After my last post, I needed to take several days away from my blog to process, pray, and think through every-thing.

I came to this very difficult conclusion: I struggle deeply with being so passionate about so much, and being unable to do it all.  I’m having to weed out the non-essential.

With the desire to simplify, I have written about choosing “four essential things,” and trying to allow the others non-essentials to drop for a while until I’m able to be consistent with the essential.

Unfortunately, as I look at things, blogging is not really in my list of essentials.  But, I seriously don’t think that God wants to me completely drop my blog.  How can I enjoy blogging, encourage others, etc without it becoming an essential?

Reduce.  Heavily.

I cannot make a blog that has no form of income or in-person interaction into a focus.  I just can’t.  It isn’t possible time-wise, and it isn’t possible in the realm of the ministry that God has called me to.  I understand that God has used my blog to minister and speak to many of you, and I’m SO glad!  I would never say that this isn’t part of the ministry that God has called me to, but He has placed so many ministries in my life that happen in person, and they require so much of my time and energy.  I have a family to take care of, I teach preschool part-time, and I also work with the junior high students at my church.

I have made the very difficult decision to only blog twice a week.  With how much is required of me at home, school, and church, this is all that I really have time for.  This includes reducing my time on Facebook.  I have made the plan to only be online during the boys’ rest/nap time on Mondays and Fridays, and maybe once on the weekend.  I will still get on Facebook on my phone at times because it’s easier than getting on the computer, but I’m just online too much!

I’ve also been truly feeling a strong desire for missions lately, and I’m praying through where this is headed.  I have the possibility to do some short term foreign mission this coming year, and since that is a huge desire of my heart, I will want to spend more time/energy on that!  And God has made it clear that becoming a childbirth educator is to be more of a ministry than a business, and I need to get that finished!  I desire to work with teen moms and those that are struggling through their pregnancies for different reasons.  I had the opportunity at one point to teach at the Dallas Downtown Pregnancy Center, but I wasn’t finished with my class so I had to turn it down!  I’m praying that I’ll have the same opportunity here once I’m finished with my training!

See, I just have so many things going on!

I hope that you’ll stick around… but I can understand if you don’t!  Ultimately, God is in control of it all!

So, back to my four essentials:

1. Relationships: Jesus, Robert, my children, other family, close friends, those that I mentor and are mentored by, and those that God has put in my life to serve.
2. Service: My home, school, church, missions, etc.
3. Health: Eating real foods, reducing toxins when possible
4. Simplicity and Living Intentionally: Playing more, being outdoors more, keeping everything simple to be consistent, backpacking as a couple, camping as a family, missions, etc.

This is all I have time for.  Period.