Have you ever asked someone, “How in the world do you get it all done?” I get asked this question all the time. I just finished a new resource that answers the “how do you get it all done” question after thinking over the past 19 years of being a busy mom. (is there any other kind?)
You can get this resource for FREE – check it out here!
If you’re a MNCZ Newsletter subscriber make sure you take a peek at the next newsletter – I’ll have a linkie for you to download it too!
March is National Caffeine Awareness Month!
In honor of this observance, here are a few links to make you more aware of tasty ways to consume caffeine.
Want to save a few $$ on your fancy coffee treats? Check out this article on making your own at home. Starbucks beware!
Want your espresso to taste more like the storebought variety? Here are some great tips!
Not all coffee is of hot variety. Iced coffee is one of my favorites. Learn how to make it here!
Do you have a favorite caffeine source? Please share by posting a comment!
Not sure if this is the original intent of caffeine awareness month, but hey, we want to present the other side of the story, right? <g>
Ok, to balance things out, here is the Caffeine Awareness Site which has all sorts of info in caffeine, including how to tell if you’re overdoing it.
Family meal times are a great way for your family to connect at the beginning or end of the day. Unfortunately the dining room table can be a major clutter-catcher. How is your dining room table looking? Take some time today to clear it off and make it a pleasant place to have dinner tonight. If your table is already clean kick it up a notch and find something attractive for a table decoration. You don’t have to spend any money. If you’re lucky enough to have some blooming flowers already, pick some and put them in a pretty vase or a quart sized canning jar. (we use both!) Or recycle some decor from storage. Your imagination is the only limit!
When you’re done, come back and post a comment! If you have a blog feel free to post pictures and links. At midnight tonight (March 4th) I’ll pick out one commenter to receive a Night Owl Devotions package. I can’t wait to hear about what you do!
Have fun!!!
Today the weather was wonderful and we got to take our first walk of the year! I was originally just going to take our oldest son who has been spending way too much time on the couch lately but the others wanted in on the act. We decided to double duty the walk with science so the kids were all directed to be on the lookout for something to bring home, research, and sketch in their nature journals.
I forgot how nice it is to get out in the fresh air and talk with the kids. There is something about fresh air, sunshine, and movement that stimulates good conversation. Ally found a mullein plant starting to green up so she picked a fuzzy leaf to sketch. Being an herb nut I told her all about the mullein’s growth habits and uses of mullein leaves and flowers. She very good naturedly listened.
Taylor found a rock or something. What is it with boys and rocks?
I look forward to many more days of walking and talking as the days warm up. Exercise, fresh air, family time… what more could you want?
We had so much fun with the Ugly Frog contest, we’re going to make it a weekly deal. We’re going to have a “Thursday Challenge” each week. It won’t always be ugly frogs, but it will be something to help you get your house/time/schedule on track. So come back next Wednesday nights to get your marching orders for your Thursday challenges!
My ugly frog last Thursday was in front of our garage. Our trash seems to be a sort of night club for every cat in a 1/4 mile radius and they have wild trash shredding parties in the wee hours of the night. I think they’ve recruited a thug raccoon to open our cans too. With the weather being so cold the last couple months, I have been very lax in cleaning up the aftermath. The result ended up looking (and smelling) like a small version of the county dump. Eew! So my project Thursday was getting it all shoveled up, (yes, I actually used a snow shovel so I didn’t have to touch it!) put in bags and cans, and hopefully getting the lids secured good enough that they can’t be reopened by critters.
- Do you wake up feeling drained instead of invigorated for the day ahead?
- Do you find your energy goes up and down, making it hard for you to exert consistent effort?
- Do you have a hard time staying focused or following a task through to completion?
- Would you describe yourself as depleted rather than rejuvenated after the day?
- Do you frequently feel dissatisfied with how a day unfolds and just wish you had more energy?
If you need more “get up and go” in your days, you don’t want to miss Brook Noel’s five-week High Energy Living class and it starts this Monday, February 22! This is one of Make Today Matter’s most popular classes for a reason! Learn More…
Ok, here is the place for newsletter readers to enter their “ugly frogs” !
To recap the contest, look over your to-do list. Pick out the worst item on there – the one that you’ve been putting off because it’s tedious, messy, stressful… you know the one! Now DO that to-do! Just dive in and start, and don’t stop till its done! When you’re done, come back and post a comment about what your “ugly frog” was and how you feel to have it off your plate now.
