Doing Less and Living More

I am a woman who does to much - I run a family practice, I manage a volunteer free health clinic, I teach nursing online, I own a boarding kennel, I am doggie mom to 14 rescue dogs, five adult children, 5 awesome grandsons, my 87 year old father who has dementia has moved in with  us, I volunteer with the humane society (currently we are boarding 2 puppies and 2 adult dogs that need homes), I accepted a position on the county Republican committee, and now my husband is on crutches. For some reason the crutches feel like the last straw. 

 I am feeling stressed and out of balance- probably there are a few of you out there that are just as stressed as I am. Feeling stressed  is not proportionate to the number of task on your to-do-list or the amount of things you are involved in, it is a feeling, it is a mental status - a state of mental tension and worry.

My husband's crutches are not the cause of my stress.  The cause of my stress is having a full schedule and knowing the one person I depend on the most is not able to help me. 

Having a full schedule is my own doing. I have filled my schedule to over-flowing. I've accepted too much to-do.  Other people and outside forces do not cause my stress I do. So with God's help and a fresh outlook, I will be weeding down my to-do-list.  Learning to say no.  

The first step is to scale down volunteer activities - I totally believe in everything I am involved in but the Humane Society and the Republican committee obligations have to go.  Attending meetings and organizing fund raisers takes time - time I need to focus on me and my family.

The second step -  go back to a paper planner. I have been randomly writing out to-do-list and trying to use my iPhone.  I hate to admit it but I am a old fashion paper and pencil kind of girl, but I am.

So, out comes the old fashion planner.

The third step - finding time for me.  Using my paper planner I am going to schedule time for me to do some of the things I want to do and some down time.  I realized today when I was to tired to get off the couch - I actually slept for 3 hours curled up in the den while all the other members of my house moved about the den, watched TV, and the dogs barked.

I know I will stumble as I try to implement these three steps, but stumbling is part of God's plan for us.  I honestly do not believe that God's plan is for me to be running around like a crazy person trying to be everything to everyone. Learning to listen and follow his plan is hard.  This is a journey - the final destination is not perfection - but rather living the abundant life that God has planned for me.

So - what have you done to address stress in your life?  or what steps have you taken to do less and live more?

~ Connie ~