Skip to main content

To Plan or Not to Plan?

Proverbs 19:21 reads ~ "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

I've been at this homeschooling/mothering thing for a while now. I've also been in the role of a wife for a while. And I consider the way I fulfill those roles in my day-to-day to be a direct reflection of my relationship with the Lord. And because I am a human being living in a fallen world, my personal strengths and weaknesses at times collide with my desire to honor God as a wife, mom, homeschooler.

So what's a type-A, strong-willed, Irish girl to do???

Learn how to balance, that's what I must do. And the older I get, the better I become at this delicate balancing act. The verse I opened this post with mentions man's plans versus the Lord's purposes. That verse holds the key to my ability to maintain my balance in life.

I certainly want to fulfill the Lord's purposes for my life; I want to do His will, and do it His way. But my type-A tendencies push me to plan-plan-plan...and sometimes over plan. Have a contingency plan - and a contingency for the contingency. Maybe even anther back-up plan in case something goes awry. On the outside, this looks pretty good. To the world at large, and even within the church, someone who is "squared away" is very appealing. And in the world of homeschooling, I must admit, it feels nice to have my ducks in a row.

But there is a dark side. Since when did having it all together become the end goal? Who said my way of doing things is best, anyway? And where is my deep need for God in all areas of my life if so many of those areas are planned out to the nth degree?? Why should I be appealing to the world for affirmation? When did the church decide that the way I "get things done" is an indicator of my spiritual temperature?

Herein lies the dilemma - finding a continual balance between allowing the Lord's will to be done in every aspect of my life, every single day, in every single arena & not allowing myself to become lazy or slothful about my God given responsibilities. But praise the Lord, finding and maintaining that balance have become a lot less difficult for me since I have come to one very important conclusion.

The balancing itself is the blessing, because it keeps me close to the Lord in a continual state of dependence.

 Next time you find yourself fighting against the constant need to strike a balance between allowing the Lord to work out His will in your life and writing the script for yourself, remember that the act of balancing is the real gift. He gives the gift, the struggle of making plans but yielding them to Him, as a means to be in constant close contact with Him.

Be blessed as you learn to enjoy the process of keeping your balance!

Day 210 done :)

Jan L. Burt

www.ALLTHINGSHOMESCHOOL.weebly.com

www.SavanasClayCreations.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

A Homeschool Mom's Devotional by award-winning podcaster Jan L. Burt

Colossians 4:17 tells the reader to "be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you". How can this be applied to the enormously busy lifestyle of a homeschool mom? First of all, we must always remember that the Word of God has the answer for our every need and we can trust fully in God to use His Word to lead us, guide us, correct us, and bless us. Keeping that in mind, let's consider what this verse is saying. We are told to carry out, or complete, the work the Lord has given us. We are wives, mothers, homeschoolers. Those three BIG job descriptions come immediately to mind when I think of homeschooling mothers. Applying God's Word to our life means carrying out our work as wives, as mothers, and as homeschoolers. When I am exhausted from another long day (or long week, long month, long year, etc.) I still must honor the Lord by blessing my husband. Maybe that means having a hot meal on the table when he arrives home from work. Perhaps your husband

I Gotta Let You Know Two Very Important Things (Seriously, They Are Truly Important For You To Know...)

 First, a big --- fat --- hefty dose of encouragement for you, my wonderful homeschooling friend.  As you get ready to roll into the fall of 2020...stop for just one moment and hear what God's Word has to say to you right here, right now, on the brink of the last stretch of what has possibly been the most turn-your-whole-world-upside-down year ever.  Psalm 125:2 - As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.   You are surrounded.  Completely & totally, that's exactly how surrounded you are.  Going into the great unknown as, say, a working mom whose children are going to be doing school online at home (or a working mom homeschooling and working from home for just the next several months, but not planning on continuing to home educate after things "normalize" again).  This is God's promise just for you as you embark upon this season of life. I really, truly believe He wants you to know that He has you surrounded

My Preferred Bible Reading Plan

We all know that reading our Bibles is a key part of living a healthy life as a follower of Jesus. But busy homeschool moms may, at times, struggle to know what part of the Bible to read on any given day. Some people read the Bible through, Genesis to Revelation, and when they finish simply start over. Others have reading plans that follow along with the sermons their pastor is currently preaching. And yet others find themselves "stuck in the Psalms", since they're not quite sure what to read. I'm not going to tell you how many chapters a day you should read, or that you need to do exactly what I do. I'm just going to share what has worked for me, and hopefully encourage you to get into the Word using some type of plan ~ because every homeschool mom knows what happens to our plans when we fail to create a plan, right?! I use a prayer and Bible reading guide called "Prayer Point" , published by Samaritan's Purse. About every 8 weeks, I receive a

Do You Homeschool? Then You Need to Read This Article!

Whether you have been homeschooling for a month, a year, or a decade, you've inevitably faced the "questions". Questions about socialization, college, athletics, driver's ed, high-school biology, etc. etc. etc. and so on..... It seems as if homeschoolers are ripe for questions from day one; but the flip side seems to be that there really is no flip side. We are expected to patiently answer any and all questions, smiling politely and pretending we've never heard this line of questioning before. But when we try to ask a few questions about, say, public schools as a whole or the issue of private schools being used as a last-ditch landing spot for students expelled from public school, well...ahem...we're pretty much told to keep quiet. No one wants to hear our questions, and often times no one really wants to hear our answers to their questions. They just kind of want us to....go....away. I'm not planning on going away any time soon. And neither are my fiv

Everything by Mary DeMuth

The book Everything by Mary DeMuth became a "keeper" for me almost as soon as I began reading. Mary sugarcoats nothing in her attempt to make Jesus' gospel what it rightly is ~ and as you probably guessed from the title of her book, it rightly is about everything. Eighteen chapters, three sections, one-hundred and ninety-eight pages...if you take the time to delve into them you will grow exponentially in your walk with the Lord. In Everything Mary calls us out, calls us higher, and admonishes us with honesty and openness. Sharing from her heart and relying heavily on the truth that is God's Word, she sets things straight. There aren't just one or two things about this book that I have taken to heart; and there aren't just a couple of quotes I could share here. The book in it's entirety is a game-changer! Please buy this book, read this book, apply the truths in this book to your life, and let the Lord become your everything! HERE is a dire