To which good thing should I say no?

I confess, it snuck up on me. One would think that by 37 I would have some premonition of when I was about to overcommit myself. Since stepping down from a major ministry commitment last Spring, I have been fastidious about saying no. For awhile, I felt like I had a "no" rubber stamp in my back pocket - and everything anyone asked me to do I promptly stamped - "NO."

A few years ago I never said no. When asked to help - my rubber stamp was "yes," because, by my reasoning, if I didn't do it, who would?! I begrudgingly did crafts with kids, substituted in 3 year old classrooms and various other things. Then I joined STEPS - a recovery group at Salem Alliance - and began to learn that boundaries were a good thing and that a little two letter word called "no" could turn my life around.

And so began this journey toward sanity - with margins in my life. It's a goal I'm still working toward. Every now and then along the journey my ship gets shanghaid and I have to disentangle myself from the mess I create for myself before I can continue toward the destination of balance.

So, what did I do this time?

- Two boys at two different schools, two drop off times, two pick up times

- Two soccer teams, 4 practices, 2 games a week

- Coaching one soccer team - watch "The Novice Coach", plan practice, watch the DVD again

- Volunteering in two classrooms weekly

- Exterior paint job on house not quite done

- Interior remodel just starting (think - bed in the living room, clothes on dining room table)

- Speaking at a retreat this weekend

To which of these good things should I have said no? I don't know, but I said yes to all of them, so now I'm left to sort it all out for 5 1/2 more weeks. I think I can handle life again once soccer is over - so if you don't hear much from me until November - just blame it on my still-developing sense of how much is too much.