Not Doing Your Best

I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately. This is partially due to feeling like I want to crawl into a hole and partially from my hormones going crazy. It could also be due to the fact that my laundry pile is bigger than my daughter. I feel like I'm losing control of my house. I feel like my days are drifting and not intentional. I have been feeling hopeless. Some of this stems from grieving, some of this stems from lack of discipline.
My friend, Kate, gave me two great books to read. The first, Shopping for Time (which my husband also gave me) I have finished and highly recommend. It is by C.J. Mahaney's wife and daughters. The main lesson I learned from this book is to get up before my children to spend time with the Lord and then prepare for the rest of my day. I was doing this for awhile and it made an incredible difference! Because of all that my body has been going through lately, I have been sleeping in instead. I plan on changing this.
The second book, Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time, by Donna Otto, is proving helpful so far. I'm only into the third chapter, but one of the highlights is instructions on how to make your own personal planner/organizer.
This article from Girl Talk blog was very encouraging to me as well. Please go read it!
The main thing that has been helping me is spending quality time with the Lord! The other morning, Ryan took care of the girls so I could have some quiet time. I spent some time in the Psalms. My soul was refreshed. I felt like I communed with the Lord, He heard me and encouraged me! I learned many things from this time, but the main thing was that I need to rejoice in the Lord. I find my joy, relief, peace, comfort in Him alone! Everything good comes from the Lord! I need to keep this forefront in my thinking. I deserve nothing good, yet He continues to bless me. I need to see those blessings and meditate on the goodness of the Lord!
I'm definitely a work in progress, but I hope you are encouraged by some of the things I am learning!