A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Taunting has Stopped!

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Those of you who know me know that I love to be creative. I love to paint, sew, glue things together, you name it. Throw in a best friend who inspires you with all of her beautiful creations and now Pinterest which I lovingly call “the creative persons playground” and you have no reason not to be creative. Well except in my case, time.

You see I’m still homeschooling 2 elementary age children. I have one graduate but still have 2 to go and sadly I’ve been neglecting that part of my duty by not doing it well. Getting by yes, but not doing it with all I have.

I had been praying a lot lately about my time and my priorities and asking the Lord to guide me in what I should do. (You’re not always going to like the answer and the answer isn’t always going to be easy.) Every day I walk into my craft room and I see so much stuff that is just waiting to be turned into something wonderful. Then guilt rushes in which in turn causes me to stress out because I don’t have time to do it. I’ll start something and then get upset with my family when I can’t finish it because of interruptions or other Mom duties.

You know as a Mom we wear a lot of hats. Hats that need to be worn and then there are hats that I try to shove on my already crowded head that end up shifting all the other hats around which results in nothing getting down well. Are you with me?

This brings me to yesterday. I realized that I’m not in a season of much leisure time. In order to serve my family well I need to refocus the time and energy that I do have, on them. I want to have more time to help my hubby in the garden and help with the chickens, I want to spend more time planning homeschool to make it more fun and engaging. I want it to be more about Him and less about me. Which brings me back to my craft room.

After talking with my hubby (who was pretty shocked by this) about it, I’ve decided to pack it all up. I’ll leave paint supplies and such out because we do use that for homeschooling but anything that has the power to draw me away from what I need to be doing is getting packed up.

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I know this may seem drastic to you but if I don’t it’s like keeping a pack of cigarettes on the counter and asking someone who’s trying to quit not to smoke. The temptation is too great and I don’t need the stress of trying to stay strong when I can simply get it out of my sight, for now.

I know there will come a time when I have to much time on my hands and I don’t want to wish I had done things differently. You know what I’m talking about?

Is there something in your life you need to set aside until later? Pray about it and see how the Lord directs you. Was packing up my stuff easy? Absolutely not! But I already feel lighter and more focused.

Thanks for letting me share my heart today and taking the time to read it. I hope it blesses you in some way.

OXOX,

Kim

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11 comments:

  1. I admire you for doing that! I had to chuckle in agreement when you said that "you're not always going to like the answer and the answer isn't always going to be easy." So many of us avoid asking for guidance in the first place. (Waving hand up.) There will be a good time for your creative playtime later. Right now you have two young men to prepare for the world! May your creativity in that endeavor shine!

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  2. Yep that was where I was at a while back too! I have a serger that has never left the box because while it is nice to have and pull out when necessary, my kids are more important right now! They will only be this age once. Now I do not feel so bad for having my craft supplies in the garage! :o)

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  3. I had to go and catch up all my comments before I could bring myself to comment on this one. *sigh* <---that one's for you. :)

    I know that was really hard for you to do my friend - I'm very proud of you! I totally understand and I like to say that when you ask God to tell you A or B, sometimes He says C! God is good and you will craft again! You are still creating though - through your homemaking, homeschooling, and so much more.

    Big HUGE comforting size hugs to you my sweet friend!! LOVE YOU. :)

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  4. Beautiful! Convicting but beautiful!!!

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  5. You just warmed my heart. 8-]
    Well done good and faithful servant. I think you're going to be surprised with a special blessing you might have missed had you not been obedient in this. <3

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  6. Oh sweetie I am right there with you. I have had to do this with my sewing stuff. I have barely touched in about 5 months. But you know you will find peace doing this. And you can use your crazy creativity to make very fun things for your boys to do in homeschool - that is what I am doing right now. I can't wait to see what new things you create!
    Here is one mom's fun blog of the things she does for her older son:
    http://deceptivelyeducational.blogspot.com/

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  7. Thank you Kim for posting this. You hit a chord in my own heart...gave me some food for thought. Thank you for being transparent and sharing your journey...you are SO right on! God bless!

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  8. Yep. I can relate, too. Most of my crafting stuff never made it out of the moving boxes 10 years ago. I've made peace with this stage of life though. I realize the craziness won't always claim my time and I look forward to rediscovering my hobbies again in the future.

    Hugs!!

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  9. It's so healthy to recognize this may not be the season for crafty leisure time in your life, and so WISE to agree to God's nudging to put it aside for now. Good for you! There will be another season... :)

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  10. Kim, this was so timely! I set aside writing for almost twenty years to concentrate on raising my six kids and homeschool them. After homeschooling nearly two decades, I'm a little worn out, too. I needed to put Mommy on the calendar. I started writing again a few years back. I have had moments of regret, wishing I hadn't stopped writing, but overall I do not regret AT ALL devoting time to my kids.

    The Lord led you to this decision, He will lead you back into using your gifts and talents for Him in His timing.

    Blessings to you, sweet friend.

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  11. My sweet friend, I miss you more than I can say. It seems like a hundred years since we last communicated. I rarely go on FB anymore, so I don't see you there (if you're even still on FB).

    I can relate to where you are in your life. As I know from my own experience, the homeschooling years won't last forever. They DO end one day, and if you are like I am, you will miss them. You will one day have the time for you and your own interests, and you know what, you may long for these busy, hands-on parenting, homeschooling days once again.

    Because you know what, in the end, it's the lives of our little ones that will matter for eternity...not our craft projects and blog posts.

    Love you!!

    Patti

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