I wrote this article a few years ago when our kids were still at home. As we work with young families at our church, I believe it is still applicable today. Let me know what you think.
You might wonder what this new word is. It is a short way to describe most of America today. We are BUSY!! A few years ago, Steve & I evaluated our family activities and made some changes in our schedule. We decided that we were too busy.
Too busy for each other.
Too busy for others.
Too busy to help in emergency situations.
Too busy to enjoy our life right now.
In an effort to change our lifestyle, we told our children they could be involved in two activities per year. For them, this meant they must choose which sport or activity they would participate. If it were up to my children, they would choose a sport or activity for each & every season of the year. This has been an excellent training process and we hope will translate to
decision making as an adult.
Once we made this change, we began having more evenings as a family and more evenings with friends. Some of our children still ask “what are we doing tonight?” They want to have every minute planned with an activity. In a similar way, I find it sad when we see newlyweds who need to have activities almost every night of the week, and neglect their spouse in the process. This may be a direct result of having “activities” every night of the week as they grew up.
Busy-ness may stem from our children’s activities, but it may also stem from simply taking care of one’s own family and home. Sometimes we can be busy from the day-to-day routines. If this is the case, you might evaluate what it takes to keep up with your home and family. Be sure that your priorities around the home are really God’s priorities.
Even though our family is to be top priority, it should not be the only priority. You might find that you have chosen activities at home that do not allow you to reach out to others, to reach out in time of need, or to be a friend when someone else needs a shoulder to lean on. We need to raise our children so they see a balance between taking care of our families and taking care of those in need.
Another way moms can become too busy is through outside ministry. This is usually not the case with homeschooolers, but it might creep in when least expected. I have seen “stay-at-home” moms that look like they are working full-time outside the home. They spend so much time with charity work, leading Bible studies, or helping with a variety of ministries that they are gone most of the week. If this is where your busy-ness is, choose only one activity outside the home got you to participate.
Once you drop some of your less important activities, whether they are outside the home or within the home, you can then spend more time with God, more time enjoying your family and more time on Godly priorities. Grab a cup of coffee. Send the kids outside to play. Talk to God about His priorities for you and your family.
(c)Kerry Beck, 2007
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Kerry Beck, who wrote Raising Leaders, Not Followers, divides her time between wife, mom, teacher and business woman. You can pick up her free report, “How to Get It All Done” at Organizing for Home School.