Staring out the window at the clouds and the grass, a war is going on within me.  I feel like I need to get words out, but I’m not even sure what those words need to be.  I feel compelled to write, but I don’t feel I deserve to write.  At least, I don’t deserve to write about Jesus.

That’s the funny thing, though.  Jesus is exactly who I feel compelled to write about.  But how could I?

I’m not a theologian, and despite my deepest desire, I’m no prayer warrior.  I love the word, but I’m far from an expert.  But still… I’m compelled to write about Jesus.

Reading is important.

Remember the days before you had kids when you could lay in bed in the morning and read a good book?  Or before you fell asleep at night.  Or in the middle of the day!

Well, it seems motherhood has a way of filling up our time.  Our time is filled up with all sorts of good things like smushy kisses, dinosaur tails, endless snacks, and answering a gazillion questions.  And I wouldn’t trade all that for anything.

However, reading is something we should always make time for.  Why?  That’s what we’re here to discuss.  While I believe there are countless benefits to reading, right now I’m going to explain the top 5 reasons why reading is important for busy moms.  Make sure you read number five.  That’s the big one.

It happens all too often that we will get to the end of a long day and wonder what we have been so busy with.  We know that we ran our tails off all day, but we can’t seem to figure out what we accomplished.  If you’re sick and tired feeling this way as you crawl into bed, it’s time to establish a morning routine.  A morning routine is the #1 thing that has helped me make sure that those icky feeling and evenings are in the minority, rather than the majority.

The Chaos Of Winging It.

You guys, I’m a mom of three.  My oldest is now 7, the middle child is 5, and the youngest is 3.  Less than 4 years separate all my kids.  So please know that I am no stranger to chaos.  I would say I’ve been a victim of chaos, but that would imply I had no choice in the matter.  Which I did.  It’s just that for a long time, I existed within the chaos, just doing my best to make it from morning to bedtime.

That’s not healthy.  It’s not healthy, but I know how it happens.  Life moves quickly when you have little kids, jobs, and a house to run.  Commitments pile on and before you know it, you’re flying off the treadmill and hitting the wall.  I was sick of letting my life run me, and I decided that it was time to take control of the things that I could.

“December 7.”  That date meant I was late for advent.  I kept repeating the day in my head as I pushed open the barn door to my office and walked towards my mis-matched chair and desk.

I had every intention of starting the advent activity, from Focus on the Family, on time with our children.  Our 3 kids, ages 6, 4, and 2, were excited about building a nativity as we slowly approached Christmas Day.  Wait… slowly?  Who am I kidding?  Time was rushing by and life was a complete blur of school, work, youth group and coaching.  

December 7.  This would be the day we would start the advent activity.  It had already been a few days since I had sat in front of my computer trying to decide if it would be more economical to print the activity at home on my own printer, or in town at the print shop.  I decided it was probably cheaper at the print shop.

Even with that decision made, I pictured the scene of making one more trip into town, getting the kids out of their car seats and running door-to-door in the cold, north-east winds.  That thought alone made me shiver, sigh, and press print.  After the printing was complete, I gathered up the papers so that I could review them and cut out the first few days worth of cards.  We had some catch-up to do.