New Habits

I was moved by what Ann said about habits being like clothes, the attire of our day.  Charlotte Mason states it beautifully,

Habit is inevitable. If we fail to ease life by laying down habits of right thinking and right acting, habits of wrong thinking and wrong acting fix themselves of their own accord.

— Charlotte Mason

I'm inspired to join Ann in the forming of new habits and have been prayerfully considering what and how that will look in my life, now the mother of 5 precious babes, one only 6 weeks old and pure skinned and sleepless at times.  I ask myself what habits I desire to instill into my life, and are there some I'd like to remove? How does one go about doing that?

Can I remove impatience as a habit?  Can I replace it with slow to speak and slow to anger?  What exactly makes up a habit?  I will join Ann on her Colossians in a Year journey, already having printed the pages of the journal and memory cards.  Then also inspired by her writings about the Bible Memory Association booklets of her mother in laws and the creating of booklets for myself.  Most definitely I must make memorizing scripture a habit I desire this year.  Even more so imparting that to my children as I speak scripture over their lives and into their hearts, to their spirits as they sleep and their spirits keep watch by night.  To be able to draw them and others nearer to Jesus with my own journey.  What is beauty?

I am often overwhelmed with the "process" of doing things.  Desiring perfection, consistency, leaving no room for failure and finding frustration when I can't stick with a plan I've made.  I pray the Lord will help me to be flexible with my habit forming goals, allow room for error and delay at times, and to embrace all that comes with mothering five littles 5 and under.  Life is busy and loud and sometimes doesn't stop.  Not to excuse but to not put too much pressure upon myself that would lead to my quitting but rather to be encouraged with starting something new and doing all I can.

Can anyone relate?  How do mothers, wives, friends, and daughters find time for so much?  How do we move through our lives and accomplish all we desire? How do we continue to fill the pages of the journals, create the picture albums of our precious children before the time is gone, read the books they love, make the meals they favor, spend intimate time with our partners and somehow do so without missing a beat?  I simply cannot even though I want to.  I must rest in Him in order to make a habit develop.  I must find this time to rest in order to be successful...where is it?