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Drowning in Home Management, Part Two
By Kendra | April 15, 2009
So how are your Top Five lists coming along? We discussed this last time in Drowning in Home Management, Part One, and I’m hoping you had some time to quietly ponder what the five most important items on your agenda ought to be. I loved reading your comments and lists and I am so glad I didn’t post my five because yours varied so greatly. What a creative God we have to make all of our homes so unique and wonderful.
My five are:
1. Nurture, guard, protect, and grow my relationship with the Lord
2. Nurture, guard, protect, and grow my relationship with my husband
3. Clothe our family
4. Feed our family and keep our home sanitary (I realize these are really two things here, but they’re both housekeeping related)
5. Educate our children
Obviously, many things can fall under each of those categories, but what was most important for me at the time was the ability to dismiss all of the things that don’t fall under those categories. And here’s the bonus: when I was able to have something that wasn’t under those categories (say, inviting another family over for pizza and games), it was a wonderful surprise. Had I expected to be able to do something off the list that never came to fruition, I would likely have been frustrated and disappointed. My expectations most days match the reality of this season of my life.
In my next and last post on Drowning in Home Management, I’ll go through each of my five items and try to show you what they look like from day to day. In the meantime, keep making those lists and don’t forget to share them with us!
Topics: Educating at Home, Home Organization, Nurturing Moms, Resources, School Organization | 15 Comments »
April 15th, 2009 at 5:53 am
I am loving this series! I’m writing about it in my blog. I posted my top five there. Thanks so much!
April 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Hi Kendra- I only have four so far: My time with the Lord, dishes, laundry and reading with the children (which encompasses reading God’s word with them and other read alouds too!) Thank you so much for this series. It is helping me to prioritize and not feel so overwhelmed. Laura
April 15th, 2009 at 8:06 am
So my list is similiar… but I was trying to figure out which was more important laundry, meals or having our living spaces “clean and tidy”…. I was glad when you paired two of them:)
Thank you for this focused time. I KNOW I want time with the LORD and it’s one of my big ROCKS but then the time I actually give to that area is NOT where it should be.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:08 am
This has been a great excercise for me. I have 7 and having trouble narrowing it down to 5 but here are mine:
1- Daily devotions with my kids (AKA Cirlce Time – thank you so much for introducing me to a WONDERFUL concept)
2 – My personal bible study and time alone with God
3 – Excercise (I’m trying to lose weight and this needs to be a priority. It really happens every other day)
4 – Play/Read with my kids. Sad that I have to write that, but I can get so sidetrack during the day and realize I didn’t spend quality time with them.
5 – Nurturing my relationship with my hubby
6- Dinner. I have no problem with breakfast and lunch, but I always struggle at dinner time
7 – School. This is my first year HS. If I don’t schedule it – I see that it doesn’t happen.
Looking forward to the rest of your series.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I’m so glad you shared your list. I was really having trouble with mine. I have individual things on it for now… I really have trouble with exercises like this and never really know what I’m supposed to be doing. I wasn’t completely happy with the 5 things on my list and I could tell my husband wasn’t thrilled by all the things that were not going to get done on that list. Now that I better understand, I’m inspired and think that my list will probably reflect a lot of yours, with our own subtle differences that make our family ours. I’ll share it with you if I ever get there.
Thanks!
April 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I knew I was forgetting something! Poor Jason! He really is one of the most important things for my list but sometimes he gets lost amidst the “urgent” things that are in my day. Good reminder!
Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
April 15th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Hi Kendra,
Im so glad you did this series as well. I posted my Rock List (http://joyhomeliving2.blogspot.com/2009/04/defining-my-rock-list.html) the other day on my blog. I probably shouldnt have though because I only briefly prayed and my top priority is my last on the to do list right now (devotions). So here is my heart. Please could you pray for me as I struggle through getting my
Rock list in order. I feel so convicted about it after reading your Rock List, not that Im compairing but that Im seeing the Lord working. Anyway, all that to say thanks for Titus 2ing in my life…AGAIN.
Blessings
Vicki
April 15th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Hi Kendra! First of all, thanks so much for this series. The title “Drowning in Home Management” feels like it couldn’t more accurately describe my life right now.
Alright, I’ve been praying about my top five for the last few days and I got my hubby’s input as well. I have to say, they’re not all items I initially would have expected to see on the list. It’s fun to see how God leads.
Here they are.
1. Time with God
2. Circle time with kids (includes their spiritual nourishment, as well as obedience training)
3. Feed my family
4. Exercise
5. Connect with one other woman in my life per day
Thanks again Kendra!
April 15th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Girls-
I am SO pleased that this series has struck such a chord with so many of us. I didn’t think anything of it, and I am always surprised and delighted when God takes something in a direction only He knew about originally
~Kendra
April 15th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Oh boy, this series of posts couldn’t come at a better time. Thank you!
April 16th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Kendra- As I read the comments I realized that many women, like myself, are probably thinking of their rock list in terms of daytime hours when our husbands are at work! Reading the comments helped me see that the rock list is the ROCK LIST; not just between the hours of 8-5
Can’t wait to read part three!
April 16th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I can’t seem to get this down to 5. Here are the 6 I came up with:
1. Prayer and devotion
2. Cooking 3 meals a day (plus afternoon snack)
3. Dishes
4. Laundry
5. Homeschool
6. Time with dh
The first time I jotted down a list it did not include #6. But #6 has to be a rock! However, nothing else seems negotiable. Anyone else having this problem?
April 16th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Nancy — what if #3 (dishes) is really just part of #2 (meals)? Now you have five. Voila!
Honestly, I think it was Large Family Logistics where I read that clean up should just be part of the job. Looking at it that way helped me out in that area.
Just my .02 on it …
April 17th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
It did take awhile to narrow it down but I think these are mine:
My 5 Rocks:
1.) My relationship with God, daily~ learning more about who he is and getting to know him better, listening to and trusting him more, relying on him
2.) My role as a wife~ praying for my hubby, my words and attitude, encouraging, helping, blessing, loving, respecting
3.) My role as a mother~ nurturing, loving, teaching with kindness, having joy, training, caring for physical/mental/emotional/spiritual needs, teaching life-skills, experiencing the world around them, evangelism, discipleship, encouraging, building up
4.) Providing simple meals and snacks and keeping the kitchen clean
5.) Caring for our home and clothing by daily and weekly chores
April 17th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Thanks, Jenn. I kept staring at my list and trying to figure out what to combine. They all seemed separate. But your suggestion makes perfect sense!