Where Does the Time Go?
November 16th, 2009
Today’s post is from Rachel Cohee, a non-blog owner, but soon to be one. :)
If you’re like me, by the time you get kids to bed each night your brain is tired and all you want to do is wrap yourself in that Snuggie your husband bought you last Christmas, sit on the couch and watch whatever mindless shows come on the TV. It just seems like it might be too exhausting to actually pick out a book and find a quiet corner to read or tackle a Bible study with hours of “homework.”
So what do we do when we have an evening stretching in front of us with not much to do…I’m afraid all too often I fall victim to a night of watching some not so great “reality” television. As women these shows seem to speak to our interests—fashion, gossip, friendships, and lifestyles that seem better than our own. On the surface it seems fun to get “carried away” with Rachel Zoe as she styles Demi Moore for the Oscar parties or maybe watch another group of “Housewives” get in a cat fight in the middle of a busy restaurant or dare I say take another quiz on Facebook.
Recently God has been showing me that I need to get proactive about filling my time with things that are better for me and most importantly please the God I claim to serve.
Here are some ideas that I’ve tried…
Ladies Book Club
I actually used my contacts on Facebook and sent out a post asking if anyone was interested in joining me for a book club. I got about 10 responses so I chose the latest Joni Eareckson Tada book, typed up a meeting and reading schedule and hosted the first night at my house. We had about 7-8 women come on a regular basis and we met every Thursday night for 6 weeks. Sometimes we met at a local Panera Bread and other times we met at someone’s house. The hostess would provide a few snacks and coffee and we discussed the book and more importantly got to know each other even better and shared in some sweet prayer time each week.
My Own Little Bible Study
I’m not very good at just reading a chapter of the Bible and then trying to dissect it on my own…my mind tends to wander. I found a Beth Moore Bible study workbook I had started back before I had kids and never finished so I’ve been working through it just completing as much as I can in the time I set aside each day. It’s amazing how refreshing it is when I know I don’t have to get all of the homework done before the next Bible study meeting. I can take my time and if I don’t finish a particular day’s assignment, I just pick it up the next day and continue on.
Photo Organizing (Not Scrapbooking!)
I am one of those people who likes to buy all the cute little scrapbook supplies…stickers, paper punches, fancy papers, etc. but I don’t seem to ever sit down and actually complete scrapbook pages. The Type A personality in me gets really annoyed by this but then that natural tendency to procrastinate rears its ugly head and next thing you know I’ve accomplished nothing and feel like a failure! I finally figured out that if I spend even an hour each week just organizing family photos by date and category, I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. The other thing I’ve done recently is purchased some small purse size albums and used each one for a different theme…for example, all of our pictures from a recent trip to the pumpkin patch went in one small album and my daughter and I decorated the cover with some of that fall-themed scrapbook paper and stickers I just happened to have on hand. It felt good to actually finish an album!
These things definitely shouldn’t take the place of spending some good, quality time with your husband. He needs to feel loved and one of the best things you can offer him is your time. It’s easy to shuffle your man to the back burner when the kids demand so much of you each day. My husband and I work together to get kids bathed, books read and in bed so that we have time to spend together and time to spend doing what we like to do individually.
Take some time to consider how you spend your hours each day and you might be surprised by the extra hours you find when you get intentional about how you spend your time.
Rachel Cohee is a wife to Mark and mommy to Katelyn and Lucy and recently became a full-time stay at home mom after years of working in Human Resources. She counts it a real joy to get to spend each day with her little girls. She’s also enjoying getting back to writing and putting her Journalism degree to use! She hopes to launch her own blog in the very near future.
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“Recently God has been showing me that I need to get proactive about filling my time with things that are better for me and most importantly please the God I claim to serve.”
Me too! And everything I have been reading lately emphasizes this. Thank you for your ideas…I love the idea of a book club.
Can I share something I have done?…while working about the house in the mornings and letting the kids play, I listen to podcasts from some of my favorite teachers. (Right now I’m listening to the Desiring God series from John Piper.) It keeps my mind from wandering aimlessly and, amazingly, I seem to stay on task much better and get things done faster.
Jami´s last blog post … How Do We Live Out “Crazy Love”?
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Writing on a blog can also be a worthwhile pursuit… ;)
Great guest post and reminder to fill the time with worthwhile things! Currently, I am sneaking rest and refreshment in my few and far between down moments as we have a 4 week old in our home!
Blessings,
Stacey
Stacey Thacker´s last blog post … Attitude of Gratitude
Yes- I have to break projects up into smaller pieces so I can actually accomplish/finish something, once in awhile, or my life turns into one, giant nebulous “project” that … never gets finished. If that makes sense. :) Good blog!
My husband I recently did away with our cable. We don’t have an antenna yet, so we have no tv. It has truly been the best thing ever for our family. We did not do it out of a “tv is wrong” kind of mentality, but rather a mentality that we have goals to accomplish and worthwhile things to do, but tv wasn’t helping us accomplish anything. We have a new routine now. Once the kids are in bed, our evening looks like this: 1.) Something spiritual together-Bible reading, praying, and/or worshipping with a cd, etc. 2.) time together-we usually play a game or chat about our day. 3.) Time alone. That’s when we can each do what we need to accomplish.
It’s been amazing for our family, us AND the kids. None of us really misses it :) Oh, and we’re saving $50 per month!
Sarah´s last blog post … Learning
Great reminders of some things that have already been stirring in my heart lately!!
Cherie´s last blog post … Compassion
I truly appreciate and look forward to yours (and others) postings on here, daily. I’m a stay at home mom of an 11 month old and love every minute of it! It’s nice to gain such great insights from other “Experienced” mommas and wives out there. REally enjoyed todays post.
One question – for some reason I have your “banner” twice when I open it, so it always covers the beginning of the blog post. Any idea why I’m seeing double?!
Mandi´s last blog post … Monday Muse: Marriage Conference
Mandi – Click on “Compatibility View” (an icon right after the URL that looks like a piece of paper ripped in half) and that should fix it immediately. It’s an Internet Explorer (IE) issue (seriously, why are you still on IE anyway? Firefox baby!).
:)
Thank you for this post. It speaks to me!
This has also been weighing on my heart lately. Thank you for sharing these ideas as a starting point! Looking forward to your blog! :)
Jami, I LOVE that idea. Never thought of it. It sure would help to be taught nuggets of truth, especially I days I am just struggling to just BE. The inspiration and wisdom of others would be a great way to pull me out of a rut!
I know that’s not exactly the topic here, but it sparked the idea. Thank you for sharing it, Jami!
Christin´s last blog post … Scripture Memorization {Memoirs of Diligence}
I have found it to be true that sometimes it’s easier for me to sit in front of the tv rather than working on a scrapbook. After reading this article, I feel motivated to start at least putting an hour into it a day.
Reading Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions was a real convictor for me in this area. One of them is “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but to improve it th emost profitable way I possibly can.” There are so many times that I think about this and think…. errrr I am losing time and not improving it!!!!!!!