Slow Down, Momma!

I have 15 free minutes. As of the date I’m writing this on March 19, since March 1, I have been out of the house 10 out of the 19 days, and I leave again on Thursday for a baby shower up in Iowa.  It would be one thing if it had been one long trip, but it was 3 days here for a homeschool convention, then come home wash clothes, leave again for a beach trip, come home, unload everything, load everything up to go camping, then come home, and do laundry, and tomorrow I pack up again to leave again.  Then I get back a week later, and turn around to go up to Dallas. I need to slow down.

I’ve got affiliate links in here.

My friend wrote a book called Slow Down, Mama!

I met her online, and she is one of the most encouraging people I know. She lives in California but thinks she should be a Texan. I’ve tried encouraging her to move here, but she laughs and says, “Maybe someday.”

This past fall she came to Texas for a book tour. I drove an hour to meet her in a small town near me, and we shared a slice of pie and I listened to her talk.

Her kids are all older than mine, and you know what I heard?

Slow Down.

Enjoy life.

I listened and I thought, “This is what I want to do.”

You know what I do?

I say, “Yes, that sounds amazing! My calendar is so empty, let’s do that!” Then I look at my calendar and I’m booked solid from dawn to dusk.

I look at it and say, “I need to slow down.”

I bought her book, Slow Down, Mama, she signed it with a sweet note, and I thought, “I can’t wait to read this.” Then I put it on my shelf to read, you know, “when I had time.”

Then Christmas happened, and my room became a giant mess, and I lost my book.

Then Patty said, I’ve got a devotional of Slow Down, Mama!

I said, “Yes! I can’t wait to read it.”

I sat down and started reading it, and I realized I needed to…

Slow Down.

I race through books. I “bought my daughter” several books at the homeschool convention. I already read one of them.

I started to race through Slow Down, Mama!

It’s a quick read, I could probably get through it all in a day, maybe less.

But I read the first two days of the devotional and realized I’d missed the point. I need to

Slow Down.

So I reread the first chapter slower.

Then I realized I need to actually have the book, so I searched my room. It’s not there. I don’t know where it is.

So I bought the Kindle edition.

I don’t own a Kindle. I buy books on the Nook. I own an iPad, so I’m a bit agnostic about it, but I prefer to buy on my Nook.

But I realized I needed to

Slow Down

I read the first page of Slow Down, Mama

“I wore busy like a badge of honor.”

That’s the first sentence of the book.

That is me. I wear busy like a badge of honor. When I greet people at church, and they ask how I am, without thinking I answer, “Crazy busy.”

That’s not my goal. I don’t want to be that person. I want to

Slow Down.

I’m working at it.

So, I’m not done reading Slow Down Mama.

I’m actually writing this before I’m done because I know I’m not the only one who needs to

Slow Down.

Do YOU need to SLOW DOWN MAMA?

You can join me as I read it. I’m going to try to only read one chapter a day. That is a challenge for me because the chapters are short, like a couple of pages. Then I’m going to read the devotional and meditate on the verses mentioned. I’ll be posting questions and quotes up on my Facebook page, and hopefully, this will remind me to

Slow Down.

My fifteen minutes are up, I’ll be back in a moment.

It’s a few hours later, and I have a few minutes as my computer prints.

Quick takeaways for you right now

Did you see what I did there? That funny bit, quick and slow?

I’m hilarious, just ask me.

Feel free to say no.

I learned just this week, I said yes to way too many things in a row. I need to say no.

Schedule in white space.

I have to color it like I’m busy though because otherwise, I make the mistake of saying yes.

Sync Schedules

Do not keep multiple places for your schedule, you will forget something, or double-book yourself.

Maybe that’s just me.

That’s it, now I’m off to edit a paper with my girl. Then I’m editing with a boy. Then I’m back to sewing.

If you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s because I’m covered in fabric and trying desperately to get a quilt finished.

You know, before I head off to Iowa for my next trip this month. Seriously, I think I’m going to be gone for over half of this month.

Sigh, better work on

Slow Down.

More Ideas about Parenting

• You’re Beautiful Mom!
• Parenting an easily distracted child
• How to study the Bible with Kids