Back to the 'Real' World

Shortly after my last post I came to the realization that in order for me to enjoy the simpler celebration of Christmas that I yearned for, I was going to have to cut some things out of my to-do list. One of those things was regular posting here. (I've heard that you lose readers by not posting regularly but hopefully, there are a few left!)

Creating time in my days during the month of December allowed me to:

* Finish Christmas shopping without being totally stressed out. (However, I still found myself shopping the morning of Christmas Eve! I think that is just part of my way of doing it so I will accept that and not fret because I'm a down to the last minute type person.)

* Actually wrote notes in family and friend Christmas cards and got them in the mail by Dec. 20. (There have been years when they were mailed after Christmas!)

* Enjoy time with my family. I mean, REALLY enjoy it, savoring each precious moment.

* Spend a couple of pajama days during the long holiday weekends, complete with afternoon naps and time to snuggle under my fave fleece throw with a good book.

And now...my time of R & R is past and it is time to get back to what I call the 'real' world. The world of a regular work schedule. The world that forces me to be disciplined in setting aside time to spend with the Lord. To schedule time to write and read. It is important for me to schedule those things so that they don't either get shoved aside and left behind or, worse, take away time spent with my family.

You see, I can easily swing from one extreme to the other. At the end of one far swing I am the queen of procrastination, doing absolutely nothing but vegging out in front of the tv for hours and eating out of boredom. Nothing accomplished except gaining weight, damaging my health, and feeling guilty. At the opposite side of the swing I am totally cramming doing something into every moment of my day, falling into bed exhausted at the end of the day. In this extreme mode, I may accomplish quite a few tasks, however, it is at the expense of relationships. My relationship with Christ, my husband, my family, friends - they all suffer. And I still feel guilty.

So my goal is to establish a schedule that makes room for relationship strengthening, completing tasks, and a bit of R & R. Notice I didn't say resolution! I'm just not into the whole making a new year's resolution thing. I smacks too much of here today and gone in a couple of months type thing. I'm looking for more of a long term, life style changing, good habit forming type of change.

What has the turn of the calendar inspired you to do? Let's share!

Hugs,
Molly