Me Thinks

Balance.
I strive to find balance in my life.
This is what I have been thinking about lately.

At church we were talking about selfishness.  Someone brought up the acronym "JOY".  If you want to find joy in life, put "J"esus first, then "O"thers, then "Y"ourself.  Sounds good, right?  It is something I believe in.  It is something that I strive for, to put the Lord first, to love Him the most, and then to put others next.  But, sometimes a woman must put herself as a priority or she is running on empty and has nothing to give Jesus or others.  But where is the correct balance?  We are told to "lose ourselves" in order to "find ourselves".  We are told to be unselfish and to think of others, but we are also told that we are responsible for our own spiritual and physical well being.  What does each woman need to maintain a "full tank" and function happily?  I think at a minimum, I need private time each day for sleep, prayers, scripture time, and time to shower and pull myself together.  I also need a little time to do a minimum amount of housework so that the house is basically in order.  I try to find time to exercise each day and that really helps to decrease stress.  So I guess I would say that I put the "Y" first sometimes in order to have energy and reserves to give to others. I hope that is not selfish.

And speaking of balance, what is the correct balance between confidence and humility?  I think it is good to have both, but I want to have the correct balance.

Another thing--I am trying to temper myself in that I don't always need to speak up or try to solve things.  I understand that a positive characteristic, if taken too far, can become a weakness.  Sometimes it is good for me to say something about a situation, and sometimes it is good for me to "go with it" or "roll with it" and not try to change or improve it. 

One more--I try to find the balance between doing something in an excellent way and simplifying where I can.  Yes, I could serve grilled cheese and canned soup nightly and that would be a simple way of fixing dinner, but I can do more than that and I want to strive to improve and do things well, but not take that desire too far. 

Balance.