Yesterday, I told you how I keep a clean home and homeschool at the same time, but I realize not all my readers are homeschoolers. Because of this, I want to say something that goes beyond the boundaries of the homeschool mom world…
How you spend your time matters.
The notion that what we do with “our time” is our own business simply isn’t true because everything, and I mean everything, we do affects someone else in some way.
I was thinking about my friend Nony who no longer has children at home during the day. She’s had to revamp her entire schedule because her life has changed. Yet, she’s still not free to do whatever she wants. There are limitations and boundaries that if crossed, will create chaos.
Even if you are like me and run on a routine, rather than a minute-by-minute schedule, you still must keep some sort of order to your day or you end up aimless. Your order may be more a framework type of schedule like Rachel’s at Finding Joy or it may be a schedule based on a routine you already have in place like mine. You may have toddlers who throw a wrench in your schedule like Maureen or perhaps like Cindy, you have a love/hate relationship with schedules and need to make peace with it. No matter what kind of schedule you are working towards, keep this verse in mind…
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Can you give an account of how you spend your time?
Are your days a never-ending string of chaos or is peace the norm and chaos the exception?
Do you have some sort of meal plan like my friend Jimmie or are you scrambling to find nourishing food every single day?
Are you spending quality time with your family? How about your husband? {Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers knows the importance of scheduling in couple time.}
Do you have Weekly Chores for your household that ensure a clean home? Are your children pitching in? {You can see Cheryl’s chore list for teens or you can check out my Chores by Age list for ideas.}
Do you have heaps of creative projects you’d like to finish, but the urgent always gets in the way?
Or are you run ragged with nothing to show for it?
It might be time to take a hard look at the hours of your day.
“Everything we do, no matter how noble the cause, if it isn’t to please God, is done to please ourselves.”
~The Organized Homeschooler by Vicki Caruana
Ouch.
That hurt.
No matter how noble the things we spend our time on are, if it is wrecking our home or causing us to lose sight of God’s true purpose for us as wives and mothers, then we are not spending our time wisely and God will not be pleased.
Order you day in a way that honors God.
period.
Do you have a post on Well-Ordered Days? Then link up below!
And then visit my well-ordered friends…
Jimmie – Meal Planning for Well Ordered Days
Maureen – Do Toddlers and Well Ordered Days Mix?
Kris – Scheduling Time with Your Husband
Lacy – Creating a Schedule Your Family Can Thrive On
Nony – Creating a Schedule for the New Normal
Cheryl – Chores ‘Round Here – The Teen Schedule
Angie – Finding Time for Creative Endeavors
Rachel – The Flexible Schedule. It’s Possible.
Cindy – How I Stopped Dithering and Learned to Love the Schedule
Gidget @ Homeschooling Unscripted says
Ouch – you really know how to get me where it hurts 🙂 Chaos is the norm in our house – people can’t find clothes – schoolbooks are never where they should be – pretty much chaos and don’t even get me started about meal times! Your post reminded me that that’s not good for the kids or for us – I need to make schedules more of a priority instead of dealing with everything in an emergency situation. Thanks for the “arrow” to my heart.
Recent Post: Do Field Trips to McDonalds Count?
Gidget @ Homeschooling Unscripted says
Whoops – I forgot to tell you that I’m a new subscriber and just looking at your titles I can tell that you’re just what I needed – now, how to schedule reading all of these posts…. 🙂
Amy says
Welcome Gidget! (and I love the name of your blog!)
Mary says
Your post puts it very plainly how we should order our days. Thank you!
I love this blog hop and have been enjoying visiting all of the blogs…
Amy says
Oh, I’m so glad! 🙂
Michelle says
Do I always have to find such convicting posts in my blog reader by you?!Just stop if for a few days and write some fluff, okay!? 😀
Amy says
LOL—I’m just not a “fluff” kind of gal! 😉
Cindy says
Can I give an account of how I spend my time? It’s funny how I have fooled myself in the past, thinking I had a pretty good handle on my days. Now that I’m really working toward filling up every minute of my day with purpose (even when that purpose is relaxing, which I still have to do), I’m starting to wonder how I was getting anything done! I did have something to show for my work, but not nearly as much as I should have! And yeah, ouch. Really.
Amy says
Tell me about it! When I have good order in my home I accomplish so much more!
Martianne says
With limited time right now, I am not taking time to write and link up my own post, but am enjoying browsing all the ones in the hop. Yours is so truthful and calls us to really reflect. Thank you. I seek happiness rather than chaos, but need to discipline myself better to make that a daily reality.
Holly@ThreeSidedWheel says
“Order you day in a way that honors God.” Funny how amidst the chaos that crops up we often forget this— Thank you for the reminder!