The other night I could not sleep for anything.  I tried lavender oil, melatonin, and listening to a podcast. Then eventually around 4am I made my way to the couch to see if a change of scenery would do the trick.  I’ve heard people say, “when you can’t sleep, God wants to talk.”  So, I prayed and told God I was listening.  Shortly after, I cracked opened a book knowing sometimes that makes me sleepy.  And there it was, in those pages, what God wanted to tell me. I’m sure of it.

You see, every day I wake up with a plan/to do list. It is very calculated to be sure that I get everything done. (Like we talked about in last week’s post) I believe, like the Titus 2 verse says, that women should take care of the home, their husband and children.  So, my list contains household chores, grocery shopping, dinner prep etc.  I desire to be a woman who serves her home, but I also enjoy serving women outside my home.  So, my list also contains my nap time hustle, where I am mentoring women, holding virtual bible study, and writing this blog. But in the wee hours of the morning as I read “Grace Not Perfection” by Emily Ley, these words popped off the page:

“Whether you’re seventeen or seventy-five, you can define the life you want to have. Better yet, you can decide how you want to spend your days.  God numbered and gave you every single one of those days, so what if you lived each one to it’s fullest?”

Friends, are you just “getting through your days?”

I read that last part and my heart sank.  While I don’t believe in all the worldly promotion of self-gratification in “designing your life” (because I believe God calls us to “take up our cross and die to self”), I recognized in that moment that I was hardly living my days in the abundant life God wanted for me.  In the dark, I whispered, “Oh Lord.  I am so sorry. I have been like a drill sergeant.  I just go through my day making sure we get everything done. Kids dressed, fed, chores, “go play”, lunch, naps, dinner, baths, read, bed. Repeat. I have done nothing other than checked off the boxes for my kids until they go to bed. I have just pushed them along the assembly line of my day to get to the next thing. That is not the life you want for me as a mother. And that is not the life you want for them as my children! They’ve seen the importance of getting things done and cleaning up after themselves but not the importance of YOU!”

I realized that night that I have become like Martha in the story of Martha and Mary. When Jesus came to visit, Martha prepared and did everything on the to do list while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet.  Martha served Jesus but she missed resting in Him like Mary did. In my physical unrest at 4 in the morning, God also showed me my spiritual unrest that I was living out during the day.

Emily Ley continued in her book with a mission statement of the fulfilled life she wanted. Where Emily may or may not have asked God what He wanted her days to look like, I knew it was important for me to prayerfully ask God to help me write the mission statement he wanted for my life.  He controls time and I know He can make the most of my days and this is what came of it…

My Mission Statement

The Lord wants me to have free time in my days to enjoy and soak in my babies. He wants me to create memories for all of us that last a lifetime. He wants me to pray with them every day and learn about Jesus alongside them.  He wants me to play with them and create smiles.  He wants me to invest in my children’s learning and teach them everything from a biblical world view. He wants me to work at most 20 hours a week so that my husband and children know they are my priority. He wants me to have a clean home and have my children help so they learn responsibility and learn the importance of taking care of things.  He wants us to eat dinner as a family. He wants me to be rested so that I have energy to give to my husband.  The Lord wants me to make my husband feel important, so when he is home everything else gets put away unless we both decide otherwise. He wants my work to inspire my kids to pursue the passions He places in their hearts. He wants me to leave a legacy that says “her joy was found in Christ.”

Aren’t His plans SO GOOD?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11

After I wrote that out, I wanted to take it a step further than the book did and apply it to my daily life.

Daily List

1. Find joy in the morning– wake up before the kids and sit with Jesus. Whether it’s to worship, read scripture, journal, pray or if time allows all of the above, this is the time to find joy in the Lord and let it continue throughout the day.
2. Manage the home- Set aside an hour a day to get a part of the house straightened and cleaned with the kids.
3. Teach– find a teaching rhythm and curriculum that puts God first and doesn’t take over 3 hours a day so that our days are not consumed with homeschooling.
4. Play- Set aside 2 hours a day for real play time when I can be totally present to enjoy the kids.
5. Work- Set aside 1-2 hours each day to pursue my God given passions serving others.
6. Rest- Set aside rest time daily. Jesus went off and rested. God rested. I also need rest to serve my husband, my children, and others well.

This list is now the barometer for anything that goes on my planner.  This will also make decision-making much easier with hard no’s or hard yes’s when I’m given opportunities.

Friends, I know the Lord wants to lead and guide each of us.  His way is better than ours. When we just focus on the to-do’s and what we think we need to do, we miss out on the blessings God puts right in front of us and the abundant life He wants us to have in Him.  The world tells us to live a life of burn out and distraction but that is not God’s way. Martha and Mary show us that:

Luke 10:38-42: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the LORD’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “LORD, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the LORD answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The busy life is just another one of Satan schemes. Instead, if we all rested in Him a little more and found joy in Him and those we love, I believe we’d actually be living the life He meant for us.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10  (KJV)

Now it’s your turn to write a mission statement and to-do list letting the Lord lead! Then share below in the comments or email me how it’s helped you! I’d love to know.