Here's a great article...

http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/sin/orange_juice.html

I think this says much of what I am going toward.

It's not so much the specific occupation of our time as it is the reason we are doing that. If we go to the grocery store by ourselves are we sinning? Yes if it is a means of escaping "those kids that are driving me nuts." Not necessarily if it is our goal to glorify God and love others as ourselves. Going to a bible study looks holy, but if we are doing that because we want to get away from putting the kids to bed another night or we think we've "earned" a night off, then our motives are impure and thus sinful.

I don't think that if we are truly trying to love God in everything that we do, we will even want to or feel the need to get away from our families as much. If we are truly loving the kids as God would have us then we would be consistent discipling and patient and kind all the time anyway, thus, the kids would be better behaved, thus we wouldn't feel like we are being suffocated all the time...

Now to attempt humility, I'll share the truth about myself - tonight my husband put the kids to bed while I sat on the couch watching HGTV and eating my birthday present - chocolate! (the other birthday present is my house so I couldn't eat that) ;) It had been a pretty tiring day with my five year old crying through her handwriting lesson today - she ain't the only one who needed a nap! So, I was really struggling with that "I deserve this break" attitude. Of course we don't deserve rewards or breaks from our work, it is a mercy of God that ironically we wouldn't necessarily need if we weren't sinful creatures to begin with. Now, my time would probably have been much better spent listening to a sermon, singing psalms, praying, reading my bible, etc. But there again, that's why I'm so thankful for what Christ has done for me. For when I am weak, You were strong.

I will never, ever get it right while here on this earth. I will always struggle with selfishness, laziness, gluttony, etc. But, Lord willing, I will keep trying, and since His mercies are renewed in the morning, I will go to bed now! God bless, all!