Balanced Challenge Day Seven - Teamwork

"Many hands make light work—and moms, you shouldn’t feel the need to do everything yourself. Schedule a quick family meeting today to talk to your kids and spouse about the responsibilities you all can share to make your load a bit lighter."

I remember when my daughter loved to "help" sort and fold laundry, simply because we could do it together and it made her feel like a big girl. Now at age seven, she's learning just how much laundry mom folds on laundry days and how much of it is hers :) She's rising to the challenge though, and I'm so proud of her. I've discovered when there's the promise of a snack (especially a pickle) at the other end of the chore she perks up and moves more quickly.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

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Free e-book! Forget Me Not by Amber Stokes

Today through Friday the e-book version of Forget Me Not by Amber Stokes is free! I haven't read this one yet, but it's on my list :)

Get it at Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

(Prequel to Bleeding Heart)

Old hurts, new betrayals, and a love that survives them all...

Summer 1885

A startling revelation sends Elizabeth Lawson escaping into a stormy night - and tosses her into the arms of a young mountain man with secrets of his own. When he offers to take her to the Nevada mining town where her long-lost brother lives, she accepts. Suspicions and uncertainties are pushed aside as she struggles to forge a future for herself by meeting her past.

David has been hiding from his painful memories for years. The solitude and wildness of the Rocky Mountains are challenge and comfort enough for him - until Elizabeth's arrival. Fueled by anger and a sense of obligation, he strives to take control of his new situation...only to find control slipping from his grasp with each new emotion Elizabeth evokes in him.

When their journey leads them on unexpected paths, can two lonely hearts find the strength to remember the good amid the heartbreak?

Balanced Challenge Day Six - Do What You Can

"Do you have an extra fifteen minutes before you need to hop in the car to pick up your kids? Make the most of them! Do a little laundry, organize a stack of papers, do a quick sweep of the kitchen. Those five, ten, and fifteen minutes add up throughout the day!"

At the end of a busy day I usually look back and wonder how productive I really was. Even when I manage to use my spare time to catch up on the small stuff, it's not always noticeable when I look around the house- probably because things are where they belong and I tend to notice the mess, not lack thereof :) Having a working checklist of things to get done helps me remember when I do have some spare minutes what some options are for spending my time.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

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Balanced Challenge Day Five- Rank those Priorities

In chapter five, Tricia talks about first forming your calendar with the things of highest importance, then filling the spaces with the rest that needs to get done. Otherwise, what is urgent will always come before what is important.

This reminds me of an analogy on time management- You have a jar that represents your day. Some rocks represent the most important things, pebbles- less important, sand- trivialities. If you start by putting in the biggest rocks, you can add in the pebbles and then the sand that will fit in around the larger rocks. However if you start with the smaller less important things first, not everything will fit into the jar.

Some things I would like to form my calendar with before I fill it are family dinner each night, family home evening on Monday nights, and scripture reading and prayer with my older daughter in the morning before school.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!
 
Get Balanced!