Summer of Simplicity

Hello all!!  I wanted to take a moment to share some "ah-ha moments" I've had recently.  The ladies in my bible study decided to do a study on "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity," by Cynthia Heald, over the summer, and discuss our thoughts on our Facebook page, since we couldn't meet in person due to lack of childcare.  This is something I've struggled with for years, and felt especially convicted about this past year, so I jumped right in.  I didn't even make it through the first week before my whole attitude about what "has to be done each day" changed completely!
I am technically a "stay-at-home-mom," but I am not exactly a "stay-at-home-type-of-mom."  You see, while I don't have a job that pays money outside the home, my favorite things to do include packing my kids up and going to some sort of group activity where we are around other people.  I am not that mom who sits cooking, cleaning, and making amazing crafts with her kids all day long.  I know a lot of moms who are like that, and we get along great, but that is just not me.  It drives my own mom a little crazy!  She is an introvert, and can't imagine having 3 kids as young as mine at one time, and then packing them up several times a day to go get lunch, or run errands, or volunteer somewhere, or go to someone's house.  But, that's how I've always been.  I like being around other people - lots of other people - and I like to be busy.  When I'm not busy, I manage to fill the spare hours with some activity, despite occasional efforts to slow down, rest more, and play with my kids at home more.
The truth is, with 3 kids under the age of 5, there is really no way to "slow down" during daylight hours.  Even if I stay home all day, and my only goal is to feed the kids and play with them, someone always needs something.  When I try to play a game with an older girl, the baby starts climbing on the kitchen set.  When I try to play with toys with the baby, the middle one wants me to zip up the 3rd dress she's put on that day.  Or she pees all over the floor.  If I try to sit the older two down for a craft, the middle one loses interest after about a minute, and the older one says, "Mommy, look at this," every 6 seconds until I give up putting away toys, playing with the baby, or whatever I am trying to do.  Don't get me wrong - I LOVE it.  But it's busy and chaotic and loud - all day, every day, regardless of how simple I make my objectives.
Towards the end of the school year, I was feeling like I'd taken on more "outside" activities than I could handle long term.   Cline and I put a lot of pressure on ourselves to "make the most" of these short years with our young kids.  We don't ever want to look back and wish we'd snuggled more, read an extra bedtime story more often, or played more with our kids.  I was starting to feel like I was spending a little too much time hopping from one activity to the next and not enough time playing Barbies with the girls.  It's always like that in May, though.  Every activity wraps up in May, adding 5 performances, 15 end of the year celebrations,  awards ceremonies, thank you gestures, and getting the summer schedule figured out.  And we're not even in "real" school yet!  (I made the mistake of doing *nothing* one summer, and it did not go well).  I prayed long and hard about what to give up for next year.  And the more I prayed about it, the more God seemed to bless the 3 activities I was trying to choose between.
A couple of weeks ago, just after I started this new study, something seemed to click.  I haven't figured out how to "simplify" my schedule yet, in the sense of "doing less."  Nothing's been cut out.  But I have turned down new opportunities and released myself of some irrational guilt.  I've tried to "practice" being an "abiding woman" rather than a "supermom."  There's a great little chart out there in Blogworld that compares the two, but the idea is that an "abiding woman" seeks to please God, is controlled by the Holy Spirit, and seeks to bring glory to God in everything she does.  A "supermom" finds satisfaction in what she accomplishes, tries to please others, and runs like crazy checking off her to-do list and doing activities with and for her kids.  What this change has looked like for me is that I'm now spending every day with the general goal of taking good care of my kids, modeling Christ's love to them and anyone we interact with that day, and playing with and educating my kids.  We've played together so much!  I've spent much more time playing and talking with them and much less time on Facebook and checking things off my "to-do" list.  I actually can't remember the last time I even made a "to-do" list, which is completely off my reservation!  I also find myself praying throughout the day - not just at a set time in the morning and night.  I try to ask for God's input on how I should explain something or how I can turn a craft or a game into a teachable moment.  (I'm definitely not perfect at this, but getting better).  Christa and I have spent some time working on her reading skills during the little ones' nap time.  But we've done it in a variety of ways that are fun, and I don't feel stressed out at the end of the day if we never looked at her sight words.  Rather, I have a general goal to work on her reading and invest time in that, and be flexible about what she responds to rather than a checklist and a "we have to do a, b, and c to get to d." (Ironically, as I was writing this, Christa woke up and came into the computer room at 11:45 p.m.  She's spent the last 10 minutes identifying sight words in this post, completely on her own :)! 
Interestingly, my house is the same amount of clean that it was before.  I've spent a lot less time organizing things and doing laundry, and somehow, it's more caught up than ever.  I have much more peace throughout the day.  For example, when Cline came home last week, and said he might have to work even more for a couple of weeks (after 6 months of being overworked as it is), I didn't get angry and stressed out like I have before.  I felt a peace that Cline would glorify God wherever he was, and God would give us the family time we need and me the help I need to run the household.  His extra work ended up being a mere half of a shift! 
Anyway, I'm not saying I have the perfect schedule figured out.  But I am slowly learning to rely on God to guide me in prioritizing and accomplishing the many, many tasks that have to be done as a mother of young kids.  And for the last week or two, I've ended my days feeling very satisfied about how I spent my time and what got accomplished, instead of feeling exhausted and guilty about everything that didn't get done.  I'm starting to shift my goals from raising super kids and looking like I always have it all together (not fooling anyone, I know), to simply loving God and loving the husband, kids, friends, and family He's given me as I go throughout my day.  I highly recommend this study for any woman who feels too busy and overwhelmed.

"I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity ... of devotion to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3 

By the way, it's 12:30 a.m., and since my oldest daughter is up, and we have nothing pressing to do at the moment, we're going to watch Good Luck Charlie together.  I simply can't think of anything else I'd rather do right now!