Alex Graduated College!

My husband, an immigrant from Liberia, Africa. 

I get to brag a bit about his testimony here. :)

He was a refugee from Liberia when the civil war broke out there.

His family walked to escape the war and went to the Ivory Coast.

From there, his family got to come to America as refugees, and his uncle, who has sickle cell got to come to the Mayo Clinic here in Minnesota. 

He came to know the Lord when he was in his early 20's, I believe, shortly before we met.

When we got married he worked very hard to get his US citizenship. 

He then endeavored to remove our family from ALL government assistance (food stamps, WIC program, health insurance... everything!) due to his convictions.

He worked hard to purchase our family a house. 

He then put himself through college and graduated on May 16th from MCTC with his AA and degree and diploma in HVAC.

He did ALL this while heading up several ministries, raising his 5 children, and working at whatever job (sometimes jobs) that paid the bills.

Not to mention, our family makes so little. 

But we serve a BIG GOD!

I am SO proud of him, and honored and humbled beyond what any words can describe, to be called the wife of Alex Deputie. 

I pray I honor him and give him all the respect and love that he deserves all the days of his life. I hope that my actions, words, and tone of voice always reflects my strong confidence in him and the decisions he makes and the path he chooses to lead our family. 

The years have been tough, and I know there are more roads ahead (one we are currently facing!!), but I know and trust his walk with Jesus, his convictions for our family, and his uncompromising obedience to the Word of God! And for that I am eternally praising the Lord for!

My Husband speaking on Time Management

MY husband was asked to be on The Man Up Show. 
Here's the archived recording of the show. 
He was speaking on Time Management and I was VERY encouraged by it and hope you are too!!

http://manupshow.org/2016/09/21/09282016-manup-show-with-alex-deputie/

Check out the other archived shows on there too. 
Obviously, this is a man's show, so maybe pass them onto your husbands :)

The Hard Part of Being a Help Meet

The many hats of being a wife.

The many hats of being a mother.

 

Oh how our selfishness can flare up! 

We've been home all day, at the front lines of all the fights, with the scars of the battle apparent on our weary and sore bodies. We've done laundry, cooked meals, arranged snack, taken all the kids to appointments and shopping, made phone calls, solved math problems, sounded out new words, wiped many tears, spanked many butts, corrected many character issues. We didn't get our nap time or our alone time because the troublemaker child decided NOT to sleep. Instead he decided to swallow the last tube of glue. Oh! AND the baby has cried for 8 hours straight and you had to have him strapped onto you every moment of the day. 

Then our husbands come home.

Yay! Relief! We get to check out!

If you have a wonderful husband like mine, I sometimes do get to check out when he gets home. At least for a little while. 

But I realize, and remind myself, it is my calling to come along side him.

My husband carries a lot on his plate. 

Besides being a family called to full-time ministry (which is our primary passion and what we love to do most), my husband also goes to school full-time and works as an HVAC for Bonfe full-time. His work hours are often longer then we expect, especially in the summertime. He's got school classes every day of the week and then ministry (home fellowship leader, sound ministry assistant, deacon). The many phone calls of people needing counsel and prayer. The many "emergency" meetings or circumstances of people needing my husband to serve in this way or another. The many meals my husband takes people out to just to spend time talking, praying, and counseling. These all often come when he just steps through the door at 9pm for the first time since 5am... 

He also has a passion for government. Once he finishes school next year, he is going to be getting more involved in local government. Of course, I have a feeling this will take up more of his time then his schooling currently is. :)

I often say "hello" to him for the first time face to face and the last time at 9pm in the evening.

See you Friday Night! Is often what we say to each other. Jokingly, but somewhat truthfully, since that's our designated family night with just us. Saturdays are also our Sabbath. See my post on the importance of Family Nights, Sabbaths, and Date Nights here.

As a wife, it's my job to come along side my husband in everything he does. 

It's often always at the expense of me. 

Of course I would LOVE for my husband to come home and spend time with us every day, but I know this isn't what the Lord's called our family to.

How do I know this?

Because what my husband's called to, so are we called to it. It's that simple. God wouldn't call my husband to something that He didn't call us all to.

TRUTH:

I often find myself envying the families who see their husbands every day for more then an hour.

I often wish we were that family that lived on the country side and life was slow and you enjoyed e.v.e.r.y. m.o.m.e.n.t. 

