Recently I’ve felt a lot of stress and distractions in my life. I am struggling with focus and organization. I rarely get to this point of chaos even when I’m traveling to many places, but I am where I am. I am neglecting my husband. I haven’t gone on a road trip with him since April. I have so many things going on when he’s home that I don’t even listen when he is talking. I am choosing busy over my relationship with him. My time with Jesus is work, not enjoyment. It’s on the to-do list, not a time spent drawing closer to Him.

On a recent spiritual retreat with a group of baseball wives, our leader encouraged us to spend quiet time with Jesus. My mind was racing so much, in the beginning, I couldn’t settle into a quiet moment. The leader taught us about a breath prayer. A small prayer said in one exhale. Mine…Lord have mercy on me.

As I settled into my spot assigned for a quiet hour with the Lord I laid down and breathed the prayer.

Then again.

And again.

My spirit began to settle. Once again my mind would start to race, I sat up quickly only to be reminded of the task at hand. Quiet time.

Oh, how precious that time was. Just Jesus and me.

This past week my life seemed to be rolling away like a downhill train without brakes. Why? What is happening? I took time to evaluate what was going on in my life that was drawing my time and energy. Too many moving parts.

I have a lot going on. Too much. How can this happen? I wrote the book on Making Room: Doing Less So God Can Do More. Write the book or not here I am in the middle of a lot of moving parts and none of them seem to be moving me toward God.

Do you ever feel this way? What are we suppose to do about it?

The notebook came out, and with pen in hand, I began a list (I am a list maker and a work in progress). Lists help me visualize all of the things that are taking my time and energy away from Jesus and the other priorities in my life. I needed to refocus. The list was too long, and the desire to reconnect was great.

Today laid quietly on my couch and prayed for a long while. My breath prayer, Lord, have mercy on me. My spirit settled, and I made some hard decisions.

1. Decrease the to-do.
2. Prioritize the need to.
3. Do the have to.

My list of have-to became very apparent when I laid them out on paper. The priorities of Jesus, my hubby, and my second book jumped to the forefront. I know what I need to do.

This will be the last blog until the first Monday in September. I am taking a Summer Siesta. Just a rest. A rest to redefine, reorganize and refresh what is to come on the blog.

Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I will be active on Social Media through my travels (leaving on Sunday for a 10-day road trip with the hubby!) and writing/submission of my book proposal. I would love for you to join me there!

Until September my friends.