We are in the midst of the third week of school. A school year with a lot of difference than school years we have had before. For one thing, Zak is starting school this year - that is extremely different. Secondly, Rachel has been sick and we are uncertain as to how she is going to do with the new school schedule.
There have been some bumps along the way. Rob and I have spent more than one evening discussing how we can make the schedule better and things run more efficiently. These brain storming sessions are filled with ideas - some that work - some that won't.
Our goal as a family is to accomplish all that we need to. Have a peaceful well ordered home that reflects Christ to those who enter. We also want to make sure that we are accomplishing God's will for our lives. It is so easy with the busyness of our lives to get wrapped up in self and the things we need to do; that we forget about other people outside of our home.
We have established a schedule and a routine for this school year that I wanted to post about. Not because it works for everyone - because it won't. Not to brag - because there are days that are totally chaotic and you will find me frustrated and complaining to my husband about my day. There are two reasons I wanted to post about our schedule. First, for the purpose of edification. Sometimes just hearing other people's ideas helps us to be able to think outside of our box and find a plan that will work for us. This was the very reason I entered the blogging world. I was in the midst of a very lonely and discouraging time God led me to some blogs of mothers, homemakers and homeschoolers that helped me see that I was not the only one. The blog sits edified me in the life work that God had called me to.
The second reason I wanted to blog about our schedule is for me to have a point of reference. I do look back in my archives and read. I want to have recorded, for my use, our schedule. Thus, I can look back years from now at my online journal and read about what we were doing that year.
I will be posting the next few days about our schedule and routines. If you are interested in the subject and find you could use help in this area I have listed some links that have been of tremendous value to me in that area. I trust they can help you as well. If you do not have children - or have this area down pat - I trust you will not be bored by the following posts. :)
God wants us to be people of order. It is obvious to me how much Satan wants that principle destroyed in the home! If Satan can have our homes in a state of confusion he has accomplished so many things on so many fronts. I also know from personal experience that Satan fights this area hard. He knows that order and routine free us to serve the Lord completely. I trust you are able to find order and routine in your family life.
Thanks for stopping by, I am so glad you did!!
Perhaps the most invaluable site for home school families. Teri Maxwell gives and honest account of her life and how routine and order have helped her. Any of their planning notebooks are worth the money! I recommend their time management above anything else out there for homeschooler. However, their time management planning and schedule can help anyone with children - homeschooling or not!! http://www.titus2.com/
Lindsay has a lot of great ideas about home and order. Here is one of them. I think you will enjoy her site: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/
I have used flylady and her ideas in my home for years. This is a great place to get started if you are struggling with a clean home! Flylady really helped me get a handle on the housework concepts. http://flylady.net/
I would love for you to share any links that have helped you in this area of order and routine in your home!
See you back here tomorrow - I have it on my schedule. :)
~Martie
2 comments:
It's not us having the order that God wants or that shows him to the world. Many unsaved people have order more than us. And we're not able to do it anyways ourselves. Read Rom 7.There is a war. But we can be forgiven sinners and receive his grace. That we can receive his forgiveness and give it out is what's different from the world.
Our order in our lives is NOT what saves us! Amen to that! However, how we live our everyday lives truly does reflect that there is a difference in our lives. (This does not take place just in the organization arena either. The way we treat our chidren, submit to our husbands handle our finances etc) None of these things save - but they do reflect the good works talked about in James that reveal that we are saved.
We are to immulate Christ. God is a God of order. It states that in His word and it commands us as Christians to live ordered lives. "Let everything be done decently and in order." Our obedience to this command is required of us as Christians. God knows we are in a war. He also knows that an unordered army will not win the war. You have to have order in order to know what is going on and be able to attend to such this as war plans and details.
May God give us hearts to undertand His plan for our lives. May we as obedient children be willing to change and confrot those areas that do not align with God's words for us. May we realize that doing things God's way - even in our practicle everyday life - helps others to see the change that Romans 7 talks about. How often we think we can talk spiritual and not have the pracitical everyday lives to match it up. If God has changed us - our everyday lives - the things we do everyday will reflect a change.
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