Week 2 Day 4: Choosing Your Schedule

There was little boy who could never finish his sandwich at lunch. His mom packed him his favorite PB&J but he could not finish that big whole sandwich. The mom finally decided to try something new. She cut it in four small squares. And amazingly cutting it into four small squares was the solution. He would finish the sandwich. His focus could not last on the whole sandwich but when it was cut into smaller pieces he had no problem.

Some of you may be that little boy. You let your laundry pile up. Your house gets a mess. And trying to focus long enough to clean up the whole mess is just not going to happen. You are going to give up before you finish. You need to take your laundry, house cleaning in smaller portions. Maybe even your workouts need to be in smaller sections.

When choosing your schedule, you want to make sure it works with your personality. I like to do it all at once. I have friends who say they feel ADD when it comes to housework. They need to break it up. Either is ok. It is just important you choose to do it.

What needs to be in your schedule:
1.Prayer
2 Scripture Reading
3. Exercise
4. Household chores & laundry
5. Family time (dinner, devotional & prayer)
6. Outside home activities

Small Section Schedule: Choose to do your schedule in 15 minute sections and no more than 30 minute sections.
1. Prayer - first thing talk to God
2. Scripture Reading - Maybe over lunch, before you go to bed, in the car while child is at practice
3. Exercise - You can break it up. Walk during child's practice, ab exercises during TV show, play with kids outside for 15 minutes, use cans as weights while you cook dinner
4. Household chores - A room a day (wipe baths on Mondays, living room Tuesday, bedroom Wednesday, etc.) I suggest cleaning kitchen as you cook and immediately after supper. It makes the kitchen easy.
5. Laundry - A load a day. (throw load in when you get home, in dryer before bed. Put up the next day)
6. Family time- Schedule family dinners. No compromises. You can have devo at dinner or pick one night for devo and another for prayer. You can also have Cd's in car as you drive around.
7. Don't forget to put down other activities.

More at once Schedule: You can probably do your schedule by the hour with half hour as needed.
1. Prayer- First thing
2. Scripture reading -With prayer time or at another time (see above)
3. Exercise - Choose 20-30 minute of cardio and add 10-20 minutes of conditioning three times a week. You can always count playing outside with kids. Use time you wait on kids to get in a workout or during a TV show.
4. Household chores - Do it one swipe. Set aside a couple of hours for you and fellow housemates to clean the house.
5. Laundry- You can do it the same time you clean house or set aside another day to focus on laundry. If you do it at once make sure you have a timer to make sure you switch out loads. And start with smaller loads and save bigger loads that take longer to dry for last. It will make it go faster.
6. Family time- Make sure you have family dinner time. You can have your devotional time and prayer time with you dinner time. Enjoy your time.
7. Other activities- Don't forget your other activities.

Choose to use your time wisely. You can fold laundry or exercise during a TV show. You can exercise or read scripture while your child is at practice or waiting. You can read scripture while waiting for a doctor's appointment.
You have time in your day. Choose to use it wisely.
Choose to set a schedule that fits your personality.
Choose your priorities wisely and make sure your schedule reflects them. Fix your schedule if it does not.

Please feel free to comment with any questions or email me and I will help you with your schedule. I am here to assist you so you can have less mess and stress.

January Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a closet.

Week 2 Action Plan:
Choose to make a schedule and memorize Psalm 100.

Week 2 Day4 Action Plan:
Choose to praise God for a new day.
Choose to read Proverbs 2 (Choosing wisdom)
Choose to do some ab exercises during TV show and lift cans as you cook dinner.
Choose to play Wii, outside, a board game with your family or friends.
Choose to pick up your room.

Week 2 Day 2&3

Dear friends, I am so sorry I have not been able to write this week. Due to a child with a fractured arm, a sick child, and allergies that messed up my eyes, I have had to sacrifice writing. I promise to be back. But here is your action plan.

January Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a closet.