But then the Lord reminds me I still wouldn't be satisfied. 

What satisfies is doing exactly what the Lord has called you to. 
What satisfies is a relationship with Him.

So then there's the ministries the Lord's called me to. Worship ministry and our radio station (commercials, promos, music). ON TOP OF rearing 5 children and raising them for life, homeschooling, gardening, preserving food, managing a home, and meeting all my husbands needs.

This is our calling women.

We were made for this. 

We were made to lay ourselves aside for the sake of our family.

Other's don't see us do this.

Only our husbands and children see what we do every day and I believe that's why Solomon's mother said, in Proverbs 31:28,

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Speaking of the Proverbs 31 women... do you see how much this lady had on her plate?!? Yet she handled it with such kindness and grace. Also, her husband was known in the gates. He had a ministry and a calling outside the home. She had to "hold down the fort", I'm sure, many a-days when she just wanted her love to be at home with her. 

Now, I suppose it needs to be said that there are some husband who DON'T fulfill their role in the home. They aren't leading their families. They are spending too much time away from the house and their families are suffering. I guess that's the fine balance between doing what the Lord's called you to, and doing more then what the Lord's called you to, or not prioritizing what He's called you to. You need to pray, keep accountable, and know what He's said in His Word and to you. 

As I strive to be a better wife, my husband strives to be a better husband and father.

• He answers his phone every time I call despite any meeting or anything he's in (or at least calls back right away when he is able)
• He tells the kids when He is home they are to come to him with their needs unless He is on the phone - this lightens my load and reinforces that HE is the head of the family. I am simply taking over while he's not around
• He asks me to keep the kids awake as late as I need to so that HE can tuck them into bed and do devotions with them every night
• He sits and talks to me for at least 10-20 minutes every night even if he's dog tired
• He says the hard things and reminds me when I'm being childish or selfish (which is more often then I'd like to admit...)

Man what a blessing it is to walk in love. 

Self-sacrificing love. 

It's a joy!

I'm overwhelmed with joy when I choose obedience and choose selflessness, INSTEAD of being overwhelmed with what is my current circumstance.

It's NOT easy in the moment when my flesh wants to just BE SERVED!!!! 

But when I choose it, despite what I feel, or despite that lies others or the lies the world tells me (which could be a whole OTHER blog post - you deserve a break, you have it so hard, you need to slow down, you're doing too much), then I reap the blessings the Lord has for me. 

You know my husband and I were talking. 
Everything is about perspective. 
How we CHOOSE to view things. 
Are we going to view his LONG work and school hours as a really cruddy scenario that we're suffering through? 
Or a time that can actually be enjoyed? 
What about this is enjoyable that we couldn't enjoy if we weren't in this situation? 

- The long nights the kids and I get to spend snuggled up reading while we wait for daddy to come home. 

- The long days when schools finished, the house work is done and we get to pull out our guitars and drums and just jam. 

- The pictures I get to snap of the ridiculous things our oldest boy did to get in trouble that day and the slide show I get to show Alex when he gets home from the day.

- Seeing my oldest girls take on more responsibility in helping me load the car up to go places, or carry groceries in and put food away since we don't have our strong daddy to do that for us. 

- Crazy, out-of-control Costco runs with a baby on my hip, a child holding onto my skirt, three more dancing like ballerinas and singing worship songs with a cart overflowing of large bulk items. Oh I get looks like I'm a crazy women. But there's always a smile on my face and a song in my heart and that speaks more then anything I can say to the lost souls at the grocery mart.

Each family is called to something so unique and so precious. 

Each calling is different.

Each wife is unique for their husband. 

I just love the beauty of it all.

Tell me how your family functions!

How does your role as a help meet get hard, yet you persevere through it?

Praise the Lord for His grace and His love. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Praise the Lord for His Love and Grace

That He pours upon us as we occupy this place

Gleaning wisdom each day from His precious Word

And applying it to our lives seeking help from above

Wisdom cries out and we answer back

Since without her we would all be but daft

A wife and a mother, there's no higher call

And really no greater privilege at all

Like an art that we study, we craft, and we form

Daily sowing, and watering, doing our best to preform

At the end of it all we look eagerly to reap

All the treasures in heaven that we get to keep

When we look on our Savior, who carried our sin

And present our children and our husbands to Him

"Well Done" He will say, if we're faithful through and through
"You diligently cared for what I left you.
A praise to My heart is what you always pursued,

and because of your love,
Your Daughters and Sons 
They all made it here too."

