hmm…ok I like the whole I Am Second thing, it’s a great way to put faith out there. But I was thinking…am I really second? When I study and teach about priorities, the order is not God first, me second.

I strive to make my priorities in the following order:
God
Husband
Home
Children
Private Life
Public Life

Why this order? Well, one it is biblical. When looking at Proverbs 31, and studying the priorities of the woman described, this is the priorities that we find. It is also what is taught in The Home Experience, which I am currently co-leading. It is funny how when you teach something, you are tested or the enemy will attack you in that area.

First is God. That is who we live for and all the other priorities fall under Him because we do everything to glorify and honor him. If at anytime, something goes before God, we have created an idol. Strive for God to be your number one priority!

Second is spouse. God created marriage and the roles of husband and wife. As a wife, I honor my husband. Often times, our children become a priority over our husband…and it’s true sometimes they take a lot of our time and energy. But God created the institution of marriage before children. If we are not honoring our spouse and giving him the priority he needs by putting our children above him, then our children are really not benefiting. They learn the values of marriage and authority by watching us.

Third is home. When we look at Genesis, we see that God set Adam in the garden and gave him the rules establishing the responsibilities of the home.Because of society, this is often towards the bottom of the list…Homes are often neglected despite the fact that home is where the family was created and where it comes back together, it is where our children’s hearts are formed. Children need the stability of the home. Again, we often want to put our children above the priority of keeping our home…and by this I do not mean that we need to do all of our chores before taking care of the kids. What I mean is we need to make it a priority to keep an orderly, well-kept, peaceful home environment for our children. By placing children above our responsibilities at home, maybe by getting them involved in several different sports, school activities, and church and staying busy busy busy, we may be thinking our children are a healthy priority…however, when there is chaos, disorganization in the home or no prepared meals at the dinner table because of the business outside the home, then our children are actually suffering.

Fourth is children. After the home is the children. God gave the institution of home at creation before they had children. Sometimes I can get selfish and want to do something for me before my children. This is one reason, why I do not currently blog as much as I used to, or would like to. I felt that there were things, children being one of them, that I was neglecting while I was working on my blog.

Fifth is private life…me. This is my time… for women, this is often the last on the list and often never gets done. We need to make time to take care of ourselves, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Sixth is public life. Specifically for me, this means my leadership roles within church small groups and the media work, my blog, our graphic design business, any other public responsibilities I have. If anything above is out of order (not that it is always perfect but it’s something I have to constantly check and correct), then my leadership is not anointed and areas of my life may not have the blessing and grace that it could. That is why it is last on the list…for me to impact others, walk in leadership and have blessing on areas of my life, then everything above needs to be a priority first. If I put a leadership role within my church above my family, then I am not honoring my family or God. By setting our priorities in order, we are honoring our number one priority, God.

Well, this started out as a small facebook note on I Am Second…turned into a whole blog on what we are teaching in my Home Experience Group! I hope it blesses someone who reads this!