Do What is Right

Doing What is Right seems difficult after summer’s break. But September is here and although I love the special treats like Pumpkin Spice Latte with a Maple Leaf Cookie from Trader Joes. I don’t always feel thrilled about our school schedule or being a responsible housewife. I’ve had a hard time getting started again especially this year. What about you? Has this month been particularly hard?

Prayer: Jesus, I want to be faithful to my responsibilities, but right now I’m having a hard time getting started. My daughter has homeschool and I’m not excited about it. Then there’s the household responsibilities and the feeding a family of four who are now always home. I want to be faithful to the people in my house. It’s important to be faithful to myself too.  I have writing goals and other goals I didn’t get to this summer. Help me put the wasteful habits aside and be a faithful servant. 

God’s word to us: You need to start ordering your days. It’s September and back to school and back to seriously working on your goals. Early up and early to bed is a good system for you because you can be very productive in the morning. Let’s give this a try. 

“The LORD has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.”

This verse if very grounding for me. My life has been disrupted by a lovely summer vacation in the midst of a frustrating pandemic. I need this verse to remind me what the Lord requires of me. The first thing is to do what is right. I know it is right to homeschool my child, make sure my family has food and keep the house clean. I also know it is right to work on my planned goal  of using my limited household space for what we truly need today. I should not be stumbling over things that were good in the last season of our lives to get to the things we need today. Therefore I need to keep working on my goal of decluttering. It is right for me to encourage others in their faith by writing weekly blogs.  

So how do you get started again when you are afraid to or are just stuck thinking about our crazy world and can’t get to what is good.

1.  Time blocking. Decide to do a goal for a certain amount of time. I use time blocking for writing my blogs. I work on them from 7-8 in the morning every week day. The goal is to write. I’m trying to form a  habit of daily writing. 
2. Spread tasks out during the week. I do this for housework. I’ve figured out that everything doesn’t have to be done every week. But something should be done each day so the housework doesn’t build up. For example: yesterday I picked up things laying around the house and dusted. Today I plan on washing the floors and running the rugs through the wash. I spend about 30 minutes on housework each day. 
3. Treat Homeschooling like a part time job. It is important to dedicate your time to your kids while they do their school work. I usually work on a side project near my student so I feel like I’m getting something done. But I try to be near and make their needs important. This is a good time to get mending done, do knitting, crocheting, or needlework of some kind. I’ve even done paint by number. These things leave your brain available to engage with your student right away. 
4. Large goals. Take large goals and break them up into smaller goals each month. My large goal was to declutter the house. So I plotted out  what I needed to do each month to make it happen. For example: This month I’m working on the kitchen so I’ll divide up the different sections for each week. One week pantry, next week upper cabinets, next week lower cabinets and last week refrigerator. Decide whether you need to break it up further into days or if you are willing to work on it for Saturday morning.

Even though it’s been hard getting started this school year. I need good things to do to occupy my mind and my time. I do not need to be keeping up with every detail of the pandemic and likewise I do not need to keep up with civil unrest or politics. God has given me a family to take care of and they are most important. And I know myself: if I’m living in fear, then I cannot serve my family well, I am not a very good friend, and I am a locked up person inside. I have struggled with this and it is not acceptable. 

That is why God’s word to us, particularly this verse, is so important. So read it again. Let it sink in.

“Do what is good,
love mercy
and walk humbly with your God.
Order your days.
Plan to work when you’re most productive.”  

I’m glad to be writing to you again, although it was hard to get started after a month long break. I had this post planned before Summer vacation and had a part of it written. So now when I sat down to continue writing, I was encouraged by it and especially the verse. It is helping me with the transition of getting life back on the September track again. God led me to put in writing exactly what I would need to read when I got back. What a gracious and loving God He is. 

I’d love to hear from you. Please comment, like or even message me. I pray for those who respond with a comment or message and for those who send me a prayer request.  

Blessings to each of you.

Kim

Micah 6:8 NLT