~ Cassie Deputie ~

Motherhood: The Struggle

Motherhood. 

There isn't any one word that describes this.
It's such a strange role. 
I don't think you ever pinpoint exactly what your role is.
You're so much more talented that a shape shifter. 
You wear so many "hats" and become who others need you to be whenever they need it.
Most of your labor goes completely unnoticed.
Very rarely are you thanked. 
You cry a lot and feel like you're falling short daily.
You also bubble over with the most intense love and joy a human can feel.


As time goes by, your once youthful face becomes more wrinkled and dark circles are permanent under your eyes now.
Your once smooth, sexy skin that your husband enjoyed on your honeymoon becomes scared with marks of a warrior.
Your husband looks at you differently.
His love is much deeper now.
He cherishes you.
He knows how you've sacrificed everything for his family.


You know, it's a struggle sometimes.
Inadequacy creeps up on you.
You feel like you don't pray with them enough.
Like you don't read God's Word to them enough.
You're not patient with them enough.
They aren't as well behaved as you think they should be.
They aren't going to be prepared for collage at age 15 with the way you've been homeschooling lately.

Tears roll down my face and I share my struggles with my life partner, my husband.
I cry out to God and remind Him of how I am not able to raise these kids properly. 

I don't have all the answers, but I'm humbled. 
I'm open to His leading. 
I want to be all that He wants me to be. 
He's the only one I live to please and when my role as a mother changes every day, He never changes. 
He is all I will have when my kids no longer need me through the night. 
He's the one I will spend eternity with even if my kids don't choose that. 

But we NEVER see you!!

This is my husband's 3rd time going through school. 

This time is so much different then the last few times. 

It used to be so lonely and felt like this HUGE commitment that would never end. 

It felt like we never saw Alex and I felt like I was parenting alone. 

I was stressed, exhausted, frustrated, frazzled, and ... unfortunately... pretty contentious. 

Now, I'm surprised at how quickly it's flying by!

 I think it's because the Lord's taught us some very valuable lessons. 

It takes creativity, flexibility, and also, some times of not compromising. 

There are four main "times" that we schedule for our family. 

We have a House Night which includes everyone in our home that lives with us (currently 12 people). On House night we have a meal together and then spend at least 4 hours doing something together. Sometimes we pray and read the Bible together. Sometimes we have issues we need to talk out. Sometimes we all go somewhere for dinner or someone's home to hang out. The main thing is that we are all doing it as a household once a week. This keeps us united. Since schedules are so different it's important we see each other and connect once a week. Our house night is Friday from around 5pm-9pm

Family Night eating out and then going to a local conference. 

Ahavah and I had to get food from an Organic Resutraunt and bring it to the place the rest of the house was eating. She was pretty sick this night from her Chelation Therapy. She hardly ate and was really swollen in the face and exhausted. 

Here's our house night table! :)

Papa reading library books to all the kids one house night. 

We also have a Sabbath. The point of a Sabbath is to do less physically then you do the rest of the week. You need to catch up on sleep, rest your body and your mind, and spend extra time in the Word studying and being refreshed. Alex will spend some time in Bible Study or reviewing the kid's lessons from Thursday and Sundays with them. Our Sabbath collides with our House Night and starts 4pm Friday until 4pm Saturday. This often means sometimes missing out on some events if they seem to be more of a stressful thing then a relaxing thing (like today we opted out of a homeschool field trip because my husband is pretty fried), but it could also mean rescheduling our sabbath to make ministry/other events that are really important to us (God's Not Broke ect). 

Next we have a weekly Date Night. We try to make this 4 hours long at the very least. It's a MUST, MUST, MUST! I am one of those mom's that would take my kids out on every date because I miss them when I'm not with them for more then an hour. But these date nights refocus, reground, and strengthen you as a couple, as a united force at home and in ministry. Your husband can pour his heart out to you, you can share your frustrations and ideas with him, you guys can pray and "gossip" about the people that you're ministering to (it's not really gossip guys...), and you can remind each other to stick to the plan and make it through another week. Our Date Night follows our Sabbath on Saturday Nights. 

