How To Balance It All: 5 P's

Pray.

That's How.

Pray. Prioritize. Plan. Practice. Perspective.

Being a wife can sometimes feel like a full-time gig. (Washing his clothes, folding his clothes, ironing his clothes, making his breakfast, lunch and dinner, picking up the house, organizing his mail, paper work and bills, providing him with toilet paper, toothpaste, a bed side lamp, a quiet evening, praying for him, listening to him, running the errands he doesn't have time for, assisting him in the ministries he is in...)

Throw in a few kids... lets say 4 kids ages 3 and under, now that's hilarious! (Nurse the baby every 4 hours all night long, change diapers, empty training potties, brush teeth, brush hair, get all the kids dressed, make breakfast, clean up breakfast, teach preschool, entertain the toddler, nurse the baby again, break up fights, teach children what Bible says about arguing, stealing, lying, cheating, make lunch, clean up lunch, try to get everyone to nap at the same time, clean the bathroom, living room, kitchen, prepare dinner, change the baby, nurse the baby, light a candle, eat dinner, clean up dinner, break up more fights, go over church lessons, give baths, put pajamas on, brush teeth, nurse the baby, pray everyone sleeps through the night... but oh no! Someone's blanket fell off the bed and they are screaming at 2am, the baby wants to nurse at 3am, another kid has a bloody nose at 4am, someone has to pee at 5am, the baby wants to nurse again at 6am...)

So now what about the other things the Lord has called us to? (Leading worship: reading ahead for the message, finding new songs, memorizing them, practicing, praying over the ministry and the body's heart for worship; Teaching children's church: praying for your class, studying, lesson planning, printing worksheets, finding games; Women's ministry: calling women up, praying with and for them, baking sweets, writing encouragement cards, planning events, executing events...)

More and More I DO believe that a women's first priority is her home and her children, however I DO NOT believe that is ALL we are to do. "Only those within these four walls of my home and am I going to minister to. That's it!" God calls us as women and believers to be hospitable, to sing spiritual songs to one another, to serve and function as the body of Christ. God's given us spiritual gifts to minister to others with. 


So how do you balance it all??

(1) PRAY: 
Where does God have me? 
What has God given me to minister to other with? 
Am I being faithful in the little things, so I can be entrusted with the bigger things? 
Will my family be blessed more from me serving in this area, then me not serving?
Am I capable of doing this, or am I actually called to do this??

(2) PRIORITIZE: 
(a) my relationship with God, 
(b) my relationship with my husband, 
(c) my discipleship of my children, 
(d) my service to the body of Christ, 
(e) to save lost souls dying and going to Hell. 

Ask yourself:
Where does cleaning my house come in?
Where does homeschooling my kids come in?
Where does making hot meals come in?
Where does practicing my guitar come in?
Where does spending that hour at someone's house come in?
Where do my devotions come in?

My example answers:
Where does cleaning my house come in?
People are more important then tasks. IF cleaning my house stops me from ministering to people, then it comes after. If cleaning my house DOES minister to people, then it comes first. It can affect my relationship with my husband, kids, body, and people who need Jesus. It can also distract me from those things. 

Where does homeschooling my kids come in?
Homeschooling my kids is part of discipling them and will affect my relationship with my God if I am not faithful in shepherding His flock. Therefore it is very important on my list of priorities.

Where does making hot meals come in?
This is important on my list of priorities as it can/does affect b,c,d, and e on my list.

Where does practicing my guitar come in?
This is my ministry to the body. Therefore it comes after my personal time with Jesus, my ministry to my husband, and my ministry to my children. 

Where does spending that hour at someone's house come in?
If my husband, and children are taken care of, then I am able to spend time ministering to people or hanging out at their homes. However, if spending that time takes me away or distracts me from correcting and instructing my children or serving my husband, then it comes last.

Where do my devotions come in?
TOP PRIORITY! In different seasons of life, I do this first thing in the morning. In other seasons, it's during nap/quiet time. In other seasons, it's in the late hours of the evening or night. BUT IT ALWAYS HAPPENS! Even if I sit in piles of dishes and laundry and read my Bible and worship my God!

Listen Up! Our ministries flow from our relationship with God!

It's GREAT to be spent for Jesus!

Forget yourself and your needs and wants and strive to die to self and serve Jesus. 

He gave His life for us, should we do any less?

(4) PLAN: I go back and forth with schedules... I don't like being tied down to one, but I love how much I get done with one. I also like to be free to be moved by the Holy Spirit. For example, I don't like having a specific time to wake up everyday because most ministry takes place in the evenings. I want to be able to stay up till 10pm or 1am and not worry about HAVING to get up at 7am to stick to this "schedule" I made. 

However, without a plan, things just don't seem to get done. 

Our current plan is to:
wake up
eat breakfast, do devotions, pray
do preschool
do daily house chore (bathroom, living room, bed rooms, office day, kitchen)
eat lunch
naptime/quiet time - worship practice, more devotions
prepare dinner
eat dinner
clean house
family time
family devotions
serve/ministry
bedtime for kids
more worship practice/work on other ministry things

Now if we wake up at 10am and start our day, so be it! If we wake up at 5am to start our day, so be it!

What's your game plan for getting the things done that you need to get done daily? What does the Bible say about planning? Does God like order?

(5) PRACTICE:  Do your own word study and see how many times the word "diligence" is mentioned in the Bible, especially when it comes to our walks with Jesus. We are supposed to be diligent in our time, energies, service, spiritual life. We are not supposed to be lazy at all or eat the bread of idleness. It takes work. It takes diligence. Just Do It. 

(6) PERSPECTIVE: I think ministry should be fun. Being a wife is a blast! Being a mom is awesome! Being able to serve the body of Christ and being used by the Maker of the Universe to do His will is amazing! It's not always easy for sure! And we often walk through things that are not always comfortable. But overall, we wouldn't want to trade it for anything! Even the hardships! Because we know the fruit that comes. We know the blessings we will receive on earth and the rewards in heaven!!


Remember:
God doesn't NEED you for anything. I mean He IS God!
His Grace is sufficient for you.
His strength is made perfect in your weakness.
God equips the called. Look at Jesus' disciples!