Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks) where nothing seems to go right? I've had one of those weeks ... rushing, trying to get everything done that everyone needs - and getting more frustrated by the hour! I think the more I had to deal with people ... the more I liked my dog!!

So, as I sat down to write this morning - with all of these frustrations running around in my mind - it is really hard to focus on being positive and loving! I went back through some of my ramblings from last year. I do that quite often - and it's good for me. I can see just how far I've come - how things have changed in my life over time - and how no matter how much things change, they are still the same! I came upon this entry, and I really needed to hear it again - and thought you might, too!

Last year, I made a commitment to Morgan that Thursday night is 'her night'. It's our time. We've done pretty good this past year at holding to that ... at least in theory. For example, we had 'our time' last night - in hours, but not where it really counts. We went out, ran into cranky people, got frustrated, decided to do something else - wasn't what we thought - and ended up at home - both of us frustrated and miserable. This time was becoming another thing to rush through - rather than a break from the rush!

I needed that reminder that although it was very necessary to schedule that time slot for Morgan - it's not just about the hands on the clock - it's about the fingerprints on her heart.

. . . . . . . . . .

So… I stumbled upon a verse the other day, quite by accident actually. It was one of those times that I think God just threw it in front of me like a big red stop sign – maybe one step short of the 2 x 4 that He was about to hit me over the head with! Here’s the verse… “and all our busy rushing ends in nothing” Psalm 39:6

Wow – that’s pretty harsh, don’t you think! I have to hurry up and get to work, I’ve got deadlines to meet – then I get home at 6:00 and have to fix dinner, clean up the messes that got made that day (when no one was even home all day), take care of mom, get Morgan ready for bed, spend time with her for goodness sake – I’ve just got so much to do – if I don’t rush, how will I ever get things done, right!?!?! WRONG – not according to David – he says that all that rushing ends in nothing!

So what am I supposed to do?!?! There are things I just have to get done – I can’t let my family go hungry, I can’t lose my job because I miss a deadline – so how do I not rush?? A few lines down, David tells us “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” Only with the Lord helping us can we get everything done. It is amazing how we find time for the things we want to do. We say all the time that we are sooooo busy – I just couldn’t fit another thing in my day. Then, an old friend calls for lunch, and we find the time. We didn’t magically get another hour in the day for that lunch, we found it by making lunch with that friend more important than something else that didn’t really have to get done.

With everything going on in my crazy world right now, I’ve felt like I didn’t have enough time to breathe! Free time??? What’s that???? I realized recently that the most important part of my life was getting pushed aside because of all the rushing I was doing – Gotta get something done on the house, gotta take mom to therapy, gotta fix dinner, gotta do… - and at the end of the day, there was no time left to just spend with Morgan. No time to talk about what’s on her mind, what she’s been doing, or just show her that she really is important. I realized that I schedule things all day long – I’ve got appointments and meetings on my calendar – that barring an emergency, I’m going to keep. Morgan was getting what was leftover between those things – and that just wouldn’t do! So, here’s what I did. I scheduled her in! She is on my calendar every Thursday – and barring an emergency, that’s my time with her. We’ll go shopping, or out do dinner, or maybe just play a game at home or watch a movie together – but it is HER time. We’ve only been doing this about a month – but it’s amazing the difference it’s made – and how much we both look forward to our time together.

How did I find an entire evening when I couldn’t even find a half hour to catch my breath?? It’s not easy – it’s time management, prioritizing, and the hardest thing in the world for me – telling people ‘No, I can’t do that’! David reminds us this – ‘For I am your guest, Lord – a traveler passing through’. Psalm 39:12 If I’m only visiting, what mark is it that I want to leave? We work very hard at making a living – we should work equally as hard

to make a life.

Have a great weekend – and I’ll see ya next week!


T.G.I.F.
(Thank God I’m Forgiven)