Mission Impossible?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Although I would love to say this is from one of my children… it is not 🙂

“Prepare an ointment from your sins: with the flame of grief, cook them in the small mortar of your heart, and dissolve them with tears. Then go and empty them at the feet of Jesus.” St Thomas of Villanova

RESOURCE OF THE DAY:

Am I an organised, logical, structured person? Do I love schedules and stick to them as if they were the passion of my life? To be totally open and honest… the answer to all of those questions is NO! 🙂

I am a daydreamer. I am unorganised. I am a great talker and an average listener. I am a procrastinator extraordinaire . I loose track of time and get easily impatient. I change plans halfway through a plan and I never finish my sentences……these are just some of the many obstacles God has to work with in my soul and quite a MISSION it must be!

However, a wonderful, faithful mum and friend lent me a book at the end of last year. Intimidation would be the correct word to discribe how I felt when reading the title…

A Mother’s Rule of Life – How to bring order to your home and peace to your soul

by Holly Pierlot

But I did open it.

I did sit down and read it.

I put it down and felt uncomfortable. I picked it up and read some more.

I put it down and felt the movement of God’s spirit within me. I picked it up and cried!

Holly Pierlot has written a book that would speak to any mother’s soul who is crying out for more. Anyone who has felt that horrible sensation of drowning under her homemaking responsibilities or felt battle worn in her attempts to love without counting the cost will find HOPE and REFUGE in the words of this book.

Working through the 5 P’s of motherhood (Prayer, Person, Partner, Parent and Provider), Holly speaks of her own journey and learnt wisdom about bringing order and peace into your life and home. Her style is honest, reflective and challenging, which was just what I needed to hear!

One thing I am currently working on, inspired by this book, is a family schedule. An avid maker of schedules and never following them, I was challenged by her words “A Rule of Life followed for the practical benefits alone is not a Rule of Life; it is a schedule…. A Rule of Life must be lived as a response to the call of God”.

My MISSION if I chose to accept it was to see order and structure in my day as a mission from God, a challenge to fulfil my role as wife and mother, guiding and leading my family on the path to sanctity!

Wow… pretty big stuff! So here I am making baby steps, praying and seeking God’s strength and wisdom in my mission of order and peace. One step… making a family organisation board 🙂

This was the start… big cork board, small magnetic white board stuck on and the beginnings of a schedule 🙂

(the magnetic calender was a cheap and fantastic find at one of the $2 shops at the mall )

 And this is it now plus Creative Memories paper (thanks Krystel!), updated weekly schedule, events page (which needs to be laminated so I can write on it with whiteboard pens), days of the week (yesterday, today and tomorrow) and a space for chores roster! Still in progress but I am happy with how it is coming along and how the kids check to see the St of the day 🙂

A Mother’s Rule of Life is a treasure and will take pride of place in my bookshelf!

Blessings!

Ruth