Having a Blue January?

You may be finding January is a "blue" month for you after all the holiday rush and bustle.

I came across the website of Mary Southerland and thought it was really good and informative.
If you have never heard of her (like me) check out About Mary.
Check out the Depression or Blues?? quiz. Be sure to check out Promises for the Pit and to read the excerpt from Sandpaper People.

She also has an online free Bible Study. Her January study is Light for the Journey. I am enrolling today! Check it out.

Below are a couple of questions and answers taken from an interview with Mary Southerland that I really thought were excellent. Hope they help you in your daily life walk with the Lord.

How can we exercise our right to say "no"!

1. Ask God to show you the top five priorites in your life and write them down.
2. Using these priorities, write out a mission statement for your life. When asked to do anything that does not fit that statement, say "no".
3. Realize that some people will never understand your choices or your priorities, but they are not your audience. Understand that you are running the race for an audience of One.

Speak to women who are worn out from all the "doing" they do.

Just stop! Take a deep breath and a step back to celebrate the calling of being a wife and mother, a friend and sister, a daughter ... a woman! Your home and children are your greatest mission fields and your most important opportunities of service. The fact that God created the home before he created the church is a loud statement to us that the family is very important to Him. Your children get their first impressions of God from their parents. Let the unimportant things go. Learn to discern between the important and the urgent. Learn to say "no" without guilt. Your house doesn't have to be perfect. Simplify everything! And have fun while you're at it!