Confessing...

Well, it's been almost three weeks since my initial post about my morning routine. The first week really went splendidly. But the last two, well, they haven't been quite so splendid. In fact, I've not gotten up earlier than 8:30 AM for the past week-and-a-half. YUCK!

And now for my very valid excuses:

I've gotten a strong case of nesting instinct, which means I'm on a regular rampage of our little apartment. The biggest project I've undertaken has been sorting through the mountain (not too much of an exaggeration!) of clothing that has accumulated in our bedroom and closet over the last 6 months or so. Several wonderful people regularly give us hand-me-downs, which means I've only officially gone clothes shopping for my son once, and never for my daughter, other than for her Christmas outfit. Sometimes, I even get hand-me-downs for me! This past December, my sweet sister-in-law gave me a bunch of her maternity clothing; what a treat.

Hand-me-downs are a huge blessing. But I'd not been diligent to file things away into storage as they came but rather just threw them atop my ever-growing pile. And of course, somewhere at the very bottom of that pile were remnants of my last craft project, which didn't get put away when they should have because I was going to reorganize my craft cupboard. Sound complicated? Well it was. And that wasn't all I decided to tackle...

Since children are very soon going to outnumber adults in our family, and since Ransom and I presently claim the larger of the two bedrooms in our apartment, we thought it would be wise to switch bedrooms. This meant that on top of the clothes sorting, I also had to completely clear out one closet, transfer everything from the other closet into the first closet, and then put the contents of the first closet into the second closet. I'm sure it would have been easier had both closets been tidy and clean to begin with. But, naturally, they weren't.

I'm glad that last sentence could end with "weren't," because now the closets are tidy and clean, complete with neatly-hanging, properly-sized clothing for the children. And all other clothing is filed away into correctly-labeled Rubbermaids. I still have a stack of craft things awaiting an organized cupboard to go into as well as a big basket of linens to iron. And I'm waiting on moving furniture from one bedroom to the other until Ransom can help me. But, compared to the way things were, my home is actually looking organized. I feel I'm definitely over the hump. Oh, and did I mention, my pantry is organized too?!

So, all that is said to make you really sympathetic and agree that I needed that extra sleep each morning in light of all the work I've been doing lately. ;) Actually, as I think about it, the extra sleep isn't what's pricking my conscience.

When I focus so much on housekeeping, other things that are very important get neglected. For instance, Honour has watched more videos lately than I would ever allow during a "normal" time. And he's gotten away with more disobedience than he would were I not so distracted and focused on my tasks. It makes me guilty to think of how much time my little girl has spent in her playpen, as well as how pathetic our dinners have been (PBJs anyone?). Also, my devotional time has gone by the wayside.

As I contemplate these negatives, I know that two of them definitely need to change:

My devotional time mustn't go by the wayside. Regardless of what happens in life, I cannot let go of my devotional time. I'm not saying that I'm going to beat myself up if I miss a day because I have kids down with the flu, or we suddenly have to deal with an emergency. But, to me, housekeeping is not an excuse to forgo my time with the Lord. I think it could be easily argued that this falls into the whole Martha/Mary issue. And, just to qualify, I'm not condoning a woman spending the entire day locked away in her bedroom "with the Lord" while her poor children fend for themselves and her house goes to shambles. Not the best way to fulfill your role of "guardian-of-the-home."

My son mustn't be allowed to get away with disobedience. I am my son's first representation of God. God is always consistent. He never allows sin to go unpunished. For me to allow Honour to get away with disobedience "just this once" (really, when is it ever "just this once?!") is to give him a wrong picture of his Heavenly Father. My diligence in his training or lack thereof will influence him for the rest of his life. If I think housekeeping is more important than my son's training - or if I act that way - I need a serious adjustment!

As far as the extra movies, extra playpen time and poor dinners...

Although I don't want these things to become habitual, I don't think it's wrong to allow them during an extra busy time of housekeeping. God is gracious to us and doesn't give us more than we can handle. Likewise, to ask my son to stay out of trouble all day when I am so busy is unrealistic; it is reasonable to provide him with a distraction like a movie. And my little girl will not have lasting emotional scars because she was required to spend more time in her playpen one week in a year. And, praise God, I have a wonderful, understanding husband who comes home in the evenings, looks at the PBJ on the paper plate and loves me anyhow! :)

So, tomorrow I will continue with my rampage. But I plan to do it in a way that is honoring to God, living in light of eternity, in light of what truly lasts. My house will become disorganized and dusty again. There will always be another opportunity to clean it. But my children will never be babies again, will never be so influential as they are now. May God help me to focus on the best and never sacrifice it for what is simply good.