How To Escape Groundhog Day by Leigh Ann Napier

Remember the movie Groundhog Day? That's kind of what life feels like sometimes. In the movie, each day when Bill Murray wakes up to the alarm, he is faced with the exact same day over and over again. Have you ever had one of those mornings? Or maybe a week straight of those mornings where you never seem to make traction and get beyond the mundane? Laundry, overdue library books, cleaning, needing to return that step ladder to the friend you borrowed it from over 2 months ago (sorry Margo), cleaning out the refrigerator, and then of course needing to go to the grocery to fill it up again. It is easy for women to feel defeated before the day has even begun!

So where do we start? What can we do today that will improve our outlook when we wake up tomorrow morning? How can we make a dent in our to do's so that tomorrow won't feel like we are stuck in the same rut we were in the day before? We desperately want to escape Groundhog Day. Be encouraged that you CAN get out of that rut! You can begin making a difference during this 24 hour package God has given you today. Soon you will wake up and wonder how you ever lived that way before.

The first challenge for today is:

Do not say YES to anything else without waiting 24 hours to think it over and pray about it.

Now I'm not referring to your toddler's plea for cheerios here. Please do feed your child within a reasonable amount of time from the request…

I'm referring to those phone calls, emails, parent-teacher-meeting-put-you-on-the-spot requests for another piece of you. You need to evaluate what is being asked of you and see where it fits within this season of your life. If you find yourself running late all of the time, feeling rushed, never quite seeming to get a chance to just rest, and sometimes feeling resentful towards others because of how busy you are, then please REALLY take this to heart.

Here are some questions to ask yourself BEFORE you answer anyone else:

1. Does this compliment or compete with my top priorities?
   
2. Am I managing my current obligations adequately? Do I have the time and energy to commit to something new?
   
3. Am I uniquely gifted to do what is being asked or could someone else do it well? You may even be able to think of someone who would be a better fit or who would enjoy being asked…
   
4. Would I be saying yes because I want to do this or am I saying yes in order to avoid confrontation and/or rejection?
   

If saying no is difficult for you then I encourage you to read Approval Addiction by Joyce Meyer. If you aren't sure what you are gifted for or the design God has for your life, check out the iDiscover Community! We need to ask for wisdom when it comes to gifting our time, energy, talents, and resources.

James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

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