Two winners will receive my brand new audio workshop “Morning, Noon, and Night, Balancing your Busy, Sometimes Chaotic Life While Doing what Really Matters.” This audio is for Christian moms who are wanting to manage their days gracefully.
Deadline for entries is tonight at midnight. I’ll announce the winner here on the site tomorrow!
Now go forth and conquer!
ps — if you are NOT on my newsletter list, you can still enter. While you’re at it, look over to your right and sign up for the Mom’s No Chaos Zone newsletter so you don’t miss out on any future events!
What do I even mean when I say “life balance” – or just “balance” for short? The word balance has gotten some bad press. It can bring up images of secular, new agey, weird pop psychology stuff that a lot of us don’t really want to be associated with. I’m not going to go into all of what balance “ISNT” in my perspective. What I want to talk about what I think we should be thinking when it comes to balance, which I believe is a perfectly biblical idea of fulfilling our roles as women in a graceful way that doesn’t drive us or the people around us crazy!
You sometimes hear about how much easier it is for us women to manage our homes today since we have so many modern conveniences like washing machines, dryers, stoves, refrigerators and our army of technological servants. I am SO thankful for all of these things and I do think in many ways they make our lives easier, but at the same time, the sheer amount of stuff we have to do has increased. We have to be more places, keep track of more events and activities, and not just for ourselves but for our families. There’s been a lot of debate over if life was simpler then or now and honestly I think it balances out…. Life was simpler then as in there weren’t as many different things happening in a typical day, now we have more stuff going on but more help doing it.
Whether life was simpler then or now, it wasn’t easy being a wife and mom then and is isn’t now! If it were a piece of cake and it all came naturally, I don’t think God would have bothered reminding the older women to help the younger ones figure it all out. It takes thought, planning, practice, sometimes a lot of creativity, and always hard work. It also requires constantly taking a good look at how we spend our resources – our time, our energy, and our brain power.
This management of time, energy, and focus to manage our homes and lives is what I consider life balance – thinking through what’s important in our lives then making an intelligent plan to spend our time and energy accordingly. It’s also called “living intentionaly”. Life balance properly thought out is not a self centered concept of making sure we always have warm fuzzy thoughts about ourselves and what we’re doing. It’s about being a good steward of all the resources God has given us to accomplish our roles.
Time management is the stewardship of our time, how we each decide to spend the 24 hours we’re given each day. Time management analyzes where we spend our time, how much time are we spending on activities, WHY we’re taking the time, and deciding if we need to make any changes. Time management is a tool, not a goal! The tool of time management helps you make the most out of the time you have so you end up doing the things you want and need to do – this is balance. So you see, time management is a means to an end. Your end goal hopefully isn’t just to have a perfectly oiled routine or simply to get more and more stuff crammed into your day.
So, you might ask, since time management in itself isn’t your goal, and getting more stuff done isn’t necessarily your goal, what IS your goal? I’m going to assume your goal is to have a balanced life where you can get the physical things that need to be done taken care of, and done well, have time for the important relationships in your life, and have a little time left over for rest and refreshment, always keeping in view what’s really important. A life that you can anticipate hearing “well done good and faithful servant” at the end and have joy in the meantime.
Reading the Bible and praying more is right at the top of Christian women’s goals and resolutions lists, up there with getting organized and losing weight. Unfortunately, just like organizing and weight loss aspirations, our best plans and intentions to have daily devotions or quiet times tend to fizzle a few weeks into the year. What happens? We’re convinced of the value of spending time getting to know our God through His word. We’re convinced of the power of prayer in our lives and others’. How does something this important and desirable keep slipping through the cracks in our days?
One of the ways we unintentionally keep something from happening is making it too difficult or complicated. Do you admire a friend who is able to read her Bible an hour or two a day? Or a friend who studies Greek daily? A favorite author who writes about watching the sun rise as she prays over her day? All of these things may be good, but do they work for you at this point of your life? Maybe you have three small children running around and 1 – 2 hours of uninterrupted reading time just isn’t going to happen. Maybe you are anything but a morning person. In your mind is anything less than your “ideal” quiet time not worth doing? In other words, are you making it more difficult than it needs to be?
