Balancing Your Time

Childless couples face some different problems than couples with kids, but some of our issues are the same. One problem that I think any married couple has is spending time with one another. The specifics of the problem, however, vary whether or not children are in the equation. It’s well-known that finding time, period, when you have kids is a common conundrum. Finding time to do household chores, take a shower, spend time with your spouse, and still have some alone time can all be troublesome depending how many and what age children you have. Obviously Jon and I don’t … Continue reading

Finding Your Identity in Your Marriage

I never thought much about my life growing up. At times in my adult life when I’ve considered getting married, having kids, I didn’t have anything but my own thoughts at that time to rely on. It’s strange because I’m an obsessive planner for short-term details, but I can’t think of any point in my life when I’ve had a vision for the future. As a kid I always had dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up: veterinarian, zoologist, reporter for National Geographic Magazine, but those were always just fleeting childhood whimsies. I never pictured myself … Continue reading

Finding Balance Through Routines

One of the biggest challenges that a home – based professional is likely to face is the issue of balance. How exactly do you keep up with work and the myriad of other things that you have on your plate? It is never an easy task, and the answer is different for each person. The answer is also highly dependent upon what things you are trying to balance. In the couple of years since I became a home – based professional, I have found myself in various positions with regard to how balanced my life is. Since my primary occupation … Continue reading

Finding Balance in the Unbalance

As a single parent you may feel like your life is in utter chaos about 90% of the time. You are running from one thing to the next all day long, you hardly have time to take a shower in the morning, let alone brush your teeth. You are doing the work of two, so naturally you have a lot on your plate at any given time during the day. There are always a million things to do; get up, get the kids ready for school, go to work, come home, make dinner, help kids with homework, give the kids … Continue reading

Brighten Your Desk with House Plants

A home work space or office should be functional, inspire work, and have an atmosphere of calmness even in the midst of a storm. We cannot prevent the storms that come with business but if we decorate in a way that calms our nerves yet does not put us to sleep we may be able to control our reactions to the storms. When my desk is messy I feel disorganized and messy. I always feel more productive when my area is clean and functional. I also like adding a bit of personality and life to my area. My office space … Continue reading

Finding a Balance

Finding balance in our lives can be a difficult task. We have so many things that pull at us and many feel of equal worth. Then we have those things which do not measure up to our main priorities yet take up a large portion of our time. It is when that happens that our lives feel out of whack. Our families are our main priority and certainly should come before business yet business takes up a significant portion of our time. For most the driving forces behind our businesses is providing for family and achieving personal goals. Both are … Continue reading

Remembering Your Worth

Sometimes as single parents it’s easy to get down on yourself. You start to identify with the negative aspects of your life and the positive ones seem more and more distant. It’s easy to get bogged down with all of the responsibilities of being single and raising a family. It’s a big job, one that was meant for two. Finding balance in the middle of all of the chaos can be a challenge at times. You’re giving so much of yourself in so many different areas that there is little left over. No matter how much you are doing, you … Continue reading

New Single Parents Blogger

Screaming kids, dishes piled high in the sink, past-due bills, and one person who is solely responsible for it all. Such is the life as a single parent, a life I am quite experienced with. My name is Jacky Gamble, and I am the newest blogger to the Single Parents blog. I first became a single parent at the age of 20, when my daughter was just 6 months old. Her father was not in the picture and failed to pay any child support. I was left to raise and support her on my own. When she was 6 years … Continue reading

Increase Your Spirituality Through Finding Balance

As I look for peace in my life I find that it is directly related to my current level of spirituality and my focus on putting God and family first in my life. When I do this I am more at peace. I feel that I can accomplish more and everything else just falls into place. I write about this topic a lot, because I also find that it is too easy to allow myself to fall out of balance. It is easy to stop trusting the Lord and to worry obsessively about things that I have no control over. … Continue reading

Peaceful Family Life

Every so often I wonder at whether or not my home environment is everything I want it to be. Before I had children I really worked to have a peaceful home environment. I kept the house picked up, and managed to keep the noise level very low and peaceful. And I managed to do okay with one child, and it only got a little bit worse with two, but with three children, it is a struggle to create that environment in my home. And so I had to rethink what I meant by a peaceful home environment. Now I still … Continue reading