(Photo taken in 2008)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, 6-7 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…a time to break down, and a time to build up…A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
This has been an extremely busy year for us, as I mentioned before. But, it has also been a stressful year for our country in general with much ugly news and some depressing revelations. In considering life and its variables, I’ve realized there are some things that I’m tired of. I don’t intend to share all of them here, as some are perhaps too personal. But, I’d like to discuss a few since some of them will affect this blog in some ways. Please bear with me and don’t assume the worst. :-)
1) I am getting tired of keeping up with this blog. I’m not tired of blogging in general, but keeping this updated to the extent I have has become a burden. It is a weight that is hindering me from running the race with patience. There are other things I feel are more important that are not getting done. So. It has to be adjusted so as not to be such a weight, or it will have to be laid aside. Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
When something is making us weary in well doing it is a good idea to consider if there is a way to change that. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
2) This blog was not meant to supplant the Home Maker’s Corner, but I feel like it has done this. There are things I want to write and need to write for the HMC which haven’t gotten done. I feel that the blog has in some ways gotten in the way. Also, there is no reason why I can’t write proper articles for the HMC and link to them from here as I’ve done in the past. Maybe I should even link to some of the older articles that might be of use.
The HMC needs some updating and restyling in some places as well. For those who may not realize it, building and maintaining a web page is a lot more work than blogging – especially blogging through one of the blogging services that provides so much help to make it all work.
3) I want to spend more time doing things with my husband. He works a lot of hours and I feel the need to make his off time more ours. He is a computer programmer and I’d like to get a little more idea why it’s his hobby and job (yes, in that order). I can understand his pleasure in building a house or finishing out a commercial building. I’d like to see a little bit into his programming world too. My husband has wanted to teach me CSS (cascading style sheets) and more about html, both of which would be very useful in the building of the HMC. My brain is lazy. It prefers to stay in its own familiar ruts. But, sometimes it is good to “take it by the collar and give it a good shake” and put it on some new track where it can learn and grow in new ways. I know learning CSS would do this. And, it would give me more time with my husband. :-)
4) I’m also a bit tired of not getting some things done around here that I’d like to do. “Needing” to blog is too often an excuse to get online which, because it’s easier to browse and “research” than to actually write, leads too often to not enough getting done. This is a weakness of my own flesh, I know. But, rethinking how and how much I blog and where my time and energies should go is part of taking back this area of my life.
5) It seems needful to make adjustments to see if this blog can become less of a weight and more focused. How this will work out I’m not entirely sure yet, but I expect to make changes. It has wandered some from the kitchen, cooking, and homemaking theme originally intended for “The Cotton Apron”. I also feel sometimes like there are not as many Bible studies and spiritual thoughts as there once was.
I really enjoy quilting and sewing but, truth be told, there are a lot of quilting and sewing blogs out there. I don’t need to add my two cents. So, the sewing posts will be greatly reduced, if not eventually eliminated, or merged back into the homemaking theme posts. At this point I’m not projecting how often is enough. I’m just letting go of it mentally and we’ll see what happens.
6) I also have some long term goals which have been overshadowed by the pressing needs of so many weekly blog posts. I really want to finish the Laying Aside Weights series. I have a handful of subjects left that seem appropriate for that. I also want to do more “Hard Questions” here or on the HMC. And, last but not least, Lord willing, I want to start publishing some books. Oh, nothing unusual – mostly compilations of things I’ve already written, photo books and a collection of poems by Annie Johnson Flint.
All these issues and goals relate entirely or considerably to my own management of time. My husband has told me I don’t have to post so much. I can even take a week or more off at a time. He is right. But, I also know that with some pruning, weeding, water and encouragement an overgrown plant can become more productive in a better way. I feel like this blog has become overgrown and it’s time to prune it back. Also, I’ve been allowing too many weeds of wasted computer time to grow up around it. It’s time to use the hoe and rake and get some things out of my life.
Thanks for your patience and support at this time. :-)
