Thursday Thoughts: Finding Balance

"Like Mary, I hunger to feast at the Savior’s feet, while, like Martha, I need to somehow find the laundry room floor, empty my in-box, and serve my husband something other than cold pizza. I have 15 grandchildren whose tender little spirits and daily challenges I want to better understand, yet I also have a slightly demanding Church calling! I don’t have lots of time. Like all of you, I have to choose. We all are trying to choose the good part which cannot be taken from us, to balance the spiritual and the temporal in our lives. Wouldn’t it be easy if we were choosing between visiting teaching or robbing a bank? Instead, our choices are often more subtle. We must choose between many worthy options." --Bonnie D. Parkin

Can you relate with that quote? I sure can! It seems like a million different tasks vie for my attention, and a million others beckon me to add them to my "to-do" list.

How do you find balance? Julie B. Beck gave an excellent address at a women's conference. You can read it here. In it, she mentions how to prioritize tasks into three categories: essential, necessary, and nice-to-do. Essential tasks are those that help draw you closer to our Heavenly Father. Necessary tasks have to do with the home and this earthly experience. Nice-to-do are the fun, fluffy things.

I'm a morning person, and I've found that if I start my day with prayer and scripture study, I have a better attitude throughout the day, no matter what goes on around me. So prayer and scripture study are essential things for me. Exercise is necessary, and I like to get that done in the morning as well. Having meals planned and the house generally clean also fits into the "necessary" category.

(Please don't misunderstand and think I serve gourmet meals everyday and live in a passed-the-white-glove-test home; remember, my kids were the ones who asked me years ago, "Is Grandma coming?" when they found me mopping the floor! But food for tummies and sanitary shelter is a minimum necessity. Individual circumstances dictate how much you are able to do above and beyond that.)

When essentials and necessities take their proper place, it is amazing to discover just how many nice-to-do things can fit into the schedule.

What are your essential, necessary, and nice-to-do things, and how do you find the balance?

Thanks for time, and the many good ways in which we can use it.

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year. I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this

karen608July 5, 2012 at 3:54 PM
You pretty much said about the priorities, The Lord, housework/food, and everything else.

I like variety in my life, so when I finish a job that needs done, I take a 20 min. 'me' break for internet, reading, a nap. I still get plenty done in a day but don't neglect myself.

You are so right, beginning a day with prayer & study starts the day off right.
I even thank the Lord for my problems because I know He is teaching me lessons that I need to know.
DebbieJuly 5, 2012 at 7:34 PM
For me....this is how my day develops... prayer, exercise then housework (which includes feeding the family!) then prayer. It is my day and how I like it. ;)
Rose1957October 16, 2012 at 6:19 PM
I was just listening to a cassette tape set I found at the thrift store while I repair my MawMaw's old quilt. Needed a sit day from the fatigue. So I said I can sit and do this while listening to this cassette set. I have had it for heaven knows how long and have never stopped to listen to it. It's Spiritual Rest in the life of women by Yvonne Welch. It is soooo good and am getting some toes stepped on. ;) Anyway Yvonne was talking about setting our priorities and keeping them in order and our husbands have to be in there and then the kids. Which mine is grown and 34 years old now but still at home so I hope I can still have some positive influence on her. :-) Enjoyed reading your blog today. Thanx!

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