Friday, May 20, 2011

Choosing What's Best




There are so many options today. The local supermarket is sprawling with aisles of choices. Stores are filled to capacity with brand named clothes and new gadgets to enamor the public. The internet allows a world full of information at the touch of a button and we can fill our minds and homes at the speed of light. Having too many options can actually be our worst enemy at times.

So what does a Christian woman need to keep her focus on?

The best.

What is the best defined as today? The best car, the best clothes, the best home....? No, no, I am not suggesting we follow the world into their folly instead I want to define what priorities need to be kept for the Christian woman. Of all the voices that scream out to her, of all the responsibilities that demand her utmost attention---she must stand transfixed on the only thing that will matter and get her through it all and that is Jesus Christ.

Was it not Peter who walked on water when he kept his eyes fixed upon His Savior? A miracle of miracles performed before his very eyes, his feet splashing upon the water, his mind riveting with the wonder---and even more amazing---to look into the very eyes of God----just what did He see?

And aren't we just like him when we take our eyes off of Him? Doubt, failure...perhaps thinking we can do it ourselves. Distraction. What pulls our hearts away from Him? Pride? Worldliness? Hardened hearts? The same thing happens when our hearts are turned away from our homes and enticed by other worldly pursuits.

We must choose the best for our lives and our families on a daily basis. It will be hard. It will mean making tough choices. It will mean work. But it will all mean reaping glorious fruit in the end if we do not give up.

We must learn to say 'no'. Not just to the obvious, but also to things that are just good and not best. Have you every been running around in the car all day, feeling harried and just wish you could be home snuggling with a small child on the couch? Things that are not best come in deceptive packages so we must be very wise. We need to know what our top priorities are. Once again, let's take a close look at our priorities:

1. God
2. Husband
3. Children (family)
4. Home

Anything that can hinder this list needs to be closely evaluated. Nothing should hinder our time with the Lord, we should guard this time fiercely. Our husbands must be our priority even before the children and our homes. Our homes should not be neglected in pursuit of unnecessary things!

What are unnecessary things? Maybe it's signing up your family for too many activities or volunteering yourself when you know your top four priorities are being neglected. Perhaps it's that ministry that you said 'yes' to but now know you need to step down from. How about that 'to do' list that you have overdone and is keeping you too busy from doing what really counts? Or maybe you just took on a simple project that now needs to be put aside in order to get your life in order. We must learn to do choose what is best such as hugging a child instead of running off to do the next thing.

". . .we seem to have lost the knack of appreciating the ordinary. We provide our children with so much that the extraordinary isn't special any more, and the subtle rhythms of daily life elude us altogether. We do so much and savor too little. We mistake activity for happiness, and so we stuff our children's days with activities, and their heads with information, when we ought to be feeding their souls instead." - Katrina Kenison, Mitten Strings for God - Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry

Nothing is more freeing than knowing you are choosing the best for yourself and your family, and knowing that we spent our time well, with no regrets. 









(Reposted from the archives)

22 comments:

Sadie said...

Thank you for this encouraging post,it was the exhortation and challenge I needed to hear this week!

Seven's Heaven said...

Love your blog, I also died laughing at the 'hedge of protection' prayed around us. Thnking that will stop Satan, a little shrubbery. So funny!

Your words are inspiring and I will keep checking in with you. Thank you for your encouragement.

So many times I catch myself 'tearing down my house' instead of building it up!.

Anonymous said...

I am not married yet but when I am I will remember this in the future thanks!

Anonymous said...

Amen sister! I resisted the pressure to have my children in every club, class, activity they were encouraged to join by others. They have had time to rest each day and not been mentally worn out. I think over-activity weakens childrens' ability to fight off illness too. Thank you for another good post. Love, Tina

Rhonda Devine said...

June--a wonderful post--this is exactly what God has laid on my heart this year. As an "over achiever at times, it's hard to walk away from all the projects I want to accomplish at times, but it is absolutely necessary to focus in on what is most important and let the rest go........
This is the first new year in the last several that I do not have a "projects" list ahead of me. Oh, I will stay busy, but with relationships:) God first, husband, children, managing a home, and blessing others, especially the body of Christ and those in need. Ah.........I'm already breathing the air of freedom........Rhonda

Melissa said...

