Yesterday was an almost total disaster, as far as my patience and happiness of my children was concerned. By the time my husband got home, I was a frazzled mess of nerves and the house was a disaster. I told my husband I needed to go buy some hydrocortisone for my son, so I put Manny to bed and escaped.

I actually had a double purpose in this. I needed some quiet, undistracted time to think. I bought the hydrocortisone and a pretty notepad and began to write.

I made a list of all the important things in my life, like time with God, keeping the house clean, cooking, spending time with my kids, sewing, and so on. Then I made two lists: one of my priorities the way they were in my life at that moment, and the other of how my priorities should be.

When I was done, I was almost shocked. The lists were almost reversed! A few things, like sewing and cooking, were more or less in the right place; but things like spending time with God was indeed at the bottom, and Internet, which I had put at the bottom of the ideal list, was at the top of my “life right now” list. It’s amazing how many times a day I can stop for 5-10 minutes and check email or Facebook or whatever. Ten minutes 5 or 6 times a day can turn into an hour–and that’s not including the 45 minutes I already spent the first time I got on!

Was it any wonder that my day was a mess? I was putting computer and cleaning and other not-so-important things before time with God or time with my children, and it was ruining my day. No wonder I was a wreck at the end of the day!

So as I drove home, I talked to God about it. I surrendered the computer and asked for His help to keep me focused on the things that are truly important. And you know what? I don’t really miss it. Oh, I’ll still get on and check emails and blog. I’ll still comment on friends’ Facebook statuses. But I won’t be getting on 10 times a day! I will schedule it into my day, or I will make sure I get certain things done before I get on. I did that today, and let me tell you, it was a relief to sit down after doing my exercises and check on my blog stats and email. It was so worth the effort I had put into the morning!

So what about you? Have you let your priorities get out of order? I suggest you try doing what I did. It only takes a few minutes, and can be a real blessing in the end. Try it and let me know how it goes!