I’ve been paying the price for a most unfortunate lapse in judgment, a total moment of insanity really where I said yes to something before thinking it through clearly. Have you ever done that? I mean really. I’ve wanted to punch myself in the face for this one (I know, I’m dramatic). So are you wondering what it is?
One day at preschool the teacher made a plea to the parents for someone to take on the job of the scrapbook for the year. She said, “It doesn’t have to be fancy, nothing impressive just put the pictures in there.” I looked around the room, most people were avoiding eye contact with her and I though to 
myself, “I could do that. It could be a fun project for Jenna and I.” Two minutes later I had agreed to take the book home and get started.
I get home and the stupidity of the decision began to set in. (That picture is of my niece at the gum wall. She was horrified. That’s how I felt when reality set in. Aahhhhh!) I have spent some good hours working on that thing. And if you’ve met me then you know I can’t just paste the pictures in there. It looks too plain so I have to add a little of this and a little of that to spice it up a bit (nothing too fancy that’s for sure) but it still takes extra time. I’ve tried to let Jenna help me because I want her to feel like a part of it but there’s only so much she can do. Because if I’m honest, I don’t want it to look like a 5 year old did it; and yes I know there are issues there with perfectionism on my part that could take many counseling sessions and blog posts to address. So, needless to say, my very few hours that I’ve had not working, being a mom, running a house, being a wife, etc. have been pasting pictures in an album. And remember, this can only be done when Isaac is sleeping because I assure you he is a total tornado and will clear the table of everything in seconds if he can reach it. Sigh………
So, as my husband asked me this morning, “What can we learn from this?” (Of course with a sly smile on his face). I said, next time I have a lapse of judgement like this just take me out back and shoot me. But really, in all seriousness, this was a rookie mistake. Great intentions to help out have made my life a little stressful.
So here are some helpful questions to ask yourself before saying yes to things. I used to have these questions posted on my fridge for years because I was terrible at saying no. I’m much better now, I just think the lack of sleep for a year and half made me weak and stupid momentarily. So here they are:
- What is my motivation in saying yes?
- Is God asking me to do this? (Just because it’s good or helpful doesn’t mean it’s for you.)
- Is someone else capable of doing it? Will it steal the blessing from someone else if I say yes?
- Have I talked it through with my husband? (This definitely would have been helpful this time around.)
There are more you could ask yourself but these were helpful for me.
I have to go now, I have a project I’m working on…….