Aug 30, 2016

Stress, School, Schedules


School started last week with a BANG.

At least it feels that way.  Ever since my dual-enrollment college classes started, I feel like I've been on the computer all day doing assignments, watching videos, and reading required texts.  Phew.  Where did all the spare time of summer go?!

It can feel quite overwhelming.  One night I finished my Spanish assignment at 7:00 PM and just wanted to go to sleep.  I was exhausted.  Tired.  Stressed.

Through all the stress of school, school, school, it's easy to lose sight of the more important things.  I find myself thinking, I just want to write!  I want to read a book for FUN!  I want a break!  Ahhh!

That's what last week was like.  But it's a new week.  Let's get things into perspective.





Time is limited.  We only have (around) 14 waking hours in a day.  While many things in our lives are reaching out and claiming our precious minutes, we need to make priorities.  School is important.  We need to do it every day.  (except Saturdays and Sundays.  NO SCHOOL for me! *happy sigh*)  But what about the other things that also need dedication and time?

Blogging.  Phew.  I don't usually write this close to my posting date.  I normally create my posts days or weeks ahead of time.  But blogging is something that I have to make time for.  It's my way to encourage people all over the world.  It's how I share my thoughts.  My successes.  My failures.  It’s how I write to the glory of God.  (see Colossians 3:23)


Reading.  While reading is fun...is it always important?  I already have so many assigned books to read.  (well three, but they are long textbooks so it seems longer, okay!?)  Is reading worth my time? Am I using it to glorify God by choosing encouraging, uplifting, and challenging books?  Or is it a waste of time?

My Social Life.  Email... chats... pen-pals... the list goes on and on.  But no matter how crazy life gets, we need to be there for our friends. To pray for them.  To encourage them.  Remember though, there is a limit.  It's so easy to let the internet take over our lives.  I find myself taking breaks while doing school just to have fun with friends...but does that take me away from the more important things?

Family.  I think the second thing that gets abandoned when we are busy is our family. We push them away saying, "I have school.  I'm too busy right now."  But we still somehow have time for our social media, books, and other fun activities, don't we?  Right now I'm trying to figure out how to juggle school work and assignments and still have time to be a loving big sister and daughter.

God.  Phew.  God is definitely the first thing that's abandoned when we are busy.  How many times do you find yourself saying, "Oops.  I forgot to read my Bible today"?  If God is #1 in your life, then you won't be making these excuses.  The busyness of school helps us to reevaluate what's important in our life.  Are the "fun" things in life more important than God?


What are your priorities?  Maybe you haven't jumped into the school year yet.  Good for you!  You can make these decisions before you are forced into the middle of the craziness!  (and enjoy your time off for me!)  =P

Make sure that you are making time for the most important things in your life.  Are you doing "good" things when you can be doing "great" things?  How do you spend your precious seconds, minutes, and hours?  It's really hard for me to juggle all the things I need to do in only one day.  Sometimes I get off school when it's nearly dinner time.  (college dilemmas *sigh*)  But that does NOT give me an excuse to spend the last few hours of my day (tired as I might be!) glorifying and pleasing myself.

What are your priorities?  What things are important to you?  Examine your life, and I think you'll find out.



Did you start the school year yet?  How do you organize your priorities?  What are some things that threaten to come between you and God when you are busy?  Comment below!

14 comments:

  1. Yes, this is such a true post! I'm thankful I'm not as busy as you(yikes! i didn't know how busy you were!o.o), but I think it's true even when we do have time we still want to forget God and our families. Definitely making God, Family, and then Friends as our main priorities are really important! I think it's so true what you said about us thinking we're too busy for God and family and yet we have time for computer and social media. I can be more than guilty of that. :)

    Thank you for sharing this Hosanna!!! ♥♥♥

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    1. Yes, it is very important, Hannah! Even when we are busy, we can still "make time" for the One who made time! I really dislike when people say, "I just can't find time to memorize and read my Bible" when they are spending hours doing meaningless things on the internet. If we truly love God, we won't have to "make time" for Him. He WILL be our desire all the time!

