Mom's homework

I don't prioritize well.

I love to plan, to organize, to think about better ways to get things done, but when the rubber meets the road I really have a hard time getting the most important things done every day. Sadly I will often find myself thinking that I know what my values are, but my actions speak a different story.

Bible study is a prime example (housework is too, but that will have to wait for another post). I believe it is important. I really love it when I make time for it, but I somehow brush it off as "less critical" than the other busy tasks that fill my morning.

A few months ago I decided to scrap the Genesis study I've been working on for the past 2 years. It was well written, interesting, and in depth, but it was just too much me right now. I needed something that wasn't constantly distracting me with references, concordances, charts & timelines. I just need to study the Bible.

So then I tried simply sitting down each morning to read - which would work well if I didn't have 3 kids who seem to instinctively know that it was time to wake up at Exactly that moment. Despite my best efforts, they were perpetually pulling me away to resolve a squabble, for help in the bathroom, to clean up a spill, or a myriad of other urgent tasks. And when I wasn't distracted, I seemed to be reading through at lightning speed hoping to "get through it" before the next crisis, but not retaining anything. No, just reading wasn't going to work at this stage either - I needed something to help keep me focused.

So I decided to treat myself like one of my kids. I assigned myself copywork.

For the past 6 months I have spent time in the book of John, slowly working through each chapter as I copy it into a cheap-o spiral notebook. I mark it up when I feel like it, leave notes in the margin, and write myself questions. It is a fairly slow process, so I'm feeling as if I'm really paying attention to the words rather than just rushing through them. Occasionally I'll find a particularly baffling verse and I'll look it up, but mostly, I'm just sticking to the Bible. I can find my place when I'm pulled away, and I can see my progress every day.

Ha! This works!

But the truth still remains - I don't prioritize well, so it still isn't an every day habit. I wish it was because I really enjoy the process.

Those scribes really had a good thing going 2000 years ago.