You can't do it all!

That's what I'm learning this week. And perhaps that's why its taken me so long to write this entry. In the past 2 months, I have decided I was no longer just going to make new years resolutions but actually start doing things I've wanted to do.

It started with tackling my weight issues. I changed what I was eating. I joined the gym. Got a support system in place and set a time to exercise. (after the kids go to bed)
I also decided that it was time to start tackling home improvement projects. So my husband and I have been making time to paint here and there and take on a bunch of DIY projects to beautify our home on a budget.

Then there's the kids. Emeli is at that age where I am trying to teach her as much as possible as she's just impressing us with her conversation skills. We have been teaching her her numbers, letters, and colors. And not to mention potty training... My least favorite with her.

With Emmanuel, even though he goes to a homework free school, it is a charter school and it has required a lot of parent involvement and volunteer hours. Try to fit classroom volunteering, projects, paper mache, copies, and constant emails though I am not a stay at home mom.

Then there is this blog. I've always had a passion for writing and encouraging others. I think my Facebook posts and lengthy texts to friends were getting out of hand, so I had to find an outlet to write and be able to encourage others that may need it.

And between Emmanuel's basketball, 40 hour work week, rushing to school, picking up the kids, cooking, cleaning, heading to the gym, bills, appointments, birthday planning, taking care of my husband and finding that one on one time, calling my parents, checking on my siblings and friends.... There is always way too much to do! And its so easy to demand so much of ourselves...have high expectations and feel like a failure when we cant keep up. That's when self pity creeps in.

We go from feeling like a superhuman getting it all done to getting down on ourselves when we fall short and get tired. And that's usually when we want to give up. Don't!

Perhaps we aren't meant to do it all on our own.  And perhaps that's what helps us appreciate those loved ones around us. The people from parents to friends, co workers and significant others that encourage us, motivate us and push us to keep going.  That's the beauty in knowing you can't do it all...Alone. Finding the relationships around us more meaningful and being able in return to do the same for them. Motivate them, encourage them and speak life to them.

Analyze today your to do list... Are you trying to do too much? Who are you doing it for? Is it for you or to impress others? Is it all necessary? Do we need to prioritize and better manage our time? Whatever it is.... Remember its okay to not do it all.

Maybe you're like me: you still want to get it all done! And that's okay too. Its okay to push ourselves to the limit and conquer new goals, but I've discovered that without God, I can't. I had to fall down to look up. I had to be weak, to find strength and I had to fail to find I could keep going. To some, he's a fable, a tale, a angry man on a throne, but to me He's my strength and my source.

I know now that I can live by this: "Don't do nothing because you cant do everything". And the things that I can do, that I do.  You do that too! Its not all about quantity, but the quality in the things you do.

And though I Melissa cannot do it all on my own, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13