Taking Charge!

I passed by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man without sense; And behold! it was all overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall broken down. And as I gazed at it, I reflected; I saw and learned the lesson: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest-- Then will poverty come upon you like a highwayman, and want like an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34

Greg and participate in a couples' Bible Study, and at the moment we are studying a book entitled Proverbs & Parables : God's Wisdom for Living .

The other night, we studied the Proverbs in Chapters 23 and 24, and were asked to indicate which proverb spoke most directly to our hearts at this time. If you pick up the good book and take a look, you'll find it overflowing with helpful two and three line insights. But for some reason, the proverb above is the one that really slammed me between the eyes this week.

It's so easy to let things get away from us, and to make excuses about it. "I'm too busy to balance the check book...to shop for fresh produce...to take my walk...to mop the kitchen floor...to pray the Rosary...(fill in the blank...)."

Maybe you don't do this, but I do - all the time! I end up with a sense of being overwhelmed because my good intentions don't translate into action so much of the time. And yes, I've got good excuses, but like the "sluggard" in that parable, even a little "rest" can lead to my field being overgrown by thistles!

So what's the answer? For me, it's about taking charge, making a plan, and then just doing it. The first part of my plan, of course, needs to be prayer and lots of it! From there, however, comes the part that sometimes trips me up: breaking the problem down into realistic, manageable and attainable steps. If I look only at the overall goal, it seems too insurmountable to even attempt. However, if I take the time upfront to set tiny "babysteps" (yes, I get those Flylady emails too), I'm pretty sure I can make some progress.

Case in point: my children's scrapbooks. OK, I'm choosing a low stress example here, but bear with me. If I try to take on the task of getting my kids' photo albums updated (since they were last touched in late February of the year 2000...) it could feel pretty impossible, especially if you look at some of the scrapbooks being created these days! But if I say to myself, "Spend fifteen minutes today and put together one page for one boy, alternating each day", suddenly it becomes a little more possible.

I just finished reading a "mommy lit" book where the main character hires a Life Coach. The Life Coach advises her to make a list of all of the things in her life with which she is either "Satisfied" or "Dissatisfied" and then to prioritize the list and tackle the items one by one. I think I could probably manage the making of this list myself, perhaps even without the aid of a Life Coach.

OK, these are just some general musings for the morning and now it's time to go drive Eric to the hospital for his volunteer job. If anyone's got tips for me, or just wants to commiserate, you know where to find me!