Lastly, we have a day when we invite people over, or have time to work on projects around the house or ministry. This day, for us, is Sunday. Alex will usually change lightbulbs, work on the bathroom, work on the yard ect. I'll usually bake what I need for the week, go to the Farmer's Market and make stocks and sauces to freeze, make the weekly school lesson plans, or do some deep cleaning. We may throw something in the crockpot before church and invite people over for food after church. I love having this day right before the week starts because I feel recharged from my Sabbath and then I feel prepared come Monday. 

Obviously each schedule is different for each season of life, but this is ours right now. Having these days to look forward to makes things so much more tolerable. 


A few other tips that the Lord's taught us have to do with things my husband has implemented. 

• He never brings homework home. He will stay a few hours after school and get it done. 
• If He has "found time", he spends it with us. 
• When he's here, he's here! He's not thinking of all the things he needs to get done.
• On our Sabbath, he rests. He doesn't schedule appointments or make phone calls. (And ladies, don't tell your husband all the things that need to get fixed around the house on his Sabbath! Implement another time for him to work on those things.)
• He calls and face time's regularly. He checks up on how things are going on my end. He'l help correct issues over the phone, or praise the kids for their school work. It feels like he's still involved. 

I just LOVE these times in this season of life! Our house nights range from super chaotic, to such a sweet time of intimacy and fellowship, to a night of laughs and fun! Sometimes we blast music and watch the kids dance, stay up late playing "Mafia", or fall asleep snuggled up together in front of a movie or TV show. :)

** On a side note, it took several years for us to have this implemented so beautifully like we do now. It took years of prayer, trial and error, and learning how to keep these things and how important they were. If your husband's not there yet, PRAY!! The amazing changes of prayer!! Man! I am a beaming, happy, blessed, wife due to who the Lord has molded my husband into. He's a strong, responsible, amazing man of God! 

6 P's of Living in Small Space With Lots of People

Oh how much fun I have been having with my kids!

You know, I stand back and praise the Lord that even though we are extremely busy, we still enjoy our children and have time with them raising them into maturity and just appreciate them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My son is just the most hilarious person in the world, next to my Hayven who's pretty stinking funny. We went to the drive in several times so far this summer and we've seen Minions twice. One night, during family devotions and prayer, Elias breaks out and whispers in a creepy, low voice, "BANANA!"

Also the other morning, my son must have went and sat on the potty and forgot to put himself pointing downward because his shirt wreaked of pee. He had crawled into bed with me and fallen back asleep. We both were just waking up and I asked him, "did you pee yourself?" He looks at me with his big, brown, guilty eyes and said, "No! It's milk!" 

"Milk?!? You didn't have any milk!"

"No, it's milk" he said this time with some pretty convincing hand gestures to help sell his position. 

"Son, where did you get milk?" I replied, trying to hide my grin.

"It's milk."

There was a time that same day he did pee in his pants because he got so consumed with playing with his cars he couldn't dare take himself away to do such meanial tasks as peeing in the potty. "No, it's milk!" He expressed with a nervous whine behind his statement. :)

So, when Hayven was his age, she would say these things in the most ghetto accent! It was just hilarious! "I hode yo hand?" "I fix yo car?" "I hode yo bag?" Well Elias often says, "Mom! You feel me? You feel me, mom?"

Elias also thinks he is in charge. A lot. He takes the responsibility of the dad often times. I don't let him get away with this obviously. He repeats what I say or orders his siblings around. "Come down!" "Sit down and eat your food!" "Foods ready!" "DEPUTIES!! COME HERE!"

Hayven has recently gotten over her fear of bugs and actually enjoys picking them up and squishing them.

BUT, what I REALLY wanted to post about was:

How to Prepare for Living With Lots of People In A Small Space.

Now my husband and I would argue about whether our house is big or small. I think it's a great size! Our home is about 1,800 sq feet and it has three bedrooms with doors that close and one "passing room" upstairs that we use as a bedroom. The passing room has no doors, but works as a bedroom. So in reality its a three-bedroom and one-bathroom. However, we use it as a 4-bedroom. Also, we just finished the plumbing on our NEW 1/2 BATHROOM!!!

It was my kitchen pantry and is now a cute little bathroom! It's very strange to have a second toilet in the house. It's soon nice!! And very timely since...

