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Busy Work vs Productive Work

Today was a busy one! But I managed to have a lot to show for it. I cooked a nice breakfast for the family. I don't usually do all that. I just normally feed the children. But The FlowerChild is staying hungry and it is affecting her attention span so I am trying heavier meals. We had eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and biscuits. I think I could get used to that! Afterwards I cut The Fisherman's hair before he headed to work. Then I cleaned up the kitchen and did some laundry. I also got a loaf of bread in the machine to bake. While that was going we started school time. School was finished by early afternoon.

The washroom is about halfway cleaned up now. I still have a PILE of clothes to do something with. Some are maternity and the rest are the children's clothes they have outgrown.

Lunch was soup and sandwiches. Afterwards we read aloud for a while. The FisherMan braved the cold for a few minutes when he got home and took the girls out. It was just too cold to take little SmileyFace out.

I made a new recipe for supper tonight. It turned out sooo good! It was a Mexican soup made with pork. I cooked a pork sirloin roast in the crockpot Sunday. We ate it plain for lunch. Then I made soup today. We will have BBQ sandwiches another day to finish it off. I put the soup in the freezer. I can cook the liquid down some and make some echiladas out of the leftover. The FisherMan had a meeting tonight so he left right after supper. But the children went to bed fairly easily and quickly. They all seemed tired.

So have your children ever complained because a teacher gave them "busy work" instead of something they felt mattered? Have you ever felt that way about housework? What about life? Ever felt like you were just staying busy but not really getting anywhere? Sometimes the key is not to look so much at the activity itself but at the results it will bring. Just as busy work at school helps a student master skills busy work in the home helps a family master order and peace. The so called busy work in life can be discouraging if we are not careful. But instead of getting angry at the teacher (God) we need to look at at the results He is bringing to us. What skills are being mastered in your spiritual life? Has it become "busy work" making you feel as though you were just going through the motions? If so, step back and prioritize your activities so that you will see the results you are looking for. It is miserable to stay busy constantly and yet feel as though you are not producing anything.

Busy Work: Focuses on the work itself. Anything to keep that person busy.

Productive Work: Focuses on the outcome of that work. Look for the fruit!

Look through the areas of your life and transform busy work into productive work! It's sometimes as easy as changing your attitude!

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