Organizing Happiness

There were many years where I was on the outside looking in. My husband had a disability and was not able to work to earn a living to support our family. I was envious of moms who had the priviledge of staying home with their children. God heard the cries of my heart all those years. To make a long story short, my husband is no longer disabled and six months ago I came home full time to be a homemaker and raise our children. The transition, however, has not been an easy one. I in no way want to re-enter the workforce. I thought I would experience more joy than I have.

I realized recently that part of my frustration is that I am feeling a little lost as to how to organize my life, what routines to have, and most importantly I realized I was not having the time alone with the Lord that I needed. All of these issues are addressed in e-book Organizing Happiness by Lorrie Flem. In this book Lorrie talks about preparing the night before-- which was quite timely as I am preparing for our first family vacation in eight years. She also talks about setting priorities and saying no to those things that are out of line with those priorities. I am terrible about this because I see all the things that I want to do, all the the things I need to do, and then want to do them all right now. I often times say yes too often when I would likely be happier if I said no more often. Then as I read Lorrie talked about taking things one step at a time and reminded me that slow and steady wins the race. As I read these things I have been challenged and am working to implement these practices into my life. I am only a week into these changes and I already see a difference. I am happier and so are my children.

Another valuable point Lorrie makes in this book is the priority of time with the Lord. I made some changes in this area a couple of months ago. I started training my children to stay in their rooms and read or play for an extra hour in the morning to give me that time. I tell them it is Mommy's Special Time with Jesus. I believe this time with the Lord is vital so I want to emphasize this in my review. If we give the Lord time he can will give us all we need. I realized these last few weeks that I had forgotten how to enter into the Lord's rest. It is in this rest that we find peace and healing. I am glad Lorrie encouraged me to keep this time a priority.

I recieved Organizing Happiness from Eternal Encouragement, http://www.eternalencouragement.com/ a ministry to encourage mothers in their high calling as homemakers, wives, and mothers. You too can recieve Organizing Happiness for free when you sign up for Lorrie's newslwtter at http://www.eternalencouragement.com/theshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_26&products_id=106

Disclaimer: I received Organizing Happiness from Eternal Encouragement. I received it free of charge in exchange for my honest review.