Monthly Archives: September 2011

Right now, being a mom feels overwhelming.  And impossible.  And exhausting.

And, I’m preaching to the choir.  I’m hardly the first or only mom to be busy—instead, I’m one of the masses.  In fact, I’m willing to bet that every mom who reads this post will say “me, too!” and “sounds familiar”.

Between kindergarten drop-off and preschool pick-up and snack donations and feeding the baby and homework and reading practice and birthday parties and football practice and dance lessons and… well, you get the picture… I feel like I can’t even find an hour’s gap in my schedule to go to the grocery store.  Much less do things like volunteer on the PTA or participate in the school fundraiser.

Does it have to be this way?   The truth is, I don’t know the answer.

I mean, it’s not exactly like I can cut out school.  Or Homework.  And, while I could cut out preschool for my daughter, when she’s at school, I write.   Or I used to write.  Now, I walk the halls trying to get the baby to fall back asleep because he always falls asleep on the way home from preschool drop-off.

So, how do I get a grip?  And find a way to spend less time in the car and more time doing the things that are really important?  And, beyond that, how do I find a way to do the things that are really important for my family AND pursue my own personal goals at the same time?  I’m about to have a panic attack just thinking about it.

My friend Joanne Kraft actually took a year-long “radical sabbatical” from business (you can read about it in her book, Just Too Busy). Her kids stopped doing all activities and extra-curriculars and focused on family time.  She claims it was the best thing she did for her family.  The truth is that I’m not sure I’m ready to go there—my son just loves football and my daughter loves dance—and I can’t bear the thought of taking those things away from them.  But I’m considering it.

At this point, something has to give.

Question: Are you overwhelmed?  How do you deal?

He did it!  My five-year-old was generous.  And not because I made him do it!

Okay, so I poked and prodded him a little… but in the end, he chose to walk up to the check-out counter, pull out his wallet and spend $8 on someone other than himself.

Last week, I asked you how you teach your kids to be generous. We were in the midst of a local crisis—more than 1,500 homes had burned in a massive wildfire including several of our friend’s homes—and I wanted to figure out how to teach my kids to be instinctively generous and to give out of their want instead of out of their plenty.

Anyway, a family we know lost everything in the fire—including a much treasured Star Wars toy collection belonging to their six-year-old son.  We decided to pick up a few things—clothes, necessities, toys for this family and I asked both of my kids if they would like to contribute some of their own money to the cause.  My daughter said yes.  My son said no.

I get it: he has been saving for three and a half months to buy a Star Wars Rocket Ship.  He has earned and saved $24.76 so far.  The ship costs $39.99 plus tax.  And he wasn’t too keen on parting with his hard-earned and hard-saved money.

But, he did it.  And without (much) prompting by me.  I admit.  I laid it on thick.  I told him to imagine what it would be like if he lost all of his toys.  And I told him I’d pray for his generosity.  And, I told him to pray that God would show him a generous spirit.  But in the end, it was up to him and he did it himself.  He decided to go to Target and spend $8 on his favorite Star Wars guy for the little boy.  And he pulled out his wallet and the bills with a smile on his face.

Question for you:  What are your ideas for instilling godly character in your children?