Reserve Battery Power & Soli Deo Gloria Party

Welcome to Soli Deo Gloria whether it's your first time here or your 24th (can you believe it's been 24 weeks??).  Basically, we are a community of women that seek to encourage, support, love each other with our words.  It's a fun party and I love hosting you here each week.  If you would like more information about this community, please click here.  Just a note:  Please don't feel that you have to visit every single person that links up.  We are all on a time budget.  That being said, I do invite you to pray and ask God which blogs to visit simply because there may be words for you left in that place or words that God has given you to share to those specific people.  Blessings to everyone!

Photo source here

Yesterday, I grabbed my laptop, and upon it's waking, a warning popped up:

You are now running on reserve battery power.  Please plug your computer into an electrical outlet.  If you do not, your computer will shut down to preserve its memory.

Ha!  I need one of these same pop up batteries for my LIFE.  Perhaps it would read:

You have 3% battery power left in your tank.  Please lay down on the couch and stop working, cleaning, ministering, cooking, talking, writing, and yelling disciplining your children.  If you do not, your body will shut down to preserve whatever amount of sanity you have left.

So today, after a little pow-wow with my sweet husband, we figured out how to give me a few hours sans children to discipline so that I could actually engage in some sort of Sabbath.  I got to take a shower without any questions about the female anatomy.  I read the Sunday paper from start to finish without being asked to read every single funny on the comics page.  I caught up on my daily Bible readings without being asked for (yet another) glass of water.  I FELL ASLEEP!  (This almost never happens, for I am not a napper.)  And, upon arising from my short nap, I actually was in the mood to start dinner (cooking is so not my favorite thing -- I need some Big Fat Mama injections).  Amazing what a little recharging can do for a woman!

The deal is, though, I cannot let myself get to that 3% on a regular basis.  I have to be better about setting boundaries, about not trying to multi-task (parenting and working from home is decidedly difficult to do), and take time to breath.  I have no magical plan formed yet, but here are two things that I am going to try very hard to do in the coming weeks:

{1}  Spend time with my husband after the kids go to bed.  Normally, I try to squeeze in a few more hours of work, but you see, my husband is quite the funny guy.  When I'm with him, I stress less.  He's good for my soul.

{2}  Be intentional about the time I spend with my kids.  I lug around a lot of mommy-guilt trying to get all my work done, keep the house clean, clip coupons, etc. and always am afraid I'm leaving my kids hanging.  If I'm present when I'm with them, I think that will save me a lot of energy that currently goes down the guilt-drain.

Okay, enough of me.  Please go visit some other people that have some amazing things to say!  The linky is live until Wednesday at 9pm, CDT.