back to reality and priorities

just a warning before you start reading.  this post is long-winded, a little whiny, and rambles - but i do reach a conclusion in the end. :)

a text picture i sent to my hubby back in april - this is better than a picture of me whining, i promise!

the past month has gone by in kind of a blur.  first girl's camp, then trek, our town's outdoor movie, bbq, rodeo and parade, then the 4th of july with all its festivities.  my schedule has been thrown out the window and i need it back!

one month ago, how did i fit kids, house cleaning, planning and preparing meals, buying groceries, family home evening, family scripture study, family prayer, personal scripture study, personal prayer, couple prayer, my calling in the yw, and work all in 24 hours a day?  and don't even get me started on taking time to do a hobby.  i think i've either got really lazy or i'm suffering from amnesia!

i was speaking with nathan about this a few days ago and he suggested that i just needed to realign my priorities.  get back to what was most important.  i pondered on that a bit, but honestly which of these things is the most important?

a few days ago, i also took a learning style quiz and discovered (probably already knew) that i'm an interpersonal learner, mostly. meaning that it like to talk it out, get other's insights and have a discussion. so blogland, let's have a discussion about what my highest priority should be right now.

house cleaning - to some of you this is a no-brainer to toss on the back burner.  but i cannot function in an unorganized mess, my brain shuts down.  i have to start my day, everyday, by making my bed.  i wish i could be like some other people and just look past it, but i am not wired that way.  this doesn't mean that i scrub my floors everyday, i just need to have things picked up, put away and the kitchen counters clean.  my ability to be a good mother is directly affected by my ability to relax in my home.  a mess in my home = an impatient, unfocused mother.

planning and preparing meals - i was doing awesome, double awesome in this area before the start of my summer activities.  i fell off the band wagon somewhere at the beginning of june.  working outside of my home full time requires that i have to plan ahead in this area.  i simple cannot come home and throw something together night after night.  meat needs to be thawed, ingredients need to be purchased and prepared.  most meals must be planned out in advance.  i found this awesome meal planner by vertex42 and was using it pretty religiously up until it all fell apart.

buying groceries - i think this is one of the worst task known to man.  i do not like to grocery shop.  maybe i would like to grocery shop if i had an unlimited supply of cash and i could just throw whatever i want into my cart.  that is not the case at the moment.  nathan and i have some specific financial goals right now that have me on a pretty tight leash when it comes to our discretionary income, and guess what people, grocery money is discretionary income.  another reason that grocery shopping is super dumb - remember i said i work full-time, who wants to spend their saturday (their only day off) at the grocery store.  not me!  i try to rope my hubby into the shopping with me as often as i can because it at least makes it a little more fun.  i think he would rather pull his toenails out most of the time.  we even grocery shop for date night sometimes.

family home evening, family scripture study, family prayer, personal scripture study, personal prayer, couple prayer - these are all no brainers.  i cannot cut these out or make them less of a priority.  we slacked a little in this area over the last month and let me tell you, my family is different.  i am different.  we've been trying hard to do these things that we have been asked to do for a few years.  sometimes we are good and sometimes we slack and need to recommit.  i know we are promised great blessing if we will obey the counsel of the prophets and do these things

just as a side note, this is my favorite quote about the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon together.

I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.  President Marion G Romney, April 1980

honestly, every since we started reading the scriptures together as a family, i have wondered when these blessings were going to show themselves.  i wondered why my kids still fought what seemed like constantly, why i still fought with my kids constantly, why no one wanted to obey mom and dad, etc.  well let me tell you something.  if you want to prove this statement, read the scriptures together for a while and then stop and see what happens.  you'll seriously wonder if every person in your family is going crazy and has forgotten how to act, think and function - including yourself!

while typing this i had a "duh" moment.  perhaps if i get back to the basics of diligently studying, reading and praying with my family and on my own, all of these other things will take care of themselves, fall into place, i will have time for everything that is important.

that just reminded me of a scripture i read last week. in 3 Nephi 13: 31-34 (it's also in Matthew 6: 31-34 if you want to read it there) it says:

"31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33 But ^aseek ye first the ^bkingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself..."

i totally feel better now.  seriously, i think i just needed to "talk" it out.  if you read this far, i congratulate you on your dedication!