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Fully Devoted to Just 7 Things

It’s that time of year again. Fall is here, school planning is in full swing for most of us, and I stay up way too late browsing the internet for great planning tips and curriculum lists. Target is jam packed with rows of shiny new school supplies, and the infamous quote from You’ve Got Mail rings through my brain all too often.

Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. ” ~Joe Fox.

As I am staring at my brand new calendar, I can’t help but notice it’s clean and crisp and empty and BLANK!!! Clean slate. I make the choice of what to write in this thing. Me and me alone.

Fully Devoted to Just 7 Things

When recently contemplating our schedule for the fall, I posed the question to my fellow Hip Homeschool Moms team members, “What else are you involved in besides teaching your children?” I received a lot of great feedback with a running theme that being over-committed is a joy stealer. One mom pointed out that she had read in an article that you can only be truly devoted to seven things at a time.

Anything you really want to focus on needs to take up one of those seven spots.

My relationship with God, my marriage, my kids, my health (healthy eating, exercise, AND sleep), homeschooling…. that takes up five right there. We discussed the fact that seasons of life breed different needs and that different temperaments need to come into play, but what an interesting concept to consider.

Be. Fully. Devoted.

Too often I let the most important things in my life turn into the “givens,” and I forget to fully devote. The long-term results would be just disastrous. The most important things in my life? These need constant intentional devotion, or they slowly begin to die.

It’s not about being Superwoman and doing it all. It’s about being devoted and doing it well. Doing what we can with what we have where we are. Be Superwoman because what we have, even “just” those five things above, is cause enough to wear a cape. It’s enough in and of itself.

No doubt our plates will always be full. However, with each new opportunity that presents itself to me, I now try and ask the question, “Is this where my time and attention should be?” Most opportunities can be good things; they can even be great things. However, maybe, just maybe, they are things that we should say no to. Perhaps our top seven need more devotion, or perhaps God is just calling us elsewhere.

It’s a new year, a new beginning, and a new opportunity to give ourselves grace and to prioritize as best we can. Get yourself a pink sparkly cape and wear it proudly. We aren’t perfect, and we won’t perfectly manage our homes, our families, or our other responsibilities. But God will make up for our shortcomings.

Blessings to you all as you begin your new school year.

From our home to yours.

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18 Comments

  1. Darcy,

    I love this post. What to prioritize this year has been on my mind a lot this month. Saying “no” to good things is not bad. There are so many wonderful choices available to homeschoolers. I could spend days just reading reviews of interesting offerings. But we’ll keep school very simple this year. Major focus on the basics. Math, math, math. Science, writing, music. History and Spanish.

    God, family, my health, homeschooling. That’s four. Add to that swim team and 4H for the kids and a weekly meeting with fellow Jesus loving friends for fellowship, study, and accountability. That’s seven. Good grief. There’s so much more I want to add. But this is a good start. For us more simple = more focused = less stress and more joy.

    We have been simplifying our lives for the last year. It’s so easy to add stuff in. It’s much more difficult to untangle a complicated life.

    Thanks for the reminder about balance in schedules and home life. Looking forward to a more simplified year.

    1. Such a great point Laura. Always easy to add stuff in but difficult to take out! I LOVE that! Thanks for sharing!! I love your comments! Have a great beginning of the year!

  2. THis is so good, Darcy!! My calendar is filling up…September is almost FULL already!! The thing for us is, we’re new here. My kids had great friends in South Dakota. I can tell they’re yearning for a little extra curricular. So…my two boys are doing co-op classes on Tuesdays and Boy Scouts Tuesday nights. All three kids will do Awana on Wednesday nights. Sophia will do ballet on Wednesday afternoon. Add in all our back to school appointments, a birthday, and a weekend trip and our September is FULL! Today I’m fine-tuning our schedule for school….I have a lot of fun things planned for that!

  3. We have so much in common! I love, first of all, how you encourage us to keep devoted to it, while in the midst.! LOVE IT! Thank You! I , as well, love Jesus, have 4 kiddos ( 2b 2g) and love Photography, running, being a hostess,planning parties, my husband is a pastor,e tc. I will begin homeschooling at a whole new pace. We were on the mission field in Hungary, and are returning this January! Let’s keep in touch, girl! I need your encouragement with just jumping right into my kids’ Whole education. I get that God’s gonna carry me, as long as I cling to Him, Just juggling the feelings of being there teacher-instilling those building blocks, (all on my shoulders..eek) Love to you, In Him, Kim Beller

  4. Thank you so much for sharing! This really encouraged me, and has given me new perspective on the coming school year!

  5. So, I was that mom who never said no to volunteering to anything. I squeezed in every odd job I could find to bring in a little extra money. Then a couple of years ago, my marriage ended, my health took a nosedive; I can no longer work, much less volunteer. My troubles have brought blessings, and lessons. One of them being to focus on the truly important stuff. You know what? Life is sweeter since I hung up my Superwoman cape! Great post!!
    Shared on Facebook and Twitter.

  6. I have really had to come to terms with just how much I have tried to do in the recent months…. to put in two short words: TOO MUCH. Like a previous poster, I have had to hang up the cape and focus on what matters most: faith, family, homeschooling, and wellness.

  7. I love this post and that quote from You’ve Got Mail (my FAVORITE movie!). Seven things I am going to commit to focusing on~ spending time alone with God, intentionally investing in my marriage, spending time with my kids outside of schooling and organized activities, finding a church home (stopping excuses and church on youtube every Sunday), making our home a peaceful retreat, Drinking more water, and choosing to be more joyful vs. negative! Thanks for the inspiration. ☺️

  8. Maybe allowing way more than 7 things on my list could explain why I can’t keep up. Definitely need to spend time praying over my priorities. Thanks for a great article.

  9. This was an awesome article. There are many things that try to take my attention away from the important things in life, but the things I need to focus more on are 1) God 2) prayer 3) My husband )4 My children 5) my finances 6) My home 7) my goals
    Blessings to you all!

  10. I’m going to consider this list tonight. I’ve been struggling to find a way to fit in time for myself. I want so badly to read, color, craft, or learn a new skill. I spread myself too thin, fall short in the areas I feel I should be giving my all. I’m tired and anxious and feeling guilty for it. This is what I needed right now. Guidance. I’m going to give serious thought to a list of 7 (hopefully no more) things that are important to me and I will cut the rest out. I will make one of the priorities myself. Thank you for this! ?

  11. Interesting concept … 7 things. Makes me think of the things my kids are involved in … I wonder what the number is for kids?

  12. I think the hardest thing to do is keep the main things the main things! We are business owners and believe we are led to homeschool for the first time this year – our 7th grader – and there aren’t enough hours in the day on most days to begin with! We are still getting the hang of it, and I love the time with our boy, but I admit being sidetracked with things, mostly business related, that jump into one of those top priority spots, and has no right to be there! Thankfully each day is brand new…. interesting article, I’ve followed your fb page and articles for several months, thank you for encouragement and this article.

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