balancing act

life is a balancing act. 

no doubt about that.

as a wife and mother, some things in life take an automatic precedence, 

you know... feeding the kids, making sure there are clean clothes and dropping anything at a moment's notice if your baby starts crying.

but there are always going to be more things to do than time to do them.

the way my life is working right now goes a little something like this 

(because i know you are ALL dying to know)

7:15 - get up and get ready for the day

7:45 - coffee, and Bible time

8:30 - get the kids breakfast, get them settled doing their quiet time

9:00 - start school

12:30 - lunch

2:15 - leave to go to The Porch

we then have stuff going on almost every single night of the week between sports, church and FBI

obviously that is a rough idea of what things are like.

in between all of that is teen youth group, praise team, young adult group, my photography business, and the youth center.

sometimes people say to me.

you are doing too much...you are going to get burned out!

to be honest. this always really really annoys me.

i'm just being honest here.

i have never seen burnout in the bible. it is a term that someone just came up with.

the majority of the time (not all the time) that people have said that to me, i think that it is a way to make them feel better about themselves because they are not doing enough. i know that sounds harsh, and it is not true in every case.

i read this quote recently and loved it

Balance occurs when the reality of life's demands

reconciles with our most closely held convictions

read that again. it is worth reading twice.

i just love it. balance will just come when i am making decisions that are based on the convictions that i hold up to be the most important thing.

that's why my house is not always spotless.

that is not my dearest conviction.

i would rather leave the clothes in the laundry basket waiting to be folded and play a game with the boys.

i have even been thinking about this when it comes to my photography.

i love photography. 

it makes me happy.

but lately i have been thinking. hmm. what if i have a shoot, and get some great pictures of a family that they can treasure for this lifetime. then they die without Christ?

where does that leave any of this?

how much of my time, my money my efforts do i really want to put into that?

it's not my most loved conviction

to be real here.

i don't think that homeschooling is my most cherished conviction 

(gasp)

sorry to those of you who i let down with that one small sentence.

one of my most loved conviction is raising godly boys.

no question about that

i think that homeschooling them is the best way that we can do that for them. and that's what we are doing.

but the actual schooling part?

the way we do things kind of shows me my true convictions on it.

i don't feel out of balance because the things that i am doing, are my most cherished convictions.

when i was training for whatever race i happened to be running next, i remember so so many times of just complete exhaustion. especially during the long runs on the weekends.

but regardless of the tiredness and the pain, i would just think to myself.

ok. 30 more minutes.

what is 30 minutes in the grand scheme of life?

just push yourself, stay focused and run it out for 30 more minutes.

(i think this may be when i started talking to myself all the time! ha)

isn't that the truth about life too?

this life is SHORT. the book of James describes it as a vapor. it appears for a little time then vanishes away.

am i listening to the world tell me that i need me time i need to be careful that i don't do too much and get burned out? 

how can i possibly do too much for my Savior who did everything for me?

i can never do enough for Him.

honestly, i think we're just lazy.

we think that we deserve more than we actually do

we think that we need this many weeks of vacation and that many square footage of housing.

i have been working on this verse with riley this week.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

this sums it all up to me.

where i am weak, HE is strong. 

i don't do everything right.

for sure.

but the parts i am messing up in, Christ is being strong for me.

i know i can do all things through Him who gives me strength.

that verse in philippians 4:13 doesn't really leave room for burn out.

do you think it does?

i can do all things.

period.

end of story. 

none of this fancy shmancy christian terminology that justifies a lack of work and an emphasis on wealth.

so i keep telling myself. 

just keep going rachelle.

talk to that teenager who has had a really bad day.

tell them that God has a plan for their life!

bring a meal to that person that doesn't have a lot of money right now.

just keep going. you can do it.

this life is almost over!

run it out!

i want to make mine count for eternity.