New direction for Blueberry Cottage

 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. ~Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)

Have you ever drawn a picture in the sand at the beach, then watched the water wash a little bit of your artistry away with each new tide coming in, until finally the picture was but a memory?  This is how I feel lately about my time. That each day more precious time is being erased, which it is.  The hours in each day never seem long enough, do they? Yet, we can be reassured that the Lord gives us just the right amount of time for what He wishes us to accomplish each and every day. Now, how we choose to spend that time is up to us.

Time and the wasting of it has been on my heart alot lately. I have been taking a long, hard look at how I spend all of my time. Praying for the Lord's direction in this area.  What I have been convicted of is that blogging and internet time is taking up way too much of my time. Time better spent on family, children, my home.  Oh, I know, I could reason that it is only a few hours (or more!) a week, but really, those few hours would be better spent on my main ministry which is my family.  As I visit other blogs and sites devoted to homemaking I wonder how these women manage to post each day or bloghop without neglecting their main ministry. Honestly, something has to give if you can blog, twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc., all day.  I don't wish to stand before God and have Him chastise me for wasting precious time He gifted me with.  Yet, I do love writing and encouraging women, sharing a bit of me in this space.

What's the solution? Well, I feel the Lord doesn't wish for me to abandon this blog entirely. I have considered just posting a few times a week, but then you still feel that time restraint to write a bit each and every day just to get a post up.  The answer (light bulb moment)---monthly.  Yes, a monthly column on the first or thereabouts of each month will be published. The focus will be family, nature, hearth, and hobby farming, just like my blog header says! I have managed to schedule in a couple of  half hour slots each week to devote to writing a monthly newsletter type of post. And if I miss them because of other things going on here I won't feel guilty! I will still check comments and email at the end of the day and try my very best to reply. Yet, the days are so filled with homeschooling and homekeeping and just being a wife,mum, and grandmother that it could take a bit to get back to people. One promise I will make, is to daily pray for each soul that stops by here, that you will be blessed and motivated in your vision for your homes and families.

Each day I will also pray about what the Lord wishes me to write about. Perhaps you have a topic you would like to see discussed or addressed? Please email me at overmygardengate@gmail.com and maybe the Lord would have us brainstorm a bit. 

Lastly, I am often asked how I schedule or manage to get all done that I do. First, I don't get everything done....that is truth right there! What I have found that helps me tremendously is Teri Maxwell's resources. I have always felt Teri is that mentor Titus 2 speaks about. I have found their scheduling books and monthly corners quite helpful in keeping me focused on my priorities. 

I bid you a lovely and blessed January. Here in New England we are bracing for our first wintry mix of snow, sleet and high winds. The woodpile is high and the cocoa can full. I am hoping to tuck in with a bit of reading to the children and maybe even a bit of knitting amongst this blast of old man winter.

May God bless you, dear reader, as you seek to do His will and be the best wife, mum and homemaker you aspire to. Blessings~Suzanne