Recharging your Batteries

What do you do to refuel your tank?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get so busy with life that I find myself running on empty.  I enjoy my roles as a wife, homeschooling mother, friend, and cross-cultural worker, but sometimes responsibilities and pile up on my plate and overwhelm me. I run out of gas fast if I’m always working, serving, and giving, without stopping to fill my own tank.  I’ll bet you can relate.

Although it’s hard to find time, I know I need to care for myself if I want to keep serving effectively.  So I’ve been thinking about the things I enjoy doing to refill my tank.

• Time with God

My favorite morning ritual is getting up before the rest of the family to drink coffee, read the Bible and pray. It’s a way to cultivate my relationship with God, and I find encouragement for the day ahead.  It’s a time to realign my thoughts with God’s word and be renewed. No matter what I’m going through, time with God changes my perspective. I remember Jesus words in March 6:31: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)

• Quiet Time for Thinking and Planning

 I need time just to be quiet, to think, plan and dream.  I try to take a walk every day, which helps me to stay focused spiritually and mentally.  While I walk, I pray and think about what’s going on in my life. Also I take time periodically to evaluate my priorities and set goals.

• Reading: Cultivating my Mind and Spirit

Recently I felt spiritually dry, and I realized I’d stopped reading. So I picked up a short, simple book called “Intimacy with the Almighty” by Charles Swindoll, and my spiritual life and desire for God were energized.  I also asked several friends to recommend books on a few topics, and I was pleased to get some great recommendations.  Ideally I like to have a novel and Christian non-fiction book going. 

• Investing time in my family

I try to keep the conversation going with my 11 year old daughter and 13 year old son. We love playing card games while listening to whatever my son has on his MP3 player. (Okay, maybe his music doesn’t always refuel my tank!) We read the scriptures together and sing every night. 

• Time with my Spouse

It’s easy to neglect the people closest to us, so my husband and I set aside a weekly time to reconnect.  Sometimes we go out and do something fun; other times we work on --ahem-- conflict resolution. Often we talk about our hopes and dreams, or even our schedule. Our weekly date is a lifeline for our relationship.

• Good Friends

Remember the old Beatles song, “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends”?  I’m so thankful to have close friends who love me for who I am no matter what state I’m in, people I can be real with.  It’s life-giving to be able to share your heart and know that someone understands, and it’s refreshing to hear another person’s point of view. 

• Exercise

I’m definitely no exercise freak, but the benefits I get out of my daily walk and short Pilates workout far outweigh the time I invest in them. 

• Vacations and Time Outdoors

My husband and I schedule outings and vacations to relax together as a family.  I especially love being outdoors, as long as camping isn’t involved!  I love the beach, the mountains, rivers and streams.   

What about you?  What do you enjoy doing to recharge your batteries?

NOTE: If my blog looks funny or something's wrong, I'll have no way of knowing.  There's a court case that just opened in Turkey against Google Blogger, so the government is blocking all google blogs. I can't access my blog page!  I can post, and I can read your comments, but I can't respond to them.