Several years ago, I wrote down 90 things I could get done in 15 minutes. 

No, not all 90 in 15 minutes! 

Ninety different things that would take me 15 minutes or less to accomplish. 

I was trying to get to 100, but I started bogging down, so I decided 90 was good enough. 

Here's my list . . . 

1. Have a cup of coffee with my husband 
2. Sweep and mop my kitchen floor
3. Read a couple of chapters (or more) in the Bible
4. Read a chapter in a book
5. Mix up a cake or brownie recipe
6. Make my bed and pick up the clutter in my bedroom
7. Swish and swipe my bathroom
8. Clean my bath tub
9. Clean the shower surround on my bath tub
10. Clean out the fridge
11. Clean out the freezer
12. Write a pantry or freezer inventory
13. Make a menu
14. Make a grocery list
15. Dust all the furniture in my house with a Swiffer Duster
16. Vacuum, sweep, or Swiffer my entire house – just the middles
17. Declutter one cabinet
18. Declutter a bookshelf, maybe more
19. Clear my desk
20. Declutter a file cabinet
21. Start or reboot a load of laundry
22. Fold and put away a load of laundry
23. Iron three of my husband’s dress shirts
24. Iron three of my blouses and/or skirts
25. Water plants
26. Write a blog post
27. Write a card to someone and address it
28. Make an appointment for the doctor, hairdresser, and/or dentist
29. Clean the windows in a room
30. Clean my guest bath
31. Vacuum the living room furniture
32. Take a bubble bath
33. Manicure my nails
34. Cut fabric for a quilt block
35. Pluck my eyebrows
36. Call or text one of my children
37. Put my feet up!
38. Clear out my e-mail inbox
39. Clean the baseboards in a room
40. Clean a light fixture
41. Sweep the front porch or deck
42. Sweep the carport
43. Make a card to send to someone
44. Pin a pattern to fabric to cut out
45. Cut out a pattern
46. Sew something small or a few seams of something bigger
47. Chat with a friend
48. Sew on a button
49. Hem a skirt or pair of pants
50. Cross stitch
51. Have a healthy snack
52. Grill a cheese sandwich
53. Make a smoothie
54. Cuddle with my husband
55. Call a sibling
56. Load or unload the dishwasher 
57. Wash a sink of dishes
58. Wipe down my kitchen counters
59. Wipe my cabinet doors
60. Wipe down my fridge and stove
61. Wash the trash can
62. Empty the trash from each room
63. Organize our DVDs
64. Organize photos
65. Rub my husband's back
66. Clean a set of mini blinds
67. Take a walk
68. Clear out my pen & pencil cup
69. Clear out my mail holder
70. Wash my face and brush my teeth
71. Put a meal in the crockpot for dinner
72. Wash and chop vegetables for supper
73. Start a recipe of bread
74. Wipe down the washer and dryer
75. Organize craft supplies
76. Reorganize my dresser drawers
77. Declutter my night stands
78. Wipe down canisters and small appliances
79. Clean all the mirrors in the house
80. File papers
81. Clean out the car and wipe the dash
82. Clean a ceiling fan or box fan
83. Clean or change the heating and/or air-conditioning filter
84. Clean the lampshades on all the lamps
85. Clean one wall, maybe more
86. Reorganize under the kitchen or bathroom sink
87. Mop a bathroom floor
88. Change the sheets on my bed
89. Wipe window sills
90. Call a friend to chat

Ok, so this was a bit extreme! I just wanted to challenge myself to see what can be done in small bits of time. Maybe you saw a thing or two you could do in 15 minutes! ;) 


What can you get done in 15 minutes?

Self-discipline is something I struggle with often. In fact, on a recent Wednesday afternoon, I needed a nap . . . and when I take a nap, my day can get derailed quickly. I set my alarm for 30 minutes, then immediately dropped off to sleep. When the alarm rang 30 minutes later, I hit snooze. More than once. Then, when I did finally manage to keep my eyes open, I reached over for my iPad, just to take a look at Instagram and check my email. Yeah. You know how that goes.

An hour later, I realized I had to get supper going so we could get to church . . . and the frustration snowballed from there. Not only did I get nothing done that afternoon, but I added unnecessary stress to my life on a busy day by not ruling my spirit well.

The struggle is real, y'all.

But we don't have to live in defeat! We can - and should - triumph over our old nature. If you've been saved, you have the Holy Spirit residing in your heart, and He desires to produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Self-discipline is part of that fruit (the King James Version uses the word 'temperance' in several places with the meaning of self-discipline).

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22, 23

Here are five biblical ways to build self-discipline:

• Pray. The first thing you can do about a lack of self-discipline is to pray about it. David prayed about his mouth: "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." Psalm 141:3 God wants us to come to Him with our needs, especially those things we're fighting against in our lives. Ask God to help you become more focused on what needs to be done, or to remind you to stop doing one thing and start doing another.  God welcomes us to "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3
• Change your mind. By changing your mind, I mean to renew it biblically by reading, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2 "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;" Ephesians 4:23 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John 17:17 As you read your Bible daily, make note of any verses that could apply to self-discipline and overcoming the sin nature. Write them in your Scripture notebook, memorize them, read them over and over. Saturate your mind with the Word of God, and your thinking will begin to change; your mind will be changed.
• Change one habit at a time. Our lives are made up of habits, whether good or bad. Begin to develop new habits. Replace old habits with new ones. "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24 "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;" 2 Peter 1:5
• Make a plan. Learn to recognize what gets you off-track in relation to discipline, and plan ways to avoid those situations. Proverbs 4:25, 26 teaches, "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." Be the boss of your day, rather than letting it boss you!
• Don't give up. There will be setbacks. There will be days that you can't seem to get anything accomplished and all you want to do is veg out on the couch. Don't let those days discourage you! "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:13, 14

Do you struggle with self-discipline like I do? What are some ways you have overcome the old nature? Share in the comments!

Welcome to the new blog home of ByGrace! This is something I've considered doing several times over the almost 10 years I've been blogging, but honestly, I was scared to death to try it! I have heard horror stories of moving entire blogs, and I was happy with Blogger (it was free, after all), so why change? All that came to a screeching halt when I finally decided I wanted one place for everything I have online: my blog, our church website, my shop. I was tired of everything being scattered around and having no true control over any of it.

A few things to note: 

My shop, Vintage Grace, is still on Etsy, but through that Vintage Grace button up top, you'll find both the shop AND a blog!  I would eventually like to completely own my shop, but I just don't feel like I have the following or the ease of finding me on my own, so I'm sticking with Etsy for a while longer.

I also have a tab up there that says Books, which is my Amazon a-Store. If you click through to the store, you'll still be buying through my affiliate link, just like before, but the page will look like it is a part of this website. How cool is that? If you'd like to order something from Amazon through my store, I'd earn a small commission from your purchase, at no extra cost to you. And thank you very much!

There's an About page that tells all about our family, and a tab for our church too.

So here I am with my own domain name and everything! I hope you'll soon feel at home here. Thanks for reading - I appreciate it you more than you know!