What I Do

September 25th, 2013

I snuck onto the back patio yesterday while the boys were drawing and creating, and read a few quick chapters of this read I found a few weeks ago. And the chapter on the myth of “doing everything better” struck me especially hard.  The trap we get lured into of doing, doing, doing and spreading ourselves thin, and then not being satisfied because nothing feels good enough. Oh Sister!  Have I been around that block a few thousand times!

It’s often the miniscule things that steal our energy, our time, and our joy. Even “good” things that add up and take over the “necessary” things in our lives and our families. In the book she listed the things she knows she has to be, and the things that she is not ever going to be.  I read it and related to much of it, but I had never taken the time to list those things out for myself.  Just a simple exercise, yet so purpose giving.

I decided to jot my own list of “What I Do” to check my priorities and where things fit.

These are the non-negotiables.  These are where it matters. This is where all things need to start.

So Here is What I Do {Or What I Need to Do Most}:

1. Lover of Christ

This means that I live my life to serve Him, honor Him, obey His Word, and build up the body of Christ. I grow in Him through time in the Word, putting myself under solid Biblical teaching, and fellowship with other believers.

2. Wife to Brad

In order to grow our  friendship and marriage, I need to show him devotion, respect, trust, forgiveness, and attention. I want him to feel cherished and needed as my best friend and life-mate.

3. Mother to Brooks, Henry, Clark, and Isaac

By loving my children, I need to instruct their hearts, allow consequences for their wrongs, be quick to offer forgiveness, and show them that they are a blessing in my life. These boys’ lives are not my own – they are His.  Therefore, I can only hold them with an open hand, which has been more evident through watching two friends grieve the loss of life that they grew, this month. While we are here on this earth, I want them to see Jesus in me.

4. Friend/Family to Others

Outside of our intimate family, I want to minister through building up friendships through gifts of compassion, kindness, rejoicing with those who rejoice, and mourning with those who mourn. I want to be available.

5. Writer of Our Story

There’s a reason I’m still blogging after six years.  It’s not just a simple baby book, or a place to vent.  This is part of me too.  I’ve been ashamed of it too long, like it’s a waste of time or that I’ll never be a true “writer”. However, writing is something that I have to do. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I like to think of writing as my coffee. It gets me through a tough morning, and gives me energy to keep on.

A weight is lifted from me when I’m able to communicate my thoughts on a screen or occasionally in a journal.  This blog is a way to tell our story of God’s faithfulness, and  a way to encourage other moms who are in the trenches too.  It’s a way for me to be vulnerable, to walk with others, and to learn from you all. I plan on continuing my words here for as long as there are others to listen, and maybe even after.

Every single area needs more of my attention and work, but there’s something so freeing about defining them. I know I can go back to these at any moment when life erupts, and when I need to put my dukes up to the “doing everything better” myth.  These are the things that I’m responsible for, these are the things I want to be remembered for, these are what I want my life to be about.

{Stay Tuned for What I Don’t Do…}