What a Sunday! I started off running a tad behind ridiculously late this morning and I feel like I spent the rest of the day just trying to play catch up. Today consisted of the usual Sunday School, church and lunch at McDonalds with good friends. Then in the afternoon I attended a very lovely ladies "chocolate tea" at the Methodist church with other good friends and finally capped the day off with a TWO AND A HALF hour long band concert at the Christian church (which showcased our community's awesome, extremely talented kids, including my own Abbey--but just happened to be much longer than I had originally anticpated!) Now I'm finally home, in my pajamas, sitting in front of this computer. Ahhhh. Some days are just like that. This morning we sang another old favorite hymn: "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder." When we got to the line Let us labor for the Master from the dawn 'til setting sun... my heart was flooded with the thought/prayer "Yes Lord, I'll labor for You from the dawn 'til setting sun for the rest of my life." I love Him so much and even though I sometimes get bogged down in the work of the ministry, I love working for Him. Young moms who have a desire for ministry have a challenge trying to balance everything. And even though I'm 35--having a baby has sort of thrown me back into the "young mom category." Lately I've been asked "How do you do it all?" Well, not to belittle the question, but of course nobody does it all. If you homeschool your children, you probably don't dust your baseboards on a weekly basis. If you homeschool your children and dust your baseboards on a weekly basis, you probably don't teach Sunday School or work in the children's ministry at your church. If you do all of the above--you probably don't sleep. And then your family feels the effects of your sleeplessness Cruella-De-Vil-like behavior. People who know me well, KNOW that I don't do it all. From time to time I have, in fact, been prone to forget things. Like my car keys. I'm also not one of those pastor's wives who feels that she needs to be at the church for every activity offered. For instance, I don't attend the weekly Ladies' Bible study and I have really slacked off on teaching the monthly parenting study. (i.e. We haven't met since November. *sheepish grin*) But I do spend daily time with my Lord; homeschool one daughter; cuddle, play with and feed a baby on a regular basis; chase 3 other kids around to public school activities; teach Kindergarten Sunday School and Preschool AWANA and disciple 4 couples alongside my husband. Yeah, my plate is full. You'll notice "keeping my home magazine ready" was not on the list. My home is fairly orderly and sanitary (most of the time) but I'm not waiting for a call from the local sorority to put my home on the Christmas tour if you know what I mean. (I guess if they call I could hang some tinsel on the commercial sized trash can that sits in my kitchen...) One young mom recently asked me if I had any tips on how she could keep her house neater because the mess was causing a lot of stress in her home. The first thing that always comes to mind when someone asks a question like that is: "How much are you doing?" You know, time really is like money: You only have a fixed amount and you need to spend it wisely. So, if you've been a bit stressed lately, stop and reevaluate. Look at your day/week and see if it all adds up. Are you trying to do more than you have hours to do it? Elisbeth Elliot used to always say: "There's always time to do the will of God." So if you feel like you're always robbing Peter to pay Paul when it comes to your time, maybe it's time to cut something out. Just make sure it's not God or your family who take the cut.