Are you your own punching bag?

I remember as a kid watching boxing with my dad. He loved to watch and boy did he get excited. To watch these men give it their all and go into a ring knowing someone is going down is as our lives as christians. We are stepping into that ring everyday facing what life is throwing at us, and its how we respond that makes the winner. We step out of bed, and sometimes sooner than that and we have already a nasty attitude. We haven't even said goodmorning to anyone, and if someone passes us, watch out because we might just take their head off. Have you had a morning like that? I have to say I have, sadly I have to admit that. Don't you love watching movies or television and the woman is always stepping out of bed looking beautiful. What is up with that? I do not wake up looking refreshed, I wake up looking as if I have been in a battle all night and I did not come out the winner! Many times we face trials daily, we face old wounds, new ones, and many times we just simply face ourselves. I think that is one of the hardest things to do, is face yourself head on. So many times we use ourselves as punching bags. We spar with ourselves on a daily basis with the thoughts of,"Why did I do that, why can't it be this way, I can't believe I said that to my child, I didn't try very hard, I could have done better, why is my husband making such a mess, why do I have so much laundry, its breakfast time, its lunch time, its dinner time again, and I havent prepared anything,its time for school, its time to get ready, my house is never clean, my car is dirty, the kids need a bath again, who wants a snack now, there is mud on the floor, the dishwasher needs unloaded, we are out of everything,someone has to go to the store, and its gonna be me. I DONT HAVE TIME TO READ MY BIBLE, I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO. Do any of these sound familar to you? We create within us this place that we feel like we just cannot do anything right or good enough. We set such a high standard that we can never meet. And with that standard comes the feeling that we cannot achieve what we need to get done each day. We wake up tired and we go to bed tired. Our mistake in all this is not making time for our Creator, not giving Him the time we need with Him, and the time He needs with us. This is such a special, important part of our everyday lives and we leave it out, thinking we will have time later,well, later never comes because there is always something more to be done. The mess on the floor can wait, if the laundry isn't done today, your not going to run out of clothes, turn off the television, and have the kids help with all the chores, put all the games away for awhile, along with television, the internet,along with the phone and we have much more time than we think. We put pressure on ourselves to be perfect moms. I am here to tell you, no matter how hard you try, your gonna make mistakes, things are going to go wrong, and its what we do with that, that matters. We have to stop using ourselves as punching bags, and start looking at the face of Christ and really really knowing He loves us no matter how much we accomplish in a day. When we choose to give Him our time, spend time reading His word, spend time in prayer for His will,not ours, He is going to bless our days and fill us with a kind of joy that sets us for the day no matter what happens. When the snacks are spilled along with the milk in the floor,don't fly of the handle, just stand back and realize, its only milk. When the floors are dirty, the walls have paint on them from the little ones, the smudges are all over the windows, and then you find hair in the floor from Suzie giving herself a cut, and you want to scream, stand back and try to look at things through the eyes of Christ. Are we to be a Mary or a Martha?Martha was all about the tasks that needed to be done,she wanted things perfect,but Mary was all about Christ, sitting at His feet learning, knowing the tasks would get done after she spent time with Jesus. Mary had the right attitude although many times we try so hard to be Martha. Each day has 24 hours in it, we need our sleep to be the best we can be for our kids, and our husband. When we let ourselves go,when we don't take time with the Lord, not only do we pay, but those around us pay. Stop seeing what isn't done and begin to look at what is done. Take pride in each project of the day as though you were doing it for the Lord, make a schedule for the week, prepare your needs for your weekly meals, make a chart for the kids to do the chores, and set a specific time to be with the Lord. Many times we are so busy we can't seem to do it all, but we fill our schedules with the things we want, not alwasys with the things we need. We have to learn to say no, I am too busy and I cannot fit that into my day. Life is so amazingly short, even though at times we think the day is never going to end. But when our attitudes are poor our actions are poor. When we wake up crabs for no reason other than the sun is casting a shine on our face, we need to take that time and just allow the Lord to speak to us, to refresh us, just as if we had cold water poured upon our faces. We cannot do all tasks alone, when we need help we must learn to ask for it, and tell our family and friends when we indeed need prayer. Prayer is stronger than any antidote we can find. We have to find Christ's forgiveness, we have to forgive ourselves when we make mistakes and let it go. Those are some of the most amazing three words in our lives, and the hardest to do. Stop thinking we have to do it all, and all has to be perfect, it doesn't and it cannot be,if it were so we wouldn't need Christ, and we so much need Him that our desire for Him should be so strong. Stop sparing with yourself about things you cannot change, stop beating yourself up for mistakes you have made, and stop sweating the hard stuff and let it go and let God. When we stop sparing with ourselves, God is the winner and we receive His blessings..."For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;I will trust in the shelter of Your wings."Psalm 61:3-4 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:1-2 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1