Yea... that's what has happened with this blog for the past couple weeks. :) I was discussing some of my posts on the phone with my sister, and mentioned some that I had planned. My wonderful husband overheard part of the conversation and explained loud enough for her to hear that I had more important things to work on first.
He was right, of course.
I had been getting caught up in writing and ignoring some of the more important things in my home. So, here is my repentance post, and my renewed effort to live by my priorities.
Identifying Priorities
Keeping priorities straight is a process that requires constant adjusting. It's so easy to get caught up in "fun" things or "urgent" things or just things that appear to be more important than they are. So, how do we keep things straight? The best way I have found is with a personal mission statement. I've mentioned mission statements before in Getting Things Done so today I thought I'd share mine.
Last October, I used the suggestions from Mission Statements for Moms and created this mission statement which addresses my top five priorities.
Emily's Mission Statement
I AM a Daughter of God. I WILL turn to my Savior daily and be a "good and faithful servant."
I AM David's Eternal Companion. I WILL be his physical, emotional, and spiritual helpmeet.
I AM a Mother. I WILL be a loving example as I lead and guide my children to Christ.
I AM a Homemaker. I WILL keep a clean, simple, well-run home, filled with love, where all who enter can feel the Spirit of The Lord.
I AM a Teacher. I WILL teach my children to communicate effectively in both written and spoken language and I WILL teach my children how to learn so they can continue their education and fulfill their personal mission in life.
Repenting
When my husband reminded me that I had more important things to do than this blog, I decided to ask him what I was forgetting. Though he hasn't studied my mission statement much, he explained that while I was focusing on the house, I was neglecting the kids. Going back over my mission statement... he was right. I purposely listed "Mother" before "Homemaker" but I wasn't doing a great job of keeping those things straight.
Even within the mission statement, there is some overlap. Getting basic schoolwork done is more important than having a perfectly organized house, and feeding my children is more important than going on lots of fun dates with my husband. My deep-cleaning & blogging fall somewhere in the category of Homemaker... but actually below some of the jobs within the role of Teacher.
Moving Forward
I may or may not be posting a ton on this blog in the very near future. As I put the finishing touches on this post, I am anxiously awaiting the onset of labor, and the birth of our seventh child. Obviously, my babymoon will not involve a ton of home organization, so I won't have as many "show & tell" type posts. We may have some other exciting adventures in the near future that I would definitely be blogging about if they happen. :) I'll try to keep posting!
(And sorry for the lack of pictures in this post... I hope you understand.)
