mentoring in this, and had to truly discover this on my own. But there has been a burning within me to share this vision that God has given me. How to truly find out what our God given priorities are, and the steps to ensure they are taken care of.

1.The first thing we need to do, is to lay down our priorities on paper. In order to do this, write down what God has given you to do. (Don't you dare tell me you don't know! It's truly time to take responsibility, and stop saying we don't know!) For me it looks like this:

• Relationship with God
• Relationship with Husband, and fulfilling my duties as being his helpmate
• Raising children that God has given us  with moral standards, character, and work ethics that truly line up with scripture.
• Our Home
• Being a preschool teacher (assistant director) and all those two things entail.
• Choir & Connection Team at church

My list can look either over whelming to some, or very little to others. It doesn't matter. This is where God has me right now. My very first priority is that Relationship with God. I need to make that the biggest priority in my daily life because it is truly what is going to get me through the day. This is done through prayer, reading His word, listening to podcasts when I am online, and allowing God time to speak to me. (Be still and KNOW that I am God! Psalm 46:10) The very next of my biggest priorities is my husband. Helping him to make sure his needs are met, frees me up to not worry about myself. See, I believe that if I am in line with God's standard, and truly living in a way that brings honor to God and my husband, that my life needs will be met without worry. For me, I simply make sure that the home is calm and clean when he returns from work (and yes, I do work outside the home), dinner is cooking, kids needs have been met so that they are not demanding his full attention immediately. I imagine our home would resemble to those of the 50's  in this way, and for me that's okay. Hubby's work clothes are ready for the next day, and anything I can do to make his time at home more relaxing I am happy to do. Next in line is the children. Being a parent is not easy. In fact, taking the time to truly delve into it, is very time consuming. My kids are in the "tween ager" stage, and are so much more easily influenced by friends right now ~ that it sometimes takes all the strength I have left in a day at times. But God has given me these kids.
 
Next in line is our home. God has given us a place to live, so it becomes a priority. (I am hoping by this point you have figured out my pattern. If God has given it to you ~ it's a priority. It should be seen as a blessing that needs your nurturing, time, and faith.) This year, I have taken on container gardening, and am LOVING every minute of that! But it has called me to view the outside of my home with new eyes. A fresh eye sight. I have seen siding that needed some TLC, windows that are dingy, weeds that need pulling. We keep the inside up, but now it's time to keep the outside up too. My career at the preschool is something that takes nurturing. I attend various classes throughout the year to keep my mind and my own learning fresh. This is a form of ministry to me, as I take these kids under my wing and become a momma bear to each and every one. (You did know that momma bears have wings, right? LOL) At church, I am in the choir (and growing in that yearly), and part of a connection team that welcomes new members to Grace.
 
Just knowing what my priorities are, it helps to move about in my day tending to each one in an intimate way. It doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fellowship with friends, and even extended family at times. BUT... I am more happy and content then I have ever been. I don't think if I had spent my time living out of line of my priorities I would have such contentment and peace. See, when I would throw all these priorities to the wind, do what I wanted ~ I felt incomplete and unhappy. It caused me to run to other things or even people to find fulfillment.

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