Well, Friday marked the last day of my last class before I finally graduate college! Hello new life!!! So nice to meet ya! I feel like a completely different person today! This weekend is one out of a handful of weekends in 6 years that I do not have any homework to do!! I can barely contain myself. The huge burden of endless reading, testing and writing research papers has been lifted. Hallelujah! Is it even possible that I am finally entering a new season of life?!

As I stare my newly acquired hours in the face, the possibilities of what to fill them with seem endless. I am dreaming of all the new ways I’m going to spend my time:

Writing (anyone else curious how someone starts a blog in October and by March of the next year there are only 4 entries?!! Hmmm…Maybe I’ll get back to that), scrapbooking (still working on my kids’ baby albums and my youngest will be 13!), organizing (there is never ending clutter control going on in my house at all times. For me, external decluttering = internal decluttering!), cleaning out the basement (or should I say, the overloaded, downstairs storage unit that is rapidly beginning to resemble an episode of Hoarders-Buried Alive), walking our family dog (if it wasn’t for my sweet son, the dog would have totally forgotten what this process looks like by now!), working out (I’ve seen the gym 5 times since last June!), reading a book a month again (I’m still trying to finish Ann Voskamp’s “One Thousand Gifts”, which I started back in 2014) bible studies (“over-yessing” myself led to me pulling out of women’s fall and spring studies this year)…and I’m pretty sure you are getting the picture!

I am looking forward to not only doing all of these things, but ENJOYING them! Somehow throughout school I managed to do most of the things I wanted to, but more often than not I was stressed out and not enjoying the journey. Things that were supposed to be fun and exciting or relaxing simply became more stuff on the to-do list. You know something’s wrong when date night becomes 2 people catching up on chores night. Just sayin.

After the excitement of compiling my new lists, I sat back and reviewed them and suddenly I was overwhelmed again. This can’t be right! Alas, here lays my first struggle – my desire to be busy doing a million things all at once. I have learned, the hard way mind you, that no one can do a million things, all at once, to the glory of God. Stretching yourself too thin only makes for an overwhelmed heart and an underwhelmed soul. I think Lysa Terkeurst taught me that. I have also learned that I personally cannot do everything on my endless to-do lists, unless I allow God to create the list. Herein lays my second struggle-setting my agenda aside so I can do what God has asked me to do. Yes, I still whine on the inside, and sometimes (okay a lot of times) on the outside, when I don’t get my way. Needless to say, surrendering my hours to God is a challenge for me. I want to do what I want to do.

BUT, since I know this about myself and I am learning from my past mistakes of “over-yessing”, and committing to too much of the wrong things, I am determined to have a different approach this time. This new season will have to include some much needed changes. Changes that will allow my family to have more time together, changes that will bring me rest, relaxation and restoration, changes that will strengthen my marriage and that will allow for me to be more effective in ministry. The biggest change needs to be the quantity and quality of time spent with God. It is only through Him that any changes will have a fighting chance of surviving in this house. Lord knows I continually fail to do change well. And consistency is not my strong suit either. Lord, help me.

Yesterday as I thought about some possible life changes, I knew I needed some inspiration. God often inspires me through my love for reading so off to the Christian bookstore I went. I found a book by Jessica Turner called The Fringe Hours that caught my attention. I purchased it and this morning I read Chapter 1- “Pursuing Balance”. What a fitting place to start on my journey towards better spending my time. For the next few days I will be in the process of evaluating what matters most-step one of my journey. I am going to take my time with this one. Lord knows I can’t afford to keep striving after that which does not pertain to my role in His kingdom agenda. Well, here’s to the next thing. Whatever that means! I hope you’ll join me on the journey!