Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman?

Who can find her?
I have been studying girl related topics for my Sunday School class and Proverbs 31 was one of the ones I thought about. I remembered previous Women's Retreat discussions about her. 'Of course she could do all she did because she had "maidens" to help her.' 'She probably did all those things over the course of her life.'

The "maidens" got me thinking. I know that I don't have servants or housekeepers but what do I have that helps me manage my responsibilities?  I have quite a few once I started thinking about it.

1. Prayer and Devotion Time- I do spend time every morning focusing on His word and praying. I do fall down in the prayer area many times. This blog from Sonlight focuses on the importance of prayer. Why did Nehemiah pray?
2. Physical Exercise- This is an area I have ALWAYS put off for a number of reasons. This year events made me really think about the importance of taking care of my heart. The added benefits: I do them with my kids so there is a lot of laughing involved, Endorphins help my mind and body feel like I can face anything, and it wakes me up in the morning. We follow the Crossfitkids because it does a bunch of cross-training and it is FREE! We do most of the workouts that we have equipment for. We have slowly added things like jump ropes or medicine balls. The hard part will be when winter is here and wanting to do any of it when it is so cold outside. The kids get some exercise and so do I.  I started out at the "puppy" level and have worked my way up to "big dog". They are another "maiden" that helps me take care of my family.  Crossfitkids
3. Flylady- One of my recent discoveries has been the Flylady. She breaks the house down into zones. Then each week you focus on just one zone. This week's Zone is the Main Bathroom and kids rooms. She sends out a daily e-mail to help you stay on track. I have heard about her years ago but I figured I was a good housekeeper. Trying to juggle the kids, home school, chores, and housework...I wasn't getting it done. This plan is EASY. It makes cleaning a quick process. Check her out, she has a lot of great tips like 5 min. Room Rescues, Baby Steps, 27 Fling, 1 Hour House Blessing, 5 min. Hot Spots, etc. Another "Maiden" that is FREE
4. Timers- Sounds simple enough but a timer has become priceless for school and housework. I use it in math for math drills. I have discovered that if I set the timer, my daydreamer, T****s, who can stretch his math out to two hours sometimes, can finish his lesson in 35 minutes. I tell him that 30 minutes is just for the halfway point. It helps him stay focused. I have even given Bob a 5 minute timer to work on his desk. Did you know there is wood under all the stacks and piles? He did agree that it does feel better to walk in and have a place to work.
5. Another thing that has been worth every penny is my weekly menu from E-Mealz. These girls from the Southeast make their meal plan for the week based on the store sales and have a variety of diet plans to cater to a variety of food needs.  These "maidens" are like my cook. I have been saving money and the kids have been exposed to a bunch of things that I would never had tried before. Some meals are better than others and many times I substitute a family favorite, but for the most part they are easy. Cody or Bob can start a meal for me when needed. It ends up costing $1.25 a week but it has been worth it. It changed my picky eaters. They LOVE Tilapia. Plus, I don't feel bad if a meal tastes bad. We rate the meals 1-10. Anything above a 5 we will see again. Most of them end up being in the 5and above range.
6. I combine my menu with coupon momCouponMom. She is a FREE "maiden" that helps me save money at the grocery store. I take my list from e-mealz and match it up with the store sales and my coupons because I have learned that the store brand ISN'T always cheaper. I also have been following the Krazy Coupon Lady  for some of the EXTREME savings. She also has been doing deals lately for $4-$5 magazine subscriptions. She also points out retail store sales as well.  This "maiden" has helped me save LOTS of $. Maybe she has helped me pay for things that I would do without but when it is only a $1 I can handle it.
7. Last but not least is our school curriculum, Sonlight, I have everything scheduled and a list of supplies ready for science. I think what I enjoy the most is that we love to sit on the couch together and read a great book. Lately, I have taken Jenn Y. suggestion and I sit in a wooden chair so I don't fall asleep. LOL. It happens. I have learned this year, it has taken this long for me to learn this lesson, that I don't have to do everything on the list. I need to focus on what is really important first. Then I have combined Travis and Meleah into the same History and we all do science together. Bob has been doing "Mad Science" with them on Fridays. That is when we do experiments and he gets to share his knowledge with them. Both their sciences are studying the body this year so they have covered first aid, lung capacity, and we are looking forward to many other fun experiments as well. We have scheduled an Art day. A day we don't have to go anywhere. I have checked out books from the library and we all do the projects together. I love it. I think it helps when they see me trying new things to encourage the kids to try it. Plus, in Art, there isn't a wrong answer. We can enjoy our time a little bit more.
8. Last but not least, is just taking some time to do something I would like to do. I have been painting with the kids, we all started a writing journal, I leave on Friday to meet some of the ladies from church for breakfast, you get the idea. I think it is just having something to show for my time spent giving to everyone else. Sometimes I just sit outside and enjoy the sunset. Slowing down and enjoying the scenery makes me less frantic.

I have many "maidens" and "menservants". The kids have been doing the yardwork. It will be nice when our "Maintenance" guy comes back from light duty. He contributes a lot to helping the household.  It is a good life even if it is a busy one. I was sitting during our 2 hours at Piano Lessons writing down our free time in the week. Most days there is 1-1.5 hours between the finishing of school and starting dinner. One of those days has to be spent at the grocery store. If I could just find a "maiden" for that one I would be in good shape. 
I still have the "Virtuous" part to work on. I have a bunch of work to do in that area but baby steps in the right direction will keep me striving for the goal. I know it will be worth it.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1Corinthians 15:58