A Well Planned Day

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9  ESV

Coming home from a road trip always leaves me feeling a bit overwhelmed. Getting back into a normal routine is high on my list, but unpacking and settling in is a hurdle we have to get over first. This last trip was a crazy rush of wonderful visits and a few exciting stopping points. But it has left us all exhausted.

So, since making lists has always been a favorite past time of mine, I set about listing my week up right. Would you believe I couldn't even get a good list together?? With all that needed doing, I just couldn't figure out where to begin.  However, it didn't take long to see that we all needed more than clean clothes, groceries and catching up on lesson work done.  As I have begun each day looking to build a task list of things to accomplish, I am starting to realize that the reason I can't make my list is because the Lord already has one going for me.

Here were my general thoughts for today:
Morning walk
Bible time
Morning chores
Laundry put away
More laundry started
Bathrooms clean
Wall hangings back up
Lawn mowed
Weeds "whacked"
Garden weeding started
Lettuce picked
Lunch
Backyard Bible Club for the afternoon
Curriculum ordered
Pics uploaded
Blogging from our trip
Dinner
Date night

Okay, I admit it, it looks ambitious now that I see it in black and white. *blush*

Here's what really happened today, as directed by the Lord:

Morning walk with my oldest (lovely)

Bible time (with a quick snooze on the front porch swing for me...ooops!)

Morning chores that required a little extra help from Momma. That means I had the privilege of teaching thoroughness and diligence while practicing patience and gentleness. ;-)

Breakfast clean up that gave rise to many opportunties to cry out the beautiful names of our precious children, reminding them of the value of their contribution to the team. Still practicing patience, gentleness, and now self-control.  *ahem*

Laundry chores that took well...way super longer than *I* had planned. Who knew that I was really working on character training, heart molding, and self-denial?  The Lord did. ;-)

Backyard Bible Club which has been a complete blessing to those children attending as well as providing a great ministry and learning opportunity for Joshua.  I wasn't sure I wanted to make time for a week long daily commitment like that this week.  But, after the gift of hearing Ruth pray and ask for Christ to forgive her of her sins and help her to live her life for Jesus, well....you just know *that* was top on the Lord's list for us this week. (Thank you, Lord!!!!!)

Afternoon Swim with the whole crew. Honestly, there is really no way for me to safely monitor all of these busy bodies in the water unless I'm in there with them.  So, in I went and had a great time splashing, giving a few swim lessons, getting in a little exercise, and working on some of that character training/team building that appears to be a recurring theme today. *grin*

Date Night alone with David. After nearly 2 weeks on the road in our cozy camper, I was ready for some quiet.  Tonight was a perfect end to *His* well planned day. I am grateful the Lord directs my steps, because I certainly wouldn't have come up with so many ways to learn, grow, and serve the Lord on this not-so-typical Tuesday. :-)