Hello, Thanks so much for the inspiration! I just wanted you to know that your blog, along with a few others, have inspired me to start one of my own called, "The Strength of My Heart." Also, I put a link to your site on my page as a blog that I enjoy :) I hope you don't mind. Well if you want to check mine out the url is...

http://thestrengthofmyheart.blogspot.com/

...thanks again and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

I hope many will heed this warning, Mrs. Fuentes! Everything you have said is absolutely true. Families that I know, personally, have become total strangers to one another because of "too much".

I am reminded of what Captain von Trapp says to the Baroness in the "Sound of Music", when asked about his leaving home all the time: "...activity suggests a life filled with purpose."

Let us not be distracted!

sincerely, Brenda

Michelle said...

An excellent reminder!!!!!

Amy said...

Thank for you for this challenging post. :o)

Dawn said...

An exellent post dear one!

My beloved and I do not have any children at this time so life is a little slower paced than others, but still, I became convicted reading the post and I know what it's about....not spending enough time with God. *sigh* Shame on me, right? : /
I am getting better though....

God bless you dear one!

Jenny said...

Excellent words of wisdom!

Anonymous said...

I am going to share that quote on my blog. I know that BUSY is Being Under Satan's Yoke.

God has really shown me lately that we are choosing the better part in keeping our activities lighter and staying more family focused.

www.homeschoolblogger.com/michellel

hjemme bra said...

Amen, sister!
Thank you for reminding me of this. It's so easy to get too busy...even if I am a stay-at-home mum. May God help us all to get the priorities right!

Heather Mattern said...

So beautiful! I needed this reminder!

Kim said...

Just what God has been speaking to my heart...thank you for this blog post! As a homeschooling mom, it's so difficult to determine the best curriculum, books and projects for my kids but God has reminded me of priorities for myself and for me to teach my children - to love HIM first and foremost and to love people. I'm praying this will be a reality this year in our homeschool :)

Misty said...

What a good reminder! I love that first picture you used. That picture alone speaks volumes.

Rachel said...

Thank you so much June for posting another blog filled with wisdom! I just started using blogger and found a few greats blogs on here - your being one of them! I pray my blog can be as much of an inspiration as yours! Feel free to drop by!

Blessings!

Apron Ally said...

Thank you do much for this post (and all of your encouragement). I really needed to hear this today. God bless you!

Eve | Inchworm Chronicles said...

It seems so many times when I am turning something over in my mind, I open my e-mail box up and here is another post you've written that addresses the very thing I have been thinking over.

You are so in-tune to what women and mothers especially need to know. I appreciate how you do not mince words. Thank you for sharing this wisdom and being an encouragement. It's a voice 'for mother's' I dearly need to hear regularly!

Eve | Inchworm Chronicles said...

Oh! Almost forgot to mention....a book I read this year that gave me additional insights and a strong sense of 'home' and how and what I want to create was Susan Shaeffer Macaylay's "FOR THE FAMILY'S SAKE: The Value of Home In Everyone's Life."

I highly recommend it, both for moms who are staying home or for those who need to do work outside the home (because of course we know some women do out of real necessity). The author has even included how to make a 'home' for unmarried folks!

She provides scripture, examples, and really paints a delightfully realistic and Beautiful picture of what home life should and can be like when we envision and create what we desire.

Anonymous said...

Such en encouraging article! I have been really trying to simplify/declutter my home and things for awhile and have really been trying to focus on the best. Not the most, but the best/ or best quality. Keeping things in my home that I love. With my children, I have focused on keeping a few nice wooden toys that were purchased with birthday/Christmas money like a doll house, kitchen center and toy box with a few favorite dolls/dress up clothes, etc. and not keep junkie/China made/or toys that don't encourage the imagination. It has been so wonderful to only keep the best of toys for my children. Now I have done similar with clothes. Keeping only the best/favorite. And donating the rest to a local ministry that gives clothing to the poor. No need to have shirts in your closet that you don't really like. Now I have been trying to focus on keeping the best foods in my house and ditching all the junk. The best foods are the foods closest to the way God intended them to be eaten. The best foods are nutrient dense and very nourishing. The best foods don't have to be the most expensive either.

I love the enoouragement to spend our time on the best things. Now to work on that next!!!!

Mrs. Olsen said...

Thank you for this post! It was very encouraging to me. Your blog has inspired me to start my own blog. It is called Grow Family Love (www.growfamilylove.com). I encourage families to love each other as Christ loves us - no matter what their life looks like. I also have a link for your blog on my blog, too. Keep up the great posts! ❤

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