      You are very welcome! <3

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  2. SO true, Hosanna! School started last week for me too, although it actually wasn't as busy as I expected since all my teachers had to go through introductions and overview of course and how to use Adobe connect and so on ;) This week will probably be heavier though! :D
    But yes, getting our priorities straight is SO important! And yes, I have trouble with that a LOT. But this post helped; thank you so very much for sharing, Hosanna!
    Hope your new school year goes above and beyond your expectations! :D

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    1. Thank you so much, Blessing! Indeed, it is a blessing to have you on my blog. =D

      I know...the first week of class can often be a bit repetitive. =P Then comes week #2!! Lol.

      I'm so glad that it helped you! I'll be praying for you as you set off on your journey to make God's priorities your own. =)

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  3. Such a lovely post (as usual!) All of this is so true and helpful- I think I'm going to go read it again. :D

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    1. I'm so glad it encouraged you, Emily! =) I often write posts just to remind myself of what I should be doing more of...and I'm thankful that it also impacted you! =) It's wonderful how we so often are going through similar trials, and our thoughts help encourage each other. =)

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  4. Great post, Hosanna!! Gah, you poor thing, all the schooool. Keep pressing on!! You can do it all through Him who gives you strength! ;)
    We technically never take a full summer break; we just go light. I'm going into high-school (eek!) and as of right now, I'm just doing math and science. Science is tricky, but not as much as math. =\ Next week, I'm 'officially' starting high-school. I think it'll be fun, but I'll definitely have to reevaluate my priorities, so your post came at a perfect time! =)
    I've only started doing this lately, but occasionally I write out schedules for the day. It's a good way to organize priorities, but I also never get done everything I want to... *sheepish grin*
    Well, I don't really feel like my relationship with God is most threatened when I am busy. I feel like it is most threatened when I harden my heart towards Him,when I'm not very sensitive to His voice. So I've always got to work on listening to my Savior!! =)
    Gee. That got long. =) Welll, I suppose I'd better go now! Great post, Hosanna!
    -Ariel

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    1. I know, Ariel! How blessed we are to have Him to give us the strength we need at all times!!

      High-school isn't scary. ;) Don't worry a bit! As I switched from middle to high, there wasn't a difference at all. =) And I understand about math and science. *sigh* But it gets better once you start understanding things. =)

      I tried an unofficial schedule once...but I think I would get upset when my day didn't turn our perfectly. Lol. So I have a schedule in my head that I use loosely. ;)

      I can relate totally with everything you said. =) Thank you so much, Ariel!!

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  5. i relate to the "HELP SUDDENLY BUSY" thing x)

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    1. Haha...thanks Chloë. =) But together we can overcome this! No matter how busy, God is greater than our frazzled schedules. =)

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  6. Great post, Hosanna! School hasn't started back for me yet (Monday though!) and I can already imagine the busyness. :P Thanks for sharing. We can always use the reminder to put God first. :)

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    1. Good for you, Faith!! Enjoy your break! =) Lol! I pray that your school doesn't keep you from your priorities and one-on-one time with Jesus. <3 Keep shining, girl!

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  7. I feel like I'm constantly reviewing and rearranging my priorities because the day I try to just live my life and not worry about them, they flop all out of order.

    One of your sentences near the end is so quotable: "But that does NOT give me an excuse to spend the last few hours of my day (tired as I might be!) glorifying and pleasing myself." So I need to train my heart and mind to desire God and His glory. Or rather, I need to be vulnerable with God and let HIM do the working and changing in me.

    Thanks for another post, Hosanna! X)

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    1. It is a constant struggle, Jordy...something that we have to do every day. And I totally agree! We should be training ourselves to desire what God desires and love what God loves. It's so hard to do...and I know that I need to be working on this more in my life - as well as being open to let Him work through my life.

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