Sometimes...

...we just get tired:)

Last night, we got a sitter for our 2 youngest ones, Lily and Ayden (2 and 15mo). We took Brianna and Anjolie with us to a restaurant out in town along with another couple who we wanted to invite to church (PTL they went). Little Anjolie, 4, was so tired, the poor little thing has a difficult time anyway and then, she did not have time for a nap- so that was just adding fuel to the fire. No matter how many times I spoke with her, begged her, corrected her, prayed for her...she just would not stop whining and fussing and doing other things that tired little 4 year olds do when they have missed their naps, are hungry and out past bed time for the second night in a row. Seems like a "DUH" situation huh? Yes, it was. I am a wiser mama for it, and I will make every effort to not put her in a losing situation like that again. My heart just broke as the little thing fell asleep sitting up in the van surrounded by noise and chatter (we all rode together) her little thumb half hanging out of her mouth and evident circles under her little closed eyes. The poor thing just needed some rest!! She had been pushed way past her little human limit.

As I laid in bed thinking over the night and asking forgiveness for my irritation over the sleepy little thing not being able to act like an 8 year old ;) I thought of how many times I do the same thing to myself (yes, and act like an 8 eight year old lol) and then wonder what went wrong-why did I lose it?. I felt the Lord was showing me that I am of no use to anybody if I don't have the proper balance in my life...if I run myself ragged all day and then expect to be fresh and pleasant for my husband and children..well, that is just foolish. I'm not talking about doing things the Lord has called me to do and relying on His strength to do it... I'm talking about some of the extras like sitting in the sun all day at the pool 2 days in a row after 2 days of helping to clean the church, Ladies' visitation, Bible study, Thursday visitation ...etc you get the idea..another duh situation ;). My folly includes doing favors for friends that aren't necessary, but drain alot of time and energy because I want their favor, not because I took it to the Lord- who pays for that? My family and I pay the price! I'm talking about breaching boundaries that have been and need to be in place so that I can better serve my Lord and the family He has given me. If I am worn out and tired day after day, failing test after test (mostly in patience with my kids) well, maybe I'm just tired -because of the "things", that are not necessities, which have leaked past the boundaries that are meant to preserve my strength and focus for my first ministries. It is easy to slip into "doing it all"...pride helps it along, fear of man, or sometimes just trial and error in keeping the balance between ministries, keeping home, hospitality etc... When I am just plain tired, I need to examine my plate, and ask the Lord to show me what His idea of "full" is. His yoke is easy and His burden light, when I do things according to His will and in His strength :) I hope this made sense!! :)