All you really need to have your quiet time are three things: A time, a place, and your “stuff” – your Bible and anything else you’re planning to read. Place and “stuff” are pretty straightforward. You need a place to sit and read and something to read of course. Where we usually get messed up is time. We usually know “what” we want to do, it’s the “when” we have a problem with, as in the “when” just not happening!
Here is a common scenario. We hear that waking up early to have our quiet time is the best way to go so that’s what we shoot for. If you’re an “early riser” this can work great, but for the rest of us… Tell me if this sounds familiar: You wake up later than you planned (again) and you resolve to get on track and have your quiet time later that morning. Then “something” happens and you have to put it off until lunch. Lunchtime ends up being taken up with “something” else and you figure maybe in the afternoon you’ll catch a little time. Guess what… “something” keeps happening until you’re laying in bed wondering what happened to your quiet time.
So if you don’t get up early in the morning is all lost? Not at all! Look at your day and pick the best time that works for you. Don’t worry about your friend, your favorite author’s schedule, or what you’ve heard is “most spiritual.” What time of your day tends to be the least hectic and most likely to be somewhat quiet? The kids’ nap time? While dinner is in the oven? My best time is right before bedtime! It’s quiet, there’s nowhere I have to be, and everyone else is in bed too. Be creative! What’s important isn’t the time of day you pick, it’s that you pick a time that works best for your current schedule and that you guard it from invading “somethings”. The “best” time for your quiet time is the time you can realistically make it happen! You might have to experiment a bit to find the best time. Also, have your place picked out and your “stuff” where it needs to be so looking for your Bible and a pen doesn’t end up being a “something” that comes up!
So how long should your quiet time be? Again, look at what works for you. I’d love to have two hours a day but in this season of my life when I have four kids, one with special needs, two hours isn’t going to happen on a typical day. God knows your circumstances and responsibilities – He created your family! Do what you realistically can. You can probably get 20 – 30 minutes into your day. Some days you’ll have more time, some days you’ll have less. If you can’t find even 20 – 30 minutes, take a look at some other activities you find time for like checking e-mail, web surfing, Facebook, telephone calls, reading… We make time for these things without thinking twice about it. Not trying to be legalistic… just something to think about!
It’s not too late to get your prayer and Bible reading resolutions and goals back on track. Sit down and take a few moments to think about what the best time is for you and make a plan of attack!
Are you a “night owl” who needs more help making a consistent quiet times happen? Check out Night Owl Devotions for more help!
Studies have shown that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It affects our energy level, metabolism, focus ability, and health. Undoubtedly the first fuel of the day for the body is very important. Equally important is the first emotional fuel for the mind. Imagine this scene with me:
The alarm goes off, and you struggle to get out of bed on time as the electronic beeping pierces your eardrum. Your first thought is, “When is daylight savings?” How you would love the extra hour. Remembering daylight savings happened last weekend, you sigh, stumble to your feet, and head toward the shower.
After showering and dressing you go downstairs to find your family at the breakfast table. “Good morning,” you say as enthusiastically as possible at 6:00a.m.. You are greeted with a few moments of silence, then a half-hearted “hello” before everyone returns to his or her breakfast bowls and conversation. You grab a cup of coffee and a muffin to have on your way to work.
While driving to work your cell phone rings. It is one of your closest friends. After a cursory hello, she breaks into an auctioneer ramble. “I’m really in a jam. My babysitter called, and she is sick. Can you watch my kids tonight for thirty minutes while I run and pick up Jacob’s present?” Always there for one another, you tell her you would be happy to watch the kids, before hanging up the phone.
You get to work and find someone in your designated parking place. Frustrated, your “okay mood” is drastically deteriorating. You park near the back of the lot only to step into a wad of gum as you get out of the car. “UGH”, you think, “it’s going to be one of those days.”
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Have you ever wanted to have a fun tea party for just you and your little girls or for your ladies group but didn’t know where to start? This 54 page e-book is a well thought out, highly readable, practical, and attractive resource you are sure to treasure! I generally don’t print out e-books, but the Spring Tea Party Planner is going on my zip drive and down to the copy shop for printing. This e-book is worthy of printing and coil-binding. And it’s not just pretty – it contains all the basics you need to know to host any size tea party including recipes, suggestions for themes and decorations, and recreation.
