Yesterday, I shared the Change 3 Challenge!
What a fabulous time of year to refine some habits. School is underway but the holiday frenzy has not overtaken us. Today, the challenge is kicking-off and I am unveiling the 3 habits I’ll be working to instill or change this month. There are oh so many to choose from :) I decided to make three goals that would indeed challenge me a little. I wanted to start small, but not too small that they don’t take a little extra effort…
“Earn the Couch”
Almost every evening once the kids are down, I go “off-duty.” I grab a snack and whatever entertainment I’d like to consume and plop my bottom on the couch. There are times I desire with every ounce of my being to get something accomplished, but rarely does that happen after 7:30 pm; and once I sit, I am a lost cause!
Most of the time, the basics are already done: dinner dishes, kitchen tidied, entryway and kids play room straightened up; but I typically don’t prep or plan anything for the next day (or sometimes that is what I do while I’m sitting). I don’t particularly like watching TV, but we tend to congregate in the living room at night (and I like to be in the same room as Andy) and then, the TV goes on and I half watch it while I half read, blog, research, or do whatever else. Note: I’m JUST fine taking time to invest in hobbies for my refreshment and enjoyment, so I have no intention of torturing myself by not resting in the evenings, just making myself work for it a little harder! Taking 15 extra minutes to prepare for the next day would certainly set us up for smoother mornings. These will be my requirements to “earn the couch” (Props to Andy for coining this phrase):
- PREP FOR TOMORROW: Prep diaper bag for the next day and pick out my clothes (many of you know how much time is wasted by picking a shirt and realizing the pants you need are in the laundry and so on and so forth until 20 minutes later you’re frustrated and the children start crumbling before your very eyes).
(Okay, I had a much longer list but Andy said each of those counted as their own habit/change and that I should only add them after doing the first thing grows habitual. I cut about 4 bullet points, haha, clearly my man knows me and is right). Here is the beauty…I can get these things done any time I desire, they just have to be done before I shut down for the night, so if they are done during the day or after dinner – great, mission accomplished!
Read 30 minutes before bed
This is self-explanatory; however…
In his book, Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders says,
“The leader who intends to grow spiritually and intellectually will be reading constantly…Leaders should determine to spend a minimum of half an hour a day reading books that feed the soul and stimulate the mind” (102).
I read in little pockets of time during the day, but I love this uninterrupted “late” night time when everyone else is sleeping. It gives me time to then think and pray on thoughts as I rest and fall to sleep. I suppose this is a matter of self-discipline in carving out and protecting that time by going to bed earlier!
God before Media!
If I don’t spend time with God in the morning before the boys are awake, it is sometimes a serious exercise in discipline to slow down later in the day, to calm my mind and spirit, and take time to rest in His presence. I don’t want to hustle through devotions with my mind racing, or I start writing or hop online and suddenly too much time passes. I want to intentionally focus on Sactification, Praying for People – my husband, children, family, and friends – Scripture Memory. I want to
This will be my hard and fast rule: NO going on the computer or internet until I deliberately quiet my heart before God. That means if I am hurrying through my time with God just so I can move onto the next thing, I need to stay there longer until I am not distracted but rather the time transforms from any sense of obligation into true Worship!
My Change 3 Challenge
There you have it. Really, all three of these relate to more effective time management. Sacrificing time I waste on the meaningless to invest in what I believe is more fruitful; resisting instant gratification in hopes of producing better mental, physical, and spiritual health.
We’re making it a family affair — Andy, my sisters, & bro-in-law are just a few joining in…this is {starting off} fun!
You’re turn:
What are your most important things to get ready the night before?
When do you most enjoy reading?
When do you spend time with God? Is it hard for you to slow down once your day gets started?
Sharing this post with: The Better Mom, Cornerstone Confessions, Time-Warp Wife, Growing Home, Raising Arrows, Women Living Well, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Walking Redeemed, Serving Joyfully, Raising Mighty Arrows, & Christian Mommy Blogger
Becca V
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I think this is great. You have my support and following. I must assure that I am ready to write in the mornings so I must be prepared for my “day job” before bed. I enjoy reading allegorical or redemption (not just Christian) themed fiction. My quiet time is in the morning before I do anything else. Reading, prayer, then writing.
These are great!Now lets see-
What are your most important things to get ready the night before?
for me its my list of what I need to do in the morning when I get up. I wake up pretty early before everyone else and that is when I work on my blog and when I get my quiet time with the Lord.If I make the list then its not rolling around in my head all night (causing me to not sleep)
When do you most enjoy reading?
evenings! After I put my little one I down I love to curl up with a good book.
When do you spend time with God? Is it hard for you to slow down once your day gets started?
I found I have to get my time in first thing in the morning.If not then my day just gets started and its hard to find time to slow down enough for me to really get into any kind of study.I talk to god all throughout the day but real quiet time comes first thing in the am.
I think ultimately for me, just as you said, it is the discipline of always getting up whether or not I feel like it in order to get that time with God and set myself up for (peaceful) success! Thanks for sharing and I hope your 3 things started out strong today :)
Getting my clothes ready is a great one. My other two will be using my windshield time more effectively for work and doing a daily devotional, Called, with the 10,000 or 15,000 other people currently doing it with the Brook Network/Elmbrook Church family. That’s kind of a cop out because I’d already started, but I’ve never actually done a 40 day study, day by day, each day (I tend to miss ones and make them up later and then, like you said, rush through them just to move on to other things). xoxoxox
Fabulous! Thanks for sharing your 3! Absolutely, I just want to always DESIRE that time every day and drink from the well long and slow.
PS – we should text each other our outfits before we go to bed each night – it’s like fashion-accountability! :-)
lol!
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