Priorities

Are your priorities in order?

1. God
2. Marriage
3. Children
4. Extended Family
5. Church
6. Work
7. Friends
8. Hobbies

This is the question that was asked of us at small group last week (Bible study I attend at our weekly Co-op outings).  

Over the last few months I have been convicted time and time again regarding the status of my priorities.  To often I get caught up in what the world thinks of me.  To often I put things in front of my family, my husband and especially in front of the Heavenly Father.

My priorities need refining, and that is what I have been diligently working on in the past few weeks.  I am starting small (ha!) focusing primarily on God, my marriage and our children, in that order.  It is one step at a time, trying to break old habits, going to God first and my husband second instead of immediately running to the phone.

I not only see this need for change in my relationships but also in our daily routine.  I have started reading my Bible again each morning, Trent and I have begun to pray together in the evenings and I am working at getting the boys and I on a good daily devotional routine.

In the last few months we have needed to clear our schedules and have spent a lot more time together as a family.  We have grown and we are much closer.

A good friend and I were just talking about how short life is, a lesson we have had to learn in the last few months.  I know that I need and want to have each and every one of those things on the list.  There are relationships that I want to make stronger, there are committees at church I want to join, there are craft projects I am excited to do.  I know that all those things will come in due time, if that is what God has planned for me.  So, instead of feeling guilty for not being able to "do it all", I am going to focus my energy on the priorities at hand.

I LOVE being Trent's wife and the mother to our children.  I CHERISH being a daughter of Christ.  I do not need the approval from anyone on how to love my husband, mother our children, and certainly not on how to worship God. I only need to seek HIS approval on all things. I only need to get my priorities in line.