Keeping Your Eye On The Prize

Disclosure: *This post may include affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the disclosures and terms for more information.

Staying focused in the coming year is a goal everyone has set at least once in their adult life. Let’s face it, trying to balance our spouses, children, church ministries and homes, we are often times overwhelmed and discouraged. We have too many tasks to complete and not enough time or patience to complete them. Our children want and need our attention. Our husbands’ want and need our attention. We are stretched as thin as a person can be yet we know we cannot give up, and deep down, we want to keep on, keeping on.

There is a goal in mind: the ultimate goal of success. What is success? Success is the relationship with our Heavenly Father. Success is honoring, respecting and loving our husbands. Success is happy, well behaved, God-loving children. We need to keep our eyes on the prize in this crazy, chaos filled upcoming year. How? How can we manage our daily life without losing sight of the prize that lies ahead?

Make your relationship with God the number one priority in your life.

We can’t succeed in anything without putting God first. He is our Heavenly Father. If we get too caught up in the busyness of life and put our Lord on the back burner, we are guaranteed to fail. Only God can keep us on track and focused. Only God can comfort us when we are overwhelmed or stressed. Of course, our lives won’t be perfect. We won’t always feel the best or be on top of everything. However with God first, everything else falls into place. He will always give us the grace to handle it all.

Do not ignore your spouse.

I have been married to my husband for 17 years. He is my best friend and willing, listening ear. However, after having four children, there are days I barely see the man. He is working all day. I am taking care of the children and the home. In the evenings, we have church responsibilities or more children activities to go to. He often goes one way and I go another.

We cannot forget about each other!

It is so easy to forget about your spouse when you have a wedge of children between you. It is so easy to forget about your spouse when you have work responsibilities between you. It is so easy to forget about your spouse when you don’t put God first in your life and marriage. Remember who you married and why your married him!

Keep your children in their place.

I love my children. All four of them, 10 times over, to the moon and back, love, love, love them. However, I need to remember, my relationship with God and my husband is more important. Please don’t misunderstand me, my relationship with my children is special and wonderful and indescribable. God wants to be first in my life and then my husband then my children. It keeps the order of the home flowing and working well. If I remember that, it helps my children not to drive that wedge between my husband and myself. If I take care of the first two relationships, then my relationship with my children is even better and stronger.

Okay, so how to put this all into action?

Set a time for God. Don’t alter from it too much. Stick with it and stay focused on what you are doing when you are reading the Bible or praying. If your children need you (older ones of course), tell them you are spending time with God and will be with them in a while. My set time with God is first thing in the morning and my children know they are not to come out of their rooms until 6:30.

Set a time for your husband. Make date nights. Write him a love note. Make him feel loved even when the children are pulling at your legs, the cookies are burning and the phone is ringing. Make your husband feel needed, loved and cared for.

Set a time for your children. Get on the floor and play trains with them. Cuddle them and read them stories. Kiss and hug them often. They will feel so loved when you are spending time with God or your husband, they won’t feel left out. (Most of the time!) 🙂

It is the start of a New Year, new goals and new chances to keep your eye on the prize. The prize of success as a wife, mom and believer in Christ.

Sarah is a believer in Christ, wife of a great hubby and mom to 4 wonderful kiddos. She blogs at Bakingwithmom.com about quick and easy meals, life in a busy kitchen and all things yummy. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram.