Too Much?

..when is the "unavoidable" stress more than necessary for any given task or process?

I have been pondering how there are things that are simply stressful because they use resources (time, energy, effort, money) ..remember that stress happens when what we have and what we need to have is off balance.

There are processes in our days that are stressful because we are using lots of resources to make them happen.  But, at what point do you know that you are using more resources than you need to for that task or process? And, at what point do you need to reevaluate if the process is a) worth the use of resources and b) how can we rearrange our resources so that this thing isnt such a strain on what we have?

I realized this week that I use this principle alot in my life ..and I wanted to share because it is the way that I sort through properly managing my limited resources.


First, is it worthy?  ..I have talked about this before here.

This thing, task, process that we are pouring our resources into ..is it worth it at all?  Is it worth taking your time, energy, effort away from other things that are that important and worthy? No? ..then get rid of it.

It is worth it?  Yes? ..Then, we need to work on a new plan!


An area that I am really working through this line of thinking is our homeschool curriculum.

I talked about K12 the first of the year, and then I told you that I hadnt actually used the material but I wanted to share what I knew of it. Well, having used it for 6 weeks now, I can tell you it is major use of our resources. Translated, it is a major area of stress for these Steedly Boys and their mama! :)

I have applied these questions to this area of our homeschooling...is it worth the stress?

School..yes.

Teaching my children at home is worth the resources to me. Its worth the time, energy, effort and resources that I am giving to it.  I want to be doing this, and I feel it is the best thing for these particular little men that I am responsible for training.

Now ..is school in this particular way, method or process worth it? perhaps, not.

Honestly, the materials are good and the "free" is great. It is well structured, organized way to school your kiddos at home. I would encourage you to look into it more if you are looking to school your kids at home, and are ready for a challenge.

The challenge for us is not that the work is too difficult, we are aces at the work itself. But, the massive use of our time, effort and energy is disproportionate to our goals for educating Ty at home, and the resources we can best (for him, and me) give to it.

 We are required as part of an online charter school, to give 6 hours of schooling instruction a day. We are required to meet in online classes for 2 hours a week, 2 more if we have a hard time in the first 2 hours.  The online classes are over and above the daily lessons that are required.  We are required to complete at least 7 subjects a day/5 days a week, many of which are supposed to take 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

While the lessons are not overly difficult (in fact, we have had to jump way ahead to get Ty to a place where he feels challenged) ..the massive amount of work and hours required to complete it, is not worth the amount of resources and stress that is demanded of a 5 year old :)

In other words...school is important and a very worthy thing to put our resources into, this plan however, is requiring more than its fair share of what is needed to meet our goals. Its too stressful!


The task is a good one (just like keeping the house clean, finding time with God, doing laundry) but this way, this method, this plan makes the task more difficult that it needs to be.

I feel like I can say that about alot of things that I have already deemed worthy of my resources! I know that keeping my home is a worthy task. I know that keeping the laundry caught up is worth my effort. I know that managing my budget well is worth the time and energy I give to it ...but it is still more stressful that it needs to be?

It may be time to get a new plan or get control of that area!

Can you think of any areas of your life to apply this? I hope so! ...our resources are too limited to be giving them to things that can just as well be done in better, more efficient ways.