Week 2 Action Plan:
Choose to make a weekly or biweekly schedule.
Choose to memorize Psalm 100.

Week 2 Day 2&3 Action Plan:
Choose to lift your burdens to God.
Choose to read Psalm 100 and shout it to God.
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ps%20100&version=NIV
Choose to exercise. (suggestions: alternate jogging, jump rope, and jumping jacks for 15 minutes)
Choose to do a quick wipe down of the bathroom cabinet and toilet. Lysol wipes were great.

Action Plan Week 2 Day 1

January Action Plan
Choose to clean out a closet.

Week 2 Action Plan
Choose to make a weekly schedule that includes exercise, God, sleep, chores, etc. (more info to come)

Week 2 Day 1 Action Plan
Choose to seek God and pray for yourself and your family's week.
Choose to read a story about David you remember. But really look at his relationship with God.
Choose to go for a walk, jog or play outside with kids.
Choose to clean up the kitchen from the weekend.
Choose to have a family prayer time for the week.

Action Plan Week 1 Day 6: Choose to Cry Out

God is amazing. He is an awesome God. He is greater than we can imagine. His love is unconditional. His power is unexplainable. But He is not far away. God is with us. Why do we choose to have timid prayers and not cry out to Him?

I have a couple of questions for you. Have you ever cried out to God? When is the last time you really opened up to Him? Do you experience joy, anguish, tears, comfort, any emotion when you pray? Has prayer just become a routine?

I have been blessed to know some amazing women of prayer. They cry out to God. They use His Word in their prayers. They acknowledge who He is, what He has done, and what He is going to do. As they pray, you can know they believe in God and who He is. They cry, rejoice, shout and believe. I don't know about you, but I want to experience that relationship with Christ every time I pray.

I want to be like King David. He danced in the streets to praise God. He cried out from the caves when he feared for his life. He shared everything with God. Can we choose do the same?

Today, do not just choose to go through the motions of prayer.
Choose to praise God for who He is. Really believe the words you say. Feel your heart race as you get excited about your God.
Choose to truly repent and seek forgiveness. Do not just list off your sins that need to be forgiven. Feel the emotion of truly repenting from the the sorrow of the sin to joy of His forgiveness.
Choose to lift up your burdens for yourself and others. You do not have to hold back emotion.
Choose to believe God. Believe in what He can do and trust in His will. Praise Him for what He is going to do.

January Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a closet.

Week 1 Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a junk drawer and learn verse.

Week 1 Day 5 Action Plan:
Choose to cry out to God. Don't hold back.
Choose to read Psalm 86 and Psalm 150.
Choose to exercise. Play on the Wii, dance around the living room, just move.
Choose to do a Family 15 when you get home and pick up the living area and kitchen. It will help you enjoy the weekend so much more.
Choose to have at least 30 min- 1 hour of family time. Play a game or find something fun to do together.

Action Week 1 Day 5: Choose to Realize

Most of us are stressed because of all our stuff and things we have to do. We are tired of having to clean and wash all our stuff. We either hate cleaning our big house or want a bigger nicer house. We are busy because we have to many opportunities to do different things. But these things are blessings. The people of Haiti are facing true trials and destruction.

As a nation we have become very spoiled. It is times when we see true suffering that we realize how truly blessed we are. Now it is time to choose put aside our selfish gripes and cry out to God for the people of Haiti.

Today all I am going to ask you to do is to lift up Haiti and those who are leaving their families here to go help Haiti. Families are mourning. Homes are lost. People are injured with little medical help. Many in Haiti do not know Christ.

Your action plan today is to pray. When you are having to do a load of laundry or pick up your house, thank God that you have those things and pray for those who have lost it all. While you have to drive your kids place to place, thank God for your children and pray for those parents who have lost their children and those who are tyring to find their children. As you walk in a room and see a mess, pray for those stuck in the rubble and for rescue efforts. As you pass your bible, stop pick it up and pray for the Word and its hope to reach those in Haiti.

"Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy."--From Twitter user troylivesay in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.


Choose to realize your blessings today and lift up Haiti in prayer today.

January Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a closet.

Action Week 1 Plan:
Choose to clean out a junk drawer and learn verse.

Action Week 1 Day 5:
Choose to pray.

Action Week 1 Day 4: Choose to Conquer the Junk Drawer

This week we are choosing to clean out a junk drawer. I wanted to give you a few pointers to make it quick and easy.

1. Have a trash bag, a container or tabletop to dump everything, scrap piece of paper and basket for items that need to be taken somewhere else.
2. You will need a drawer organizer. You can use a old utensil organizer or even find small trays at the dollar store to arrange in the drawer. (Be sure to measure depth, width and height before you buy anything.)
3. Dump out the drawer.
4. Arrange drawer organizer or trays in drawer.
5. Have trash, paper and basket by drawer.
6. Start sorting. It will go in the trash, basket or drawer.
7. Test all writing utensils to see if they still work.
8. If you have not used it in a year, you can probably get rid of it.
9. Put up the items that go somewhere else in the house.
10. Enjoy your drawer!!

It is that simple and easy. Laugh at what you find and enjoy the treasure hunt! You may even make some money in the process.

And as you clean out the drawer, I want you to remember that choosing to put God back in your life is just as easy. You do not have to wait until you are good enough. You do not have to wait until you get it together. You do not have to wait until you break those bad habits. God loves you no matter how messy your life may be. He is there to forgive you. He is there to guide you. You just have to give God control and put your life in His hands. Stop trying to get it together first and just choose to have a relationship with Christ. He loves you and He has chosen you.

January Action Plan:

Choose to clean out a closet.

Week 1 Action Plan:

Choose to clean out a junk drawer and memorize verse.

Week 1 Day 4 Action Plan:

Choose to celebrate that God has chosen you.

Choose to read Colossian 3:1-15 (pay attention to 12-14) You can use link.

www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3&version=NIV

Choose to spend 20 minutes outside playing with kids, going for a walk, etc (if too cold see yesterday)

Choose to sit down and pray with your family. (if single, pray with a friend, roomie, or call a loved one.)

Action Plan Week 1 Day 3:Choosing To Let Everything Glorify God

Where is God in your life? I know some of you only miss church if you are sick or on vacation. Some of you actively serve in the church. Both of these are highly important. But do you glorify God in your physical health, with your family, in your home?

We get in the habit of keeping different parts of our lives separate. We keep work at work. We keep school and extra activities separate. And unfortunately, we keep God at church. When we start to choose to leave God at church, our lives fall apart around us (mess and stress).

Why would we want to keep the great Creator, Physician, Provider, Healer and Savior out of everything? Do you even think that God is the provider and everything you have is a gift from Him? Do you treat your things as a blessing or as stuff? Do you stop and think about who created you? Who cares enough to know the number of hairs on your head? Do you take care of that creation or let it go to waste? Do you remember that your family, your children are a gift from God? A gift He gave you to teach in His ways? It is time to choose to remember who we are, whose image we were created in, who blesses us with life and so many other things. We cannot leave God at church anymore.

We are God's masterpiece, choose to take care of your physical health through exercise and eating right.
Our children are a gift from God, choose to make training them the ways of the Lord a priority in your home.
God has blessed us with a roof over our head and more, choose to treat your home as a gift not junk.
God sent His Son to die for your sins, choose to take time just for God to praise Him and be with Him everyday.

January Action Plan:
Choose to clean out a closet (donate items to a local charity)

Week 1 Action Plan:
Choose to clean out and organize a junk drawer. Memorize your verse.

Day 3 Action Plan:
Choose to spend time thanking God for all He has given you. Even on our worst day, we are still truly blessed.
Choose to jump rope, jog, or dance for 15 minutes.
Choose to put away laundry that has been sitting out.
Choose to read your favorite childhood Bible story with your kids or to yourself.