{Day 24} Rest

**We are away on a little vacation for a few days so I'm going to keep my posts a bit shorter for the next couple of days. I want to fully enjoy being here with my family and not be consumed with blogging - hopefully you'll all understand! And for some reason blogger is not cooperating with me in uploading my '31 days' picture so I'm sorry it's not here! **


One of the most important things that helps me become a joyful wife and mom is time to rest. Being a Mom is a FULL time job, can I get an Amen? Often times it's also a TOUGH job. It requires LONG hours and NO pay {monetarily speaking at least}.

The rewards of course are far more important than anything money could buy. Things like sweet hugs and kisses from your little ones, those sweet 'I love you Mama' sentiments, being there to see all their firsts or kiss their boo-boos. It's an amazing privilege to be a Mom, but also one of the toughest jobs I've ever held.

Which brings me to the need for rest. Every person who holds any kind of job gets at least SOME time off. And Moms should be no different. Now our time off might be a little shorter or different than most jobs, but having a break every once in a while is a good thing.

Rest can come in many different ways - here are some things that I've enjoyed and found especially restful and refreshing:

* a weekend away either at a Women's retreat, Women of Faith event or a scrapbook weekend with friends. It is SO good to be with your girlfriends, to laugh, cry, talk and share. It is wonderful to be around other women who share in the same struggles you do. To encourage one another and just have FUN!

* a Sunday afternoon nap. Sounds so simple, right? But as long as Dad can watch the kiddos for a little while I say go for it! You'll feel like a new woman!

* coffee night with girlfriends while the kids are at Awana - being a homeschool Mom means my kids are with me almost 24/7 - so Awana night is a great chance when they are at church having fun and my girlfriends and I enjoy coffee or dinner out.

* a quiet evening at home to watch a chick flick and soak my feet. Some evenings my hubby works later, or sometimes he might even be away for the weekend. So once the girls are in bed I soak my feet in my foot bath and watch a movie that I KNOW my hubby wouldn't enjoy. Then I give myself a pedicure and manicure.

* a walk by myself - a couple weeks ago I went for a walk in the cemetery where my Dad is buried. I hadn't been there for a long time even though it's very close to my house. It was a beautiful fall day and I just walked and enjoyed the fresh air and time alone with my thoughts. And I went and saw his grave for the first time in a long time - and yes it brought tears and grief - but in a weird way it was very a very restful and refreshing time for my soul.

* a quiet afternoon to read. Kids are playing happily? Let yourself get lost in a book for a little while! Better yet - have everyone take a 'quiet hour' in the afternoon where everyone has to be on his or her own bed reading books for one hour - and instead of using that time to clean your house, make yourself go lay down with a book too!

I'm sure we could easily list a hundred other ways to find rest. The thing is to make time for it. Rest can mean so many different things to different people. Figure out what works for you. Enlist help - ask hubby to watch the kids for a short time so you can go to a bookstore and browse while you enjoy a coffee. Ask the grandparents to take the kids for a couple of hours. Share childcare with a friend. Just make sure you are finding ways to get a bit of rest and relaxation time away from your kids.

Today's Challenge:
When was the last time you had some time of rest? If your child is 12 and you tell me 12 years ago I WILL yell at you! LOL, just kidding! But if that's the truth, I think you're far overdue! Try to figure out a time when you can get a little rest time. It could be something really simple. Maybe your idea of rest is completely different than all my ideas - and that is FINE! Maybe rest for you is making sure that you get your kids in bed early so you have a couple hours to yourself in the evening and then get to bed early enough every night in order to get a good night's sleep - that's OK too, that kind of rest is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! I promise you will be a joyful Mama when you have a little rest, a little break from your kids every once in a while. So get your calendar out and SCHEDULE it, the same way you've been learning to schedule those dates with your hubby {you have been doing that right?!}