The number one mission

“My husband and I are listening to your CDs. We’ve heard you speak a few times but never got the whole thing before. Your CDs are definitely an answer to prayer. I’ve tried for a long time to figure out how to get my husband on board, but he always gets so BORED, lol! After listening to the first CD, I realized that I’m definitely the big dreamer/big picture/live for the moment type, and he’s the line drive/details/planner type – no wonder my efforts didn’t work. I had a big picture but no good details on how we were going to get there. Having the CDs gives my husband the details to see what I’ve been talking about all this time.

Another question for your blog for when you get time: How do you balance your mission with your family mission? Obviously helping others learn to teach their children self-government takes a good deal of your time away from your family so I’d love some tips. God has inspired me to reach out more to others and share my talents, but I sometimes find it difficult to find a good balance with my #1 mission of raising my family.”

Thank you so much for sharing your experience figuring out how to communicate with your spouse! This is a great example of transformational thinking. I am so glad that you have your priorities all figured out. That is the first step to being able to handle more than one stewardship or mission.

I have a mission to raise my children into joyful adults, who know what there mission in life is, and can’t wait to fight for it; and have solid relationships with God and family. This is the most important thing I will ever do. This is the thing I will get the most rewards from.

Samuel Smiles says that mothers have the greatest impact on society and also get the greatest rewards for all of their hard work. Every great man or woman will be traced back to their mother. She will ultimately get the credit for their greatness, even though she thought she was only loving, serving, healing, teaching, nurturing, and playing with her children. No one can pave such a legacy as a virtuous mother.

I want my children to one day say, “I had the greatest blessing of all blessings in my youth; a mother who loved, learned and played with me.” When all is said and done, this is all that really matters.

I have other missions and stewardships too. I am sure that everyone does. I serve in a church group, I have relationships that require my attention, I am a neighbor, I have to can peaches and tomatoes etc., I sew clothes, tend a garden, teach water aerobics, teach Self Government classes, and mentor youth groups, etc. I am sure you relate to lists like these. In these other missions, I can only run as fast as I am able. One day I can fruit, and the next I call dear friends, etc. It seems like a hard balance from time to time.

The trick to spinning all of these plates and staying sane is, spin only one at a time, and limit your time at plate spinning. I allow myself one hour a day to work on Teaching Self Government. This is why I can’t always get to your questions as often as I would like too. Please forgive me. I don’t delete the list. And some of you may make it into the book someday, so it could be worth the wait. 😉

If I don’t get done with something, and it is bed time, I try to find a stopping place as soon as possible and pick it up again when time permits. Things don’t get done as fast as I would like, but I figure someone bigger than me is in charge anyway and he will make sure it all goes just as fast as it is supposed to go anyway. My book will take longer than some other books, but that is OK, because God knows my priorities and he will reward me for choosing the most important mission first.

It is a fact that those who spendtheir besttime on family, are way more productive in the spare minutes they have for everything else. I believe that each minute with my children actually gives me more time for other things, because I learn valuable things from the interactions and observations I have with them.

Relax! Enjoy the ride! Schedule an hour tomorrow for that other mission, and stick to it. Then feel good about your one hour of time spent on your other mission or stewardship.

My family respects my other mission time because they know it is not my most important thing. If my other mission ever became my most important thing, then my balance would be off and all of my missions would fall apart.