entertaining recipes: What Moms Need: Week 17 ? Fun

Smile because you want to

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God desires for His children to be diligent stewards, for sure. ?But He also wants us to enjoy our lives.

If you have found recently found yourself

disgruntled with your work as soon as you wake up in the morning
short-tempered with your children
no longer enjoying things you used to
fussing about soccer games instead of relaxing and enjoying the breeze
resenting your family for the workload that they ?create? for you
deciding that you?re not enough, because day after day, although you go through the motions, doing all the ?right? things, you never feel accomplished
looking around your home and mumbling to yourself, or worse, to everyone else, ?what?s the point!?!?
vowing that you?re alone and that no one else cares

then there?s only one diagnosis:

You?re burnt out.

You?ve lost focus on the big picture. ?You?ve gotten so serious about your domain that you?ve forgotten how it all fits together. ?You really have lost sight of the point of it all.

That?s what truly being burnt out does to a mother.

And what?s the solution?

Of course, if things are this complex, then the answer isn?t cut and dry, right? ?Moms first need to ensure that some things are in order in their lives and assess the following:

Am I spending time with God? ?In His Word? ?Daily?
How?s my relationship with my spouse?
Do I have real companionship? ?A good friend that I talk to regularly?
Am I meeting the needs of my husband and children?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then this may be just the answer you want to hear -

Moms need to have some FUN!

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15 ?(New Living Translation)

Of course this verse is not a hall pass to skip through life care-free, but it IS saying ENJOY life. ?DO have fun.

This has always been a challenge for me since becoming a mother. ?Because my ideas for fun are not the same now as they used to be. ?For instance, I have no desire to go bowling with a group of women. ?I do not wish to play laser tag. ?(I can watch games like that in my living room all day.) ?If I go to the movies with a group of women (should there be something appropriate), I would fall asleep in the dark theater. ?I don?t care for loud concerts. ?(I have enough noise to contend with on a daily basis.) ?I don?t want to play card games. ?Or board games. ?Or any games. ?(I get to pick up enough of those things at home.)

So what is there? ?What can I do?

Maybe you like some or all of the things I mentioned. ?But some moms have to be more creative.

The Sofitel London-Gatwick LGW - Le Cafe Dessert! YUMMY! 03/11/2009! When in London - this is a must try!

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With Friends

My idea of fun can be as simple as doing these things with friends:

coffee night at the local Starbucks
dinner at a yummy place
gathering at someone?s home around a cozy fire and just chatting and giggling
going to see a Christian comedian together and laughing the night away
scrapbooking parties?
food/kitchen parties?
getting together to make homemade Christmas gifts or baking and filling tins to give to others

I guess I?m pretty boring when it comes to getting together with other ladies, but that?s the type of atmosphere I appreciate in this phase of my life. ?I run around in chaos enough. ?Let me be still and think about girly things for a while tends to be my desire in terms of having fun.

16/365 Knitting Meetup

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At Home

Other than getting together with other women, there are some things moms can do on their own for a healthy distraction and some fun on their own. ?Things like:

sewing projects (I had put my things away a few years ago, resigning myself to the notion that I didn?t have time to do the things I enjoy anymore.)
crocheting ?(It?s so relaxing and always results in something beautiful?.well?.almost always.)
photo books (Don?t we ALL need to spend more time on this?)
Do you paint?
Do you design?
Do you like to create original pieces of art?

It?s important for moms to have some fun occasionally. ?It refreshes us. ?Renews us. ?Sometimes it reminds us to enjoy life. ?It?s important that we?re enjoying this life. ?With as much serious focus and time and energy that we put into our families, we need to laugh. ?And sometimes lighten up a bit.

This week, if you?re burnt out, or if you?ve just now decided that you want to avoid that, I recommend having some fun.

Because ?a?cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person?s strength?. ?Proverbs 17:22

To read other posts in this series, click here.