Jul. 12, 2006 - The Lord's Discernement
Home Management

In the last month I have looked at more blogs than I can count.  Now granted I can only count to twenty since I only have ten fingers (including thumbs) and ten toes.  Or I guess that could be 100 if I count by 5's.  Or perhaps I could count by 10's and get to 200.  Even that number probably wouldn't begin to touch the number of posts I have read.

Now back to what  I was getting at.  Every blog that I visit usually has several entries with great advise.  Now let's say on Monday I read 100/blog entries and 20 of those entries have great advise.  The advise was so great in fact that I wanted to implement each of those tips in my family's life.  Now lets say the same thing happens Tuesday through Friday.  Do you realize at the end of ONE WEEK I have found 100 TIPS that I want to implement in my family's life!  

Now some of these tips could seem very small and simple like assigning each child a different color cup and they have to use that cup all day.  Or say that it is a chore changing tip like the way you do laundry.  Either way by the end of the week you could end up making 100 changes to your family life.  in 10 weeks you could conceivably make 1000 changes in your family's life. 

Your life would be in constant change.  Now don't get me wrong, sometimes we need to change our approach or habits to better our family.  Sometimes you need an easier process for accomplishing something.  Sometimes you know something isn't working the way you are doing it so you need to find a new way, but I seriously doubt ANY one FAMILY needs to make a 1000 changes in their life over a 10 week period.  Even if they did, 10 weeks would be entirely too small of a time period to make the changes.

Your children would revolt at the changes in their life (even if they are for the better).  Your husband would balk at you turning his life upside down.  And you would drive yourself completely INSANE trying to keep up with all the changes.  Making all of these changes would be like changing curriculum every time you found a new one. 

I propose a different solution.  It is simple really, and it just didn't dawn on me until this morning.  I was reading a blog that is one I get updates on via my RSS feed.  This BLIEND was sharing a neat new website that was something you could do with your family.  After reading the post I had to think fast.  

I had two options really.  I could click on the link, discover a great new find, and figure out how our family could enjoy this great find.  Or, I could hit the delete button. How did I know what to do?  I closed my eyes, and I said, "OK Lord, this could be really neat, but should I even consider looking at it."  Very quickly through my mind flashed a 100 things I already have going on right now.  God had given me my answer. 

Every great idea, find, tip, link, solution, etc., may not be so great for your family.  In fact, as great as they may seem, they could be detrimental to the function of your home.  Again, children do NOT do well with lots of changes in their lives.  It is often better to make gradual changes- please note there are exceptions to this rule. 

Now, I am not saying that my household is perfect and I don't need all the tips I find- far from it.  What I am saying, is today I realized I am on tip overload.  My children have been through so many changes in the last year that it isn't even funny.  Do I really want to add more to their stress by changing the way they sort clothes, stack the dishes, set the table, store toys, etc.??

Instead of finding great ideas and starting them immediately, I challenge you to pray.  Ask God if this is really something you need in your life right now, or if it can wait.  In other words. look to God for discernment

Here are several scriptures I have found to meditate on.  These are all reminders to listen and wait on God and let Him lead you so that he can reveal His will for your life:

Exodus 14:14

Job 15:8

Psalm 37:7

Psalm 46:10a

Proverbs 1:5

Proverbs 8:34

Proverbs 15:22

Proverbs 16:3

Proverbs 19:21

Jeremiah 29:11

Romans 12:2

2 Corinthians 1:17

As a side note I would like to continue to encourage all those who do post tips to keep them coming.  I didn't write this post to stop tips form spanning the internet, but rather to encourage those who find all these wonderful tips to use some discernment in implementing all these great finds.  I know I will personally continue to post things I think will benefit other.  After all, if God uses you to benefit ONE SINGLE PERSON, you will have done God's work.

In His Grip,

Brandi

© Brandi M Webster Lone Star Academy 2006

• 6 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mar. 26, 2006 - Clean Heart Clean Home Challenge
Home Management

I have been meaning to post this for a few days.  Sign up for the challenge but I also encourage you to sign up for her devotional as well. 

Join the

CLEAN HEART, CLEAN HOME CHALLENGE!!

Visit DandelionSeeds for complete details.

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mar. 22, 2006 - New Week and New Beginnings
Home Management

 This weekend I was able to do some more reading in my Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit.  I am now on Chapter 4 which is the chapter on Organization (of time and home).  This has always been an area of strength for me but the last 6 months I have let my life (and therefore my family's life) just spin into complete chaos.  We are now moving on from this tragic time in our lives and it is time for mom and children to get their acts together!

     Sunday night I stayed up late (remember the ongoing insomnia) and created hard copy morning and bedtime routines for the kids.  The little ones had pictures so that they could easily identify what they needed to do.  FOr the older ones I created a "Home Helper Notebook" and inside this I put their morning and bedtime routines, basic weekly schedule, chore assignments, upstairs cleaning routine, and cleaning routines for their bedrooms. The kids all loved their routines and had a very successful day using them.

     Monday night I worked on our MOTH 

schedule.  Since I had our old schedule that worked really well I didn't have to start from scratch.  Instead I was able to update it to meet our current needs and adjust the little one's schedules.  I actually keep my moth schedule in excel and use a different color for each person.  The initial copies that I am making are all black and white.  I will work with these schedules for a couple of weeks, continue to pray about our days and modify as needed. I have a copy of the schedule posted next to my computer, in the kitchen, in the school room, I have a copy in my Home Management Notebook and the older two have a copy in their Home Helper Notebooks. 

     In the schedule I made sure I allotted plenty of time for school, chores and structured time with siblings.  We had gotten really lax with the kids and chores.  They are at an age now where they need more than just one or two chores.  They need to learn and understand that they are productive citizens of our household and as such they have certain responsibilities to make sure our home is running at its best.  Since we are having with such horrific trouble with sibling problems I made sure to put plenty of opportunities in the day for the kids to have positive interactions with each other.  Needless to say one of the most important areas we are working on in our home is character (parents included! YIKES!)

     Needless this new schedule didn't go over so well with the older two.  They complained about not having enough free time to go play with friends.  I explained that their free time with friends was limited because it was hard for me to send them off with other children since they treated their own siblings so horribly.  After all, how was I to know they wouldn't treat someone else's' children the same way!  It was hard for them to argue with that.  Over all they did really well adapting to the new schedule today.  We even had to abandon the schedule to go clean horse stalls (Princess C's (8) very occasional job).  But that really wasn't a problem, when we got back home we picked up where we needed to and just moved on. 

     The kids did a great job of doing their chores without complaining.  They cleaned out and straightened their sock and undy/panty  drawers, They put away their laundry.  Prince T (10) moved a couple of drawers around in the kitchen and made sure everything was neat and organized in their new homes.  Princess C cleaned out the cup lids and through away the cracked lids and she also cleaned up the breakfast cabinet.  They were very pleased with their results and so was mom!

     I am sure that over the next two weeks I will tweak some things, but overall I think we are off to a wonderful start on the schedule.  IF you are interested in copies of anything thing I have done I would be happy to share.  Just shoot me an email. 

Until we meet again...

• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Christian Women Online Blog Ring Join | List | Random