When people ask me how I accomplish everything that I accomplish, I tell them that I live life deliberately. At any particular time of day, I am doing something on purpose. If I stop what I’m doing to talk to my child, and I end up talking to him for an hour, that was not a detour from what needed to be done. That was what needed to be done. I took that hour on purpose. My goal of deepening my relationships with my children is higher than my business. Each hour of the day, you will find me doing something on purpose, with a specific reason. This is how I live a quality life that counts for something.
Some people seem to think that leading people to Christ is the only thing that is worthwhile, and they resent having to do laundry. I’ve learned that laundry can be the center of the will of God and exactly what God wants you to be doing. If you were to go evangelize at that moment, you would be disobedient to God, and nothing good would come of it. If you think that all your mundane tasks at home count for nothing, you’re wrong. Each task is given to you by God, and you are in the center of the will of God to do those tasks well. If you neglect them, you are not being faithful with what God has given you to do.
Often life is full of small things for years, especially when you have young children. But even then, I wrote down my priorities. When my children were young, I spent every spare moment studying my Bible or reading about how to optimally teach young children. And I did not neglect my children while doing it. The hundreds of hours I spent studying early childhood has now made me knowledgeable in this field, especially in the area of cognitive development. I implemented the best ideas with my own children over the years, modifying other people’s ideas that weren’t quite right, discarding some ideas that I knew were wrong, and forming my own opinions. I was just asked to be a speaker for an Early Childhood conference this March. None of that time has gone to waste.
I did the same with organization. I studied how to maximize my time and space so that I had more time to spend on things that mattered to me. I also wanted to have more energy for my husband in the evenings, so I wanted all the mundane things to be done in the most efficient way so that it didn’t drain all my energy. I learned how to do this.
One time, years ago when I had a baby and two toddlers, I had a guest come over and watch how I conducted my day. She was astounded by how much I got accomplished. None of my day was wasted. Don’t get me wrong. Resting was part of my day. Just being with my children was part of my day. But each moment, I was deliberately choosing what I was doing.
I’m a professional mother, I told her. She was stunned for a moment, then she told me later that my statement changed the way she viewed her job as a mother. I am constantly growing and learning in the areas that God has set before me.
Choose what you will do with your time. Don’t just let it go by. Time is one of those things, that when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t get it back. Don’t live a life of regret. Do what you should be doing. Better yet, yield to God each moment and ask Him what you should be doing. And don’t proceed until you know.
Tags: Christian Living, schedule, time
The Lord has been speaking to me on this very thing! I just commited to working on and improving my life with regard to self discipline. In all areas of my life but more specifically in my home managment and homeschooling/scheduling. I have 3 children ages 5,3 and 1 and I am learning that if I want to use our time to the fullest it needs to be planned out. No more fly by the seat of your pants. I find it so hard to make a plan and stick to it but I HAVE TO!
I would love to know the details of how you planned or currently plan your deliberate actions. Do you write it down? If so, where did you write it? Did you just know what you needed to do?
Detail of HOW you did it I would Love to know!
sharonsaad at gmail dot com
Sharon, the easiest way to start is to write a list of what you would like to accomplish the next day, and in what order. Then when you wake up, you know exactly what you need to do. I address this more in my audio “A Schedule that Works.” http://susanevans.org/?article=79 It’s only $5, but if you can’t afford it, e-mail me. For someone who has never had a schedule, I would recommend a relaxed order to your day that is similar from day to day, so that the children know what is expected. Since you have really young children, this free article might also help: http://susanevans.org/?article=72 It’s called “A Routine for Young Children.” Feel free to ask me more questions, and I will answer them.
Hi Susan,
Thank you for the inspirational post today. Sometimes I let myself get too down when my son’s naps are inconsistent which throws off my “routine”. I’m really enjoying all the information on your website.
God Bless!
What a powerful message!! I’m really guilty of looking up at the end of the day and wondering where it went. Living deliberately is, while sounding so simple, is a plan that could affect all areas of our lives.
Thanks for the post!!
Thanks for this great post. VERY thought provoking. It is so easy to allow many purposeless moments eat up the hours of our days. Thanks for this wonderful reminder.
And thanks for stopping by my blog today and for your sweet comment!
Wow! What a great reminder to live each moment purposefully. I homeschool 4 teenagers (ages 17, 17, 16, and 15). When I don’t purposely use our time, our school day is chaotic. Not good and we don’t accomplish as much. Thanks for visiting me at A Season for All Things. I’m your newest follower. I look forward to reading more of your blog. ~ Ellen
Thanks so much for the reminder and the encouragement. Somedays it seems like I’m supposed to only do crafts and play trains and read stories with my kids instead of getting anything else done. I’m trying to make some of my other tasks fun for my boys so we’re still spending time together.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m excited to read more on yours!
Oh boy, great post. What a great encouragement and inspiration to me too. I needed to be reminded that all the little distractions are not detours but precisely what needed to be done at that moment. I love the idea of writing down priorities too. Thank you!
I have an award for you over at my blog.
http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-awards-from-child-central-station.html
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you so much!
What a wonderful post! I absolutely love my first ministry of being a wife/mom/teacher. Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Sorry it took me so long to get to yours. Lord bless!
I’m convinced that the only way to find true joy and peace is to live life deliberately, as you’ve so eloquently stated here. It’s really all about being faithful in the little things – whatever the little things may be in a given moment.
Blessings,
Debra
At first I thought your blog title was “Live Life Desperately”. I’m pleased to see that wasn’t the case. I remember many teachings from the pulpit of our church where we were told to “do everything as if for Christ.” And it’s true – I have seen so often that just by loving the kids at school, and not necessarily trying to “evangelise” them that God’s love is shown even more clearly. Thanks for the post – may it be an inspiration to many!