Priorities (in Order of Priority)

I regularly forget my order of priorities, but when I remember them again, my days run smoothly. I wish I would stay on the right track all the time!

I first learned the order that I use from author Linda Dillow in her book, Creative Counterpart, a book that I very, very highly recommend for anyone who is a wife and a mom! My copy is worn from reading it over and over through the years. Just today, I had my copy of Creative Counterpart out during my "God Time". Some things, always the most important things, it seems, have to be repeated over and over to me, or I'll slip back into my old ways of selfishness. Does that happen to you, too? It seems that my brain has a leak when it comes to all things important. Ah, well, at least we have books to read (such as the Bible!) to keep us on track.

Here is the list of priorities, in order of first priority to last:

God

Husband

Children

Home

Self

Others, which includes anything outside the home, even church activities and ministry

In Creative Counterpart, there is a study section in the back that I am working through (for the umpteenth time). Today's section suggested that we write a specific thing that we can do in the area of each priority.

This is what I wrote today:

For God: Be absolutely committed to a daily time with Him; no excuses, and no skipping! Make prayer a bigger priority.

For Tim (dh): Don't argue; don't complain; each morning, think of one thing that I can do for him that day.

For the Children: Spend time with each of them individually each week. My schedule for this, is: 2yo: Monday; 5yo: Tuesday; 8yo: Thursday; 10yo Friday. I learned this from a dorm mom I had in boarding school. Even though she had 22 kids to be "mother" to, she spent individual time with each child once a week for half an hour. I'm not telling my kids that I am doing this, in case the schedule needs to be flexible, but I will keep it in mind.

For the Home: Right now, I need to work on Menu Planning and making meal prep an easier task. Next, I want to work on decorating by visiting yard sales, and by doing what I can with what we have (scrubbing the walls is free to do!).

For Me: Give myself permission to work on my crafts or reading (or long baths!) daily, without guilt of what housework I think I "should" be doing. Permission granted! Also, walk daily.

For Others: Continue to blog (here!) and keep working on opening a website for other moms. Minister through the Internet, as that helps keep my family first while the children are so small. Also, right now I am helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina through http://www.survivedkatrina.org .

I encourage you to also write down your list of priorities, and think of what you can do in each area. Think of something that is pretty simple, so that you will know success.

by Lori Seaborg