Juggling too much? Are you?

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:5

Do you juggle too much? I do, often! I have always needed to be doing something. I work as many hours as possible, I am a full-time student, a father of five teens, attempting to bring more kids in the house as others leave, and husband to an amazing wife who is equally as busy.

The problem is there are only 24 hours in a day right? Well that is a true statement but how are you spending your 24 hours? Let’s break it down.

The average person sleeps 7.5 hours per day, leaving 16.5 hours.

The average person works 8 hours per day and travels .25 hours back and forth to work for a total of 8.5 hours leaving 8 hours.

Then there is the miscellaneous time, such has bathroom time, preparation for day, freshening up, also eating and talking with family, the average is 3 hours per day in the typical American home, leaving 5 hours.

As a full-time student I should spend a few of those doing homework each day but instead I cram it all into one or two days off…

So what is the 5 hours used for? Well sadly it’s used for screen time, usually the computer or today’s time thief, the smart phone. One may throw a walk or run into that 5 hours of free time but sadly statistics show that most people don’t interact personally anymore because they have a screen in their face, for 5 hours!

So there it is, 24 hours, one day, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds, what do you do with it?

When I feel like I am not overwhelmed with my busy day I try and add in some quiet time with God, he gets what’s left of me instead of the best of me. What a sad reality but realty still the same. I am ashamed to admit that but I have to so you all can pray for me that I reverse that thinking and give God the best part of my day and use, if any that is left over for the crap that steals my time. But if I am giving God the best, and my family the rest, would I even need those time fillers and would I feel like I am juggling too much? So ask yourself, are you juggling too much?  Are you giving Him the best of your time, and not just the rest?

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

Sometimes we juggle more than we can handle, ask my amazing friend, Presto

Daddy's girl

Have you ever wondered why God chose to have Jesus, a son? I have but then I deal with teen girls and it all makes sense. Maybe it’s just me and I don’t quite grasp the psyche of a 16 year old girl but, wow! When my boys get into trouble, I get grumpy, angry even, tend to want to raise my voice, and punish so they know I mean business. However; when my teen daughters get into trouble, small or big, I want to cry. I want to try and figure out how I can help them to make better decisions. I want to get and stay grumpy with them but instead I try and rationalize their behaviors and even defend them from a loving mom who gets like I get with the boys.

When looking for verses about daughters I found many but few gave much direct wisdom. I think parents in this day and age have a much harder time then those during the period of biblical writing when it comes to our girls. Sometimes I am at a loss when it comes to my girls, their feelings, their thoughts, and their idea of good taste. This is especially worrisome for me as I naturally want the best for them. While wanting the best for all my children, I think I try harder with the girls and that may be the mistake I made in raising them up to be the wife and mother I pray they want to be. 

Can I be as stern and strict with my daughters as I am with my sons?

Maybe at some point I need to step aside from controlling them and let them make their own mistakes… Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Did I do enough as a dad, that my daughters know God’s love for them, their value in His heart, the love they possess, and the treasures they are? Today I struggle with those questions, other days I have faith we are doing it right. I guess only God knows for sure and I have to believe He has a plan for them as He does for me. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

What's wrong with Humpty Dumpty?

First an apology to my four faithful followers on this blog, it has been nearly a year since I have posted and I am sorry. Let’s chalk it up to my ADD! Moving onward my amazing wife, Holly, encouraged me to get reengaged with this especially since we are starting this new chapter in our lives with foster children. So nearly a year later I want to start off by tell you why I personally hate the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Seriously?!? Does this small rhyme have anything to do with Christian beliefs? Don’t get me wrong, many of them don’t and were not written to do so but many nursery rhymes give a solid life lesson that many Christians could learn even a small thing from today.

Humpty Dumpty is the opposite, it literally tells us that the king is not powerful enough to put him back together despite all his efforts. Here’s what makes me dislike this one…

When we fall, when we are broken, when we need to be restored the King is the only one who can help us. I don’t want to bring a new small child into our home and share with him or her the Love of God, explain that He is the One True King, and you can g to Him whenever you feel broken or worn and He can restore, and then sing this nursery rhyme that says the opposite. Despite how hard they tried the king and his men and horses couldn’t do it.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Not only are we restored in the King but we are made stronger, firm, and steadfast!