Peace Amidst Hectic Schedules!

As fall schedules start up, tensions can reeve up! I’ve been thinking a lot about our often hectic lives. Maybe you resonate with these sentiments:

• With people coming and going all of the time, my house feels like a hotel – but I want to be building a home!
• I spend the majority of my time in the car. I feel more like a chauffeur than a parent!
• Afterschool/Afterwork is the most stressful part of my day! It’s a race to fit in activities, meals, and homework before bedtime. I want to actually ENJOY time with my children!

These sentiments were not hard for me to write as a mom of two, because it’s so easy to engage in the rush around us! But at some point I have to wonder if culture’s pace is actually hurting the very families we are working so hard to build. Quality family time that’s lost cannot be relived. Young children who know the weight of panic and stress have lost a certain innocence. And parents who tirelessly give out of a depleting well of energy aren’t doing themselves or their family any long-term favors.

When culture’s drum beats faster, we have the benefit of marching to a different rhythm as Christians. Scripture reminds us that a harried life isn’t a fulfilling one. It challenges us to recognize the cost of keeping up with the crowd. And it empowers us to make wiser choices that can bring true happiness and no regrets.

I’m convinced God is inviting us off of the mass hamster wheel of culture and into unique, fulfilling lives of purpose. Will you join me in exploring how?

This Sunday, I’ll be preaching at the WAVE 5 pm service at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, NJ. My topic is “Peace Amidst Hectic Schedules.” This message is for everyone – families with children, empty nesters, or individuals seeking richer peace in general.

On Tuesday, my new parenting TV series, “Chaos to Calm with Noelle Kirchner,” will air on HomeTowne TV at 9 pm. This series focuses on how we can transform all too familiar family chaos moments into calm through faith. Appropriately, my first topic is “The Chaos of Family Scheduling!” Tune in for laughs, pictures, insights, and interviews with two special guests. HomeTowne broadcasts through the Comcast (36) and Verizon (33) stations in New Jersey; for additional viewing information, click here.

Friends, I need these messages just as much as anyone. But what a gift to not only benefit from God’s wisdom, but experience it together! I hope you’ll be a part of these opportunities.

This post appears also on Central Church's blog this week!