Want to win $200 or tickets to see Moms’ Night Out (plus copies of Moms’ Night Out [the novelization] and Moms’ Night Out and other things i miss)? Keep reading!

This post is part of the No More Frumpy Mommy Moms’ Night Out Challenge, happening now through May 22. YOU can join, too! You might win $200 or tickets to see Moms’ Night Out if you participate! Are you participating and want to leave your link to today’s challenge? Read through this post, then link up at the bottom! Here are the other challenges:

1. Easy Hair by Tricia Goyer — What’s your secret to easy, no-fuss hair?
2. How to Get to Church on Time (with Kids) by Tricia Goyer — What tips do you have for getting your family to church on time?
3. A Fast Recipe that Doesn’t Include Chicken Nuggets by Kerri Pomarolli — What’s your go-to, easy recipe?
4. Fun Ways to Exercise with Your Kids by Tricia Goyer — How do you involve your kids in your exercise routine?
5. Take Time for Mom-Friends by Kerri Pomarolli — What’s your favorite way to spend time with your mom-friends?
6. Simple Makeup for Busy Moms by Tricia Goyer — What are your favorite tips for no-fuss makeup?
7. A Fast Recipe that Doesn’t Involve Fish Sticks by Tricia Goyer — Share your easy, go-to recipe for your family!
8. Quick Cleaning Tips by Kerri Pomarolli — What are your quick cleaning tips for busy moms?
9. Finding Time to Follow Your Dreams by Tricia Goyer — How do you make time to follow your dreams?

Finding Time to Follow Your Dreams

As a young mom, I had a dream to be a writer. I attended my first writers conference when I was twenty-two years old and pregnant with my third baby. My dream of sharing the good news of God through articles and book was my dream, but seeing it accomplished meant carving out time. There is only so much one can do in a day after all.

How did I find time to follow my dreams? Here are four ways:

1. I set aside “writing time” every day. I’d homeschool in the morning and then in the afternoon I’d set aside a few hours to write while my children played. Those early years, I wrote articles and ideas for novels as Barney played on the television. At least a dozen times during those two hours my kids would ask me for milk, or a snack, or to play with them. I’d offer what I could but then remind them, “This was Mommy’s writing time.” I learned to get a lot done in those two hours, and my kids learned to entertain themselves. Soon, when I started getting things published, they were excited to see that what I’d been working on was in print.

2. Listen to God’s whispers. The biggest time-waster is chasing success to no avail. Once I started praying, “God show me YOUR dream and help me to follow,” everything changed. I found success because I was walking along the path God had for me. When I sought Him and paid attention it became easier and easier to join God where he was already working.

3. Focus on the person standing in front of you. “Jesus understood what is meant to prioritize and to balance,” says Richard Swenson M.D., author of The Overload Syndrome. “It’s okay to have limits. It is okay not to be all things to all people all of the time all by ourselves. At any given moment, the most important thing in life is the person standing in front of us.”

4. Cut out the good things to focus on the best things. For so many years, my motivation had been the approval of others. I wanted to show I could do it all . . . and do it well. That’s when I became aware of Ecclesiastes 4:6, “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”

That’s me exactly! I realized. Instead of filling my life with tons of good things, I cut out everything except what was best for me and my family.

Has it made a difference? Yes. Today I’m honored to serve my family and follow God—wholeheartedly, completely and full throttle, wherever He may lead. I don’t want to look back fifty years from now and think, What if I had trusted God? Where would I be?

There is always time to do what we want to do most—what God wants us to do most—guaranteed.

What about you? How do you make time to follow your dreams?

I have a few books on sale right now! Generation NeXt Marriage is $2.99. You can also get my four World War II novels in the Liberators Series for $13.99.

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No More Frumpy Mommy Challenge Link-Up

Link your blog post with the corresponding challenge so others can see your progress and I can stop by your blog to give you some encouragement.

• To link up your blog, copy the URL of the exact post and paste it below.
• To link up to your Facebook status, click on the time of your status, which will send you to your status’ URL. Then copy the URL and paste it below.
• To link up a tweet, click on the tweet itself, which will send you to your tweet’s URL. Then copy the URL and paste it below.