Redeeming the Time

Today's Moms seem to spend a lot of time running around. My Mom was home most of the time. Michael's Mom did not even get her drivers license until after he and I were married. I always wondered how she did that since his Dad was out of town a lot. I cut way back on my running around and now that we are down to one vehicle I am home most all the time. I sometimes get made fun of because I am such a home body. =)

We live in a very fast paced world. We are told we can have it all... but are we supposed to? I knew one family in Florida. They had 4 children. Each child was encouraged to follow their interests. There were different sports that they played, different musical instruments, etc. They were always going to a music lesson, a game or a practice. Their house and lives were chaos. They wanted to be part of all the extra curricular homeschool things, and they did a lot at church. The Mom was always complaining about being behind and never getting anything done. She said the little time she spent at home was spent fussing at the children to hurry up and grab their stuff because they had to go somewhere. They out junk food a lot and lots of fast food. It cut into their budget. I know another family that has their children involved in a lot of musical interests. It seems to work out for their family and there is never any complaining. We all have to decide what is right for our family. If it comes to the place where we feel like tearing our hair out, we might want to step back and ask God what He thinks we should be doing or not doing.

I was reading in the Proverbs one day and came across these verses.

Prov 7:10-12 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)

The thing that struck me that day was "her feet never stay at home." It was listed as a negative quality. Now, I have had this backfire on me. I was accused of calling someone a harlot. That is not my point at all. If you are not being able to do the basic things you are responsible for and you run around a lot, maybe you need to re-evaluate what all you are involved with.

I know that running around always costs us more money. It can cost gas money, but it costs in other ways as well. I LOVE garage sales. I usually do not go to them though because I find something that I can't live without and I really NEED it, but I did not know I needed it before I saw it. Plus, it is really cheap.... I need to HAVE a garage sale, not shop at them. If you have specific needs and keep a list going or if you have lots of children and that is where you get their clothes, etc. then garage saling can be a good thing... IF you stick to your needs. Thrift stores are another way you can spend money. The same rule applies... if you have needs and know what they are and can stick to them, a thrift store is a wonderful place to go. I find all sorts of little things that I pick up. Books seem to be my biggest downfall. I end up with tons of books because they looked good or I thought I might use them to make something, etc. However, many of them go right back to the thrift store because I found they were not so NEEDED after all. So, even though they only cost me a quarter, how many quarters have I wasted. My husband told me that I shop like a man. I go in, get what I want and come out. I do not like to dawdle and look at everything. Even shopping like that you can spend more than you intended. This can happen every time you go to the store. You run in for some apples and cheese. Then you see the breads and oh look at those oranges they have and oh look over there.... You come out with 3 bags full.

If you make a regular errand day each week, and purpose to stick to it, you will be surprised at how flexible you can be. If I go to make something for supper and realize I do not have an ingredient, I can't just run to the store since I don't have a vehicle. So, I come up with plan B. That might be using a substitute for that ingredient, or making the same thing and leaving it out, or changing what I make or even asking Mrs. Wonderful Neighbor is she has any I can borrow. Life just seems to flow a lot better when are home and have a routine. It is easier for peace to reign. What are your thoughts on this?