Our Priorities

Yesterday was a good day for me! I actually felt like I accomplished quite a bit. I got woke up by a very sad teething baby at 4:45 AM. I had my alarm for 6:20 AM, so I could throw in the Baked Oatmeal (it takes 30-40 minutes to bake). I got up, put it in the oven and layed back down. Then up just before it came out! Perfect! I got the boys up, served them their oatmeal. I started my laundry early... Of course like most days the momentum slows when my hubby is around. (After typing that, he wanted me to cut his hair! So, I just got back.). And some days, there just IS NO momentum. It's like I'm fighting against SOMETHING, just TRYING to get things accomplished!

And how can I, how can WE, not feel like failures when we don't get done everything that a super mom or a super wife should get done in a day?

God calls us to be a lot of things (good wives, mothers, daughters, homemakers, hostesses, planners, etc, etc, etc....), but what if we have a bad day? Or a day that could just be SO FILLED with stuff, we just don't know how to keep our heads above water? WHAT DO WE DO???

The first time a woman emerged onto the scene, in the Bible, what does it say about her?

Gen 2:18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."

God wanted a helper for man. We are called to be OUR man's helper. I always joke with my husband that I am his secretary, but that is kind of what PART of our roll as a wife is! Taking care of the affairs of the household for the boss.

Also, God says this:

Mat 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the Law? Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

So His greatest commandment is the we first LOVE HIM! An all consuming love (with our heart, soul & mind!). The second is that we love others, as ourselves. And then it says, "On these two hang all the Law and the Prophets". Everything that we do comes back to these two commands. God first, others second- ALL THE TIME. If we follow those two things, that is everything God commands of us all summed up!

So- back to our original question. What are the most important things? What if I can't accomplish everything?

Well, from these I think we can see that God requires that HE be first in our lives! So each day our first priority, should be that we spend time with Him! And a lot of time, all day long!

The second priority should be our Husbands. God created us FOR him, to be his helper! If that is why we were created, we need to fill the position! Going with this, if our husbands ask that we have certain things in our homes completed, we need to do them! If he likes dinner on the table when he comes home from work, we should do this! But also, if our husbands see that we are putting forth the effort and one day we just couldn't get it all done, I know our husbands will be forgiving and know that we did our best. (God also calls that HE do certain things too, like being loving to his wife!) But we need to put forth that effort!!!

After our husband, of course, should be our children. We need to spend time with them! I consider my children part of my spreading the gospel throughout the world. If I give my children the time, and teach them about Christ, then it will hopefully resonate in their lives for others to see. And spending times with our kids is just important! As I am reminded of in watching my baby, children grow so fast, we don't want to miss any of it. God has intrusted us with children! HE entrusted us. We didn't just decide, or it wasn't just "an accident", HE did it. HE knows the beginning from the end, he knows every hair on our heads, and HE is the MAKER OF EVERYTHING. Taking care of HIS children, is just an extension of loving HIM! (This can be our own, or other kids that we come into contact with or are under our care!)

After these 3 very important things, can come everything else. Keeping in mind what does the Lord want me to accomplish today, what does my husband need me to accomplish today, what do my kids need today, and then what else is a priority? Are the cobwebs more important than your husband or your children? Is sweeping or laundry more important that spending time in the Lord's Word? These are tough decisions!!! But we always need to go back to who is first.

If we are having a tough time trying to figure out what needs to be done first, stop and pray! The Lord knows everything, so He will help us to figure out what will be the best thing for us to do next!

And we can go back to starting our day... we need to start our days out in prayer! We need to seek God and see what HE wants us to accomplish that day. Sometimes His plans may be completely different than ours BUT, isn't His plan better?

I like to call this "bob-n-weave". I love this term, and husband laughs when I use it, but that is kind of how we need to be in life. We need to have a plan, we need to be organized and accomplish things, BUT if the Lord tells us to do something else, we need to be able to roll with it. We need to roll with the punches!

Mat 6:31-34 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.