Thoughtful Thursday

     See, my daily theme continues with "Thoughtful Thursday." I figure this one is pretty self-explanatory. 
     This past summer, I had to ask myself if I should attend a Bible study this fall/winter/spring. For the last 3 years I have attended a really nice one (not from my home church) after a friend invited me. It took a couple of years before I finally found the time to say yes. 
     It was (still is) a non-denominational Christian Bible Study. The only thing you needed to believe is that Jesus is your Savior. They also had a nursery to age 2 & a preschool Bible story time, complete with crafts. There was no fee or donation asked for, and we had nice little booklets for each semester that focused on a particular topic. The books were great, the discussion groups were lively and educational. We even started off with songs each week. And there were a few potluck lunches each year. A really great community over all. I really enjoyed it the first two years, and made sure I could make the study each week, even making sure doctor appointments wouldn't interfere. It was also nice to see my friend each week. 
     However, this past summer, after much thought and prayer, I decided that I could not attend this year. There are a lot of reasons behind my decision. One of them is that Jy started the local technical collage and he would need a lot of help in navigating through it, as well as with homework. Another one was that I didn't feel quite as welcome last year. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but I had some suspicions that it related to me sharing some of my personal journey to Jesus, and they didn't really understand. I can't be sure, but either way, I didn't feel as welcomed last year, so that made me reluctant to want to attend. I didn't let that be my deciding factor though. 
     The final reason I decided not to attend this year was that I just needed more time at home. I need more time to commit to the two kids I'm still homeschooling, to cleaning and organizing (I've spent most of the 10 years living here sick or injured, making for quite a mess in stuff!), and time for my husband. A few years ago I sat down and looked back on a previous month, I had not spent ONE ENTIRE DAY just at home. For 30 days I had been out of the house for at least 2/3 hours a day! For a full time house wife, stay at home, homeschooling mom, that was a bit much! Yes, everyone suffered a bit. And back then, I was homeschooling all four kids! I was exhausted, and felt unwell all the time. No Wonder! I dubbed my self not a "homeschooling mom" but a "RALACWIHCO mom" (running around like a chicken with it's head cut off mom)! It was crazy and so were we. After that, I made sure we spent at least one WHOLE day at home each week. This past summer, I saw that, if I didn't do something different, it would be like that again, and quickly.
     So, I made the decision that I needed to give up something to be a better wife & mother. And this was the one thing I could give up. I need to still take care of doctor appointments, and the kids need things like our co-op classes, but I can study the Bible at home. And this year, I think that is what God wants me to do. After all, He put staying home and homeschooling on my heart. 
   Yes, studying with others is very important, and your relationship with God should come first. But, just like there are times your kids come first and other times your husband, Bible study needed to come last for me this year. 
    Is it time for you to look at your commitments? It doesn't have to be Bible study you leave behind. But, maybe there is something. If you are finding yourself really run down, always getting sick, and just plain stressed out, perhaps you should look back on your last month or two. How many days were you home all day? Being a caretaker of our homes is no small commitment, and a very honorable one too. Being called to be home is one of the biggest and most important callings there is. 
Think about it. 
Blessings,
mamaAthena