Dear Reader (to continue with my blog, i suggest you read...otherwise you may soon be offended)

Please skip the first little block if you have no interest in parenting, as you will be bored to death before you hit my epiphany:

Today my son and I are trying a new schedule. I'm a fairly undisciplined person, though I usually refer to myself as simply flexible and spontaneous. I do agree with those who say children thrive under structure. While I don't think that rigidity is answer, a parent who accomplishes what they need to and helps their children do the same is off to a good start. My version of structure has always been to get ensure that I (or my child) do what were supposed when we should, as opposed to when it is scheduled.

For example, babies need food and babies need sleep. So (unless I should wind up with multiples), I decided to let my children eat when they're hungry and sleep when they're tired. With my son, this meant letting him nurse longer than some would suggest. (Which turned out be be a wise choice because of various milk issues) After the two week mark (and I solved nursing issue #1- milk supply), I also let him sleep longer than health professionals suggest instead of waking him up for feedings. Between us and him, we naturally morphed as a family into a (very loose and flexible) daily schedule. It worked quite well!

So reader, why am I telling you all of this? It really does have something to do with you! I desire to honor my Redeemer (Happy Birthday Jesus BTW) with my time! I have a responsibility to glorify my God and further His Kingdom. In order to do that, I must work hard to maintain a healthy marriage, as much as is up to me, and raise God-serving children. After that I must diligently work to make disciples through hospitality and relationships. But lately, I've been going in circles trying to finish all of the things I'm supposed to get done. So I decided that I should just write out my day so I see when I have time available to check things off my list.

As I wrote out our busy week on paper, I found myself desperately searching for time to read and write. But between book, blog and the occasional freelance article, the little time I saw didn't look like it would add up to much. As I stared blankly at nap-times and church obligations I simply laid my pen down, prayed and then tried to "sleep on it" (right after I got my tumultuous analytical brain to calm down). Somewhere in my dreams God impressed this message upon my heart:

If (by the Grace of God) I wrote a spiritually challenging best-seller, how many people's lives would I truly help facilitate change in? On the other hand, if I lead my children in the Way that they should go through love AND discipline and help form them into Approved Workmen who will share the Gospel and make disciples who will make disciples who will...If I do this, will my efforts not touch more lives to the glory of God through the generations than anything I put on paper?

It is this conviction my friend, that has lead me to set aside time for teaching and praying, reading and playing. It is this same conviction that leads me to believe it is not my time to be writing a book. Neither is it a time to completely lay down the pen that the Lord has blessed me with.

This is where you come in. As I have said before, I must write. I have to trust that through social networking, blogging and you passing things on to your friends, God will bring the readers whose lives I need to touch. This means that after being a wife, parent and disciple-maker, you get my best efforts. You get my best pen and ink, my best inspirations and my deepest internal battles. I'm guessing with no book and no freelancing, you will see more of the deep theological debates that my brain has with my heart and more of the "great ideas" that I usually wake up and giggle at (or loathe) the next day.

Will you come? I hope you'll join the discussion by praying things out between you and God AND by leaving comments! Follow with blogger, Google+, Facebook or Twitter (@eliciajohnson) and let's grow each other!