This has been a week of nonstop places to go, people to see, activities and classes, projects and practices!  Soccer started this week, so now we’ve got that added to the calendar, along with our usual school day, weekly classes and extracurricular activities.

We’ve made it through the typical “February Slump” of Homeschooling, the month that for some reason always seems to last forever as we slog along day after day!  But March brings warmer temps, cabin fever, and the realization that there is light at the end of the tunnel; we’ve made real progress on our hours, and the school year is nearly complete! (We tend to stick closer to a traditional school year schedule, we start in September after labor day, and finish up when our hours and/or curriculum is complete; usually mid-May.  I don’t know how you year-rounding homeschoolers do it, but I enjoy my three months of summer off as much as the kiddos do!)

So now that spring is officially here, we’re in the transition of finishing up some things, and other things are starting, all while we’re looking forward to the vacations and activities that summer brings.  So much to think about!  So much to do!  I keep my calendar online and had it pulled up yesterday.  FixerGirl was amazed at all the “stuff” I had on there!  I like to color code activities by kiddo, so it was pretty rainbowful. (Yes I just made up a word! ha!)

Ever feel like you just have waaay too much stuff on your plate?  I often feel like there just are not enough hours in the day… and then at bedtime, my brain is still going with stuff I could do, and need to remember and “maybe just do it now before you forgets!” Makes it hard to relax for a good night’s sleep sometimes.

We’ve got ladders to climb, both career and literal (have your cleaned your gutters since this fall?) We’ve got children to raise, classes to take kiddos to, and attend ourselves, meetings to help with, appointments to keep, emails to answer, Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc. to check, errands to run, housework to do, and on and on.  It’s easy to see how we feel so swamped. We’re pressed for time. We frantically rush from one activity to another and another. There are so many things that need and take our attention, we don’t even stop to think about what our overloaded lifestyles are doing to us.  Stressed much?   I think we’re probably all guilty to some extent.

How do we slow down?  How do we reestablish those important relationships we’ve probably neglected in the midst of all our busyness?  How do we remember to live intentionally every day?   It’s not easy!  Our first priority should be to seek the face of God first.  Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness…  I’ll be honest here.  I’m not often consistent with having a morning devotional time.  But I do realize that each day we are given is a new Gift that we’re given and we need to treat it as such.  Each errand we are forced to run, each task we’re to complete, each lesson we’re to learn in our day is one specifically picked out by the One who has written each and every minute of our lives down before any of them even came to be.   Each struggle we face, whether its time management or a more serious situation is something set before us to teach us to rely more on Him and to learn to use His strength rather than our own.   HE should always be our first priority.

Spouses and family come after Him, in that order.  We have to remember that after Christ, He has appointed marriages and family as the most important things.  That means we need to prioritize our lives that way.   It’s so easy for us to value activity, productivity, and success above everything else, but at what costs?

Take the time to reconnect with your family.  Make dinnertime together a priority.  Maybe a weekly family game night?  Take time to date your spouse, even if you’ve been married 20 (or more!) years.  Have a long lunch with a friend who needs encouragement.  All of these have eternal value.

Most importantly though, remember that even in the midst of our busiest seasons, that God values rest. Downtime isn’t unproductive, it’s not a waste of time. Learn to say no.  Be willing to say “enough is enough.” It’s vital to us to set aside some time to relax, unwind and ponder the gifts of a full new day full of opportunity to bless those around you.