My dad, step-mom, and both my little brothers will be MOVING IN to STAY in a few days. So it will be (1)Alex, (2) Me, (3) Ahavah, (4) Aleica, (5) Hayven, (6) Elias, (7) Alyssa, (8) Mariah, (9) Dad, (10) Mom, (11) Tres, (12) Aaron Matthew living here. 

Short notice? 

Very. 

STRESSFUL? 

Nope. 

Here's why:

I really believe a lot of our attitude is based around our perspectives and mind set. Maybe that's why in Phillipians 4 it tells us to "set our mind" on things that are pure, lovely, noble, praiseworthy ect. We know that this house, and really everything we own is not our own. Therefore, we have no problem giving up our own comforts in order to meet the needs of others! In fact, we really get excited and look forward to it! We love being stretched and laying down our lives for others. 

The kids and I have been meditating on these verses the last month or so:

John 15:13 Greater love has no man then this, then a man lay down his life for his friends. 

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a random for many.

Matthew 25:42-45 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did not to me.'

RABBIT TRAIL: Here's a quick blast to the past of pictures I found of when my brother, me, and my little sisters were younger in Disney World! Thought you might enjoy!

My brother and I were racing to finish our malts. Pretty sure I won. It was my mom's 40th birthday. 

Mariah was throwing a HUGE fit because she didn't get the parasol she wanted. She threw her hat on the ground. As you can see, we were all laughing hysterically. 

 AnYwAyS....

How to prepare to live in a "small space" with lots of people:

(1) PRAY! Prayer prepares. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your home with peace, protection, joy, fellowship, words of wisdom and prophecy, hospitality, and love. Pray over the people living in the home and the people moving in. Pray over relationships and issues that may arrive. Pray over the protection of your immediate family and that the Lord will keep your focus on loving your husband and keeping him the most important person. Pray the Lord will keep you growing your children into mturity instead of getting swept away with the complexity of everything else going on. Pray that each member gets some sort of private closet time with Jesus every day.

(2) PURGE! Grab some garbage bags and go to town! Oh, how I LOVE purging!!! Throw things away and donate to a thrift store or church garage sale. The LESS you have, the BETTER it will be. Each person moving in has a lot of things they are bringing with them. That's more clutter, more items on the floor, more dishes on the table, more garbage behind the couch, and more kids toys in the corners. Live simplistically so others can live comfortably. 

My current youngest sibling, AaronMatthew.

(3) PREPARE! Today, once our Sabbath morning is over, we're moving bunk beds around and switching rooms (again, for the 100th time this year) to best suit the needs of our GUESTS. We put ourselves last in consideration of all this with the exception of our marriage. Alex and I don't give up our bedroom for guests. EVER! We need a place where him and I can have to ourselves. A place we can escape, we can be intimate, and we never have to feel like this is going to be uprooted. We will be bringing our children into our room for a few nights when we have other people we're housing, but we (Praise the Lord) have a bedroom that can be split into two rooms with a large black sheet. 

(4) PARENT! Get your children ready. Tune them up on their duties at home. Make sure they're diligence in their chores is better then it's ever been. Beds made every morning. Rooms picked up several times a day. Dishes continually being washed and put away. Floors swept. Tables Cleared off. No one goes to bed without the house being clean. This will TREMENDOUSLY eliminate stress and clutter later down the road!!

(5) PLACID! Stay calm. Relax. Enjoy. Don't get swept into the chaos and spend every waking moment preparing, planning, cleaning, stressing. Sit back and enjoy where God has you in this time of life. Laugh at the chaos and the mess. When you need a break, slip into your room (I strongly suggest making sure your room is CLEAN before you leave it every. single. morning. This gives you a place to go that's in order for those times when nothing else is), shut the door and thank the Lord for a home filled with His people who need ministering to, and the honor of being the one to do it. Go for a walk. Call the home together for a time of worship, reading of the Word, and open and honest conversation of what the Lord's doing. 

(6) PERISH! DIE TO YOURSELF!!! It's NOT about YOU! Everyday I pull myself into the kitchen and bury myself in washing the dishes telling my flesh, "DIE! DIE! DIE! Why won't you die?!? It's not about you!" Memorize the scripture above and place them in a place where you will see them throughout the day. Ask the Lord to help you die to yourself that He may be glorified. 

Acts 2:44-47 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to every man, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 4:32-34 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grade was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostle's feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 

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!