Getting back on the horse after a nice break from routine can be tough. Urgghh.

How do you get started again, where do you find the mojo?

Whether you're heading back to the office, rebooting your homeschool or trying to motivate the little entrepreneur inside to get back to it...here's a few tips I hope will encourage you.

Perhaps like me, you thought you’d be more organised, more on top of where you need to be by now. But the Christmas -New Year holiday period was different this year, a family illness, a broken holiday, some unfinished home renovations that made for probably the most chaotic Christmas we’ve ever had. No, that's not snow on the Christmas tree, its dry wall dust. And on the floor and EVERYWHERE!

Behind, that’s where I feel I am. Sound familiar?

On top of my ministry to kids making online videos and live show performances, I work part time as a barista, making coffee for all the tradespeople from 5:30am. It’s amazing how quiet it’s been over the first few weeks of January. Now the tradies are starting to come back to work and it’s funny to see the look of devastation on their faces as they square up to ‘the grind’ of daily work after the Christmas shut down. Perhaps they can see it in my face too.

Blue Monday

Blue Monday they now call it. The third Monday in January that is claimed to the most dreaded and depressing day of the year. ‘’More than half of Australians are dreading the thought of going back to the office, and the feeling is more intense the younger you are’’ (Blue Monday worst for Younger Workers, Sydney Morning Herald 15/01/17). Well we're in the throws of that week now, how are you going?

As I make those coffees there is this bus stop across the road and during school terms there are hordes of kids getting on buses plastered with massive advertising banners for university. They all promise the holy grail of a fulfilled life with slogans such as ‘’Find your ‘Why’’”.

Wow, that’s a big promise. Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? Way too much for any institution to bear and our kids are destined for disappointment if they swallow it.

‘’We’ve primed (millennials) to be more impatient, that you get right to that meaningful job straight away”. Consequently, they hit a brick wall when the finish university and start the slog in their so-called dream career.

The vanity of ‘why’

What can we do to prepare our kids for this inevitable disappointment?

Don’t feed them the lie. Your ‘why’ is more than what you do. Life is more than what you eat, drink, wear or….work.

You value is not reliant on whether you find a satisfying career or feel like you’re making a significant contribution to the world.

We are valued beyond measure by the gift of God’s Son, given for us. Before we achieve anything, we are valued, immensely. Don’t let your kids forget that.

In the home, we have the marvellous ministry to our kids where we can show them the higher importance of inner qualities such as love, service, integrity, faithfulness. These are not the ‘what’ but the ‘how’. God cares more about who and how, less about what. Sorry. As one friend reminded me, ‘we think it’s all about God guiding us into what we’re going to do in life, but he’s more concerned with his work inside us and how’.

So, in all the stress of trying to make sure we’re on top of everything and ‘doing enough’ to quench their education needs, remember that it’s in the faithful instruction of God’s word in the home that our kids will find their ‘how’. In serving the God who loves them, they will find their thirst quenched.

Why ‘why’ is still useful

But we all still have the reason that got us where we are right now, right? They could be: Why I am Homeschooling. Why we changed jobs. Why I am working as a barista, not a minister! (LOL). Isn’t it easy sometimes to forget why we chose this path in life. Well, maybe not forget, but lose the oomph or the fierce determination to crack on with our decision. If that’s you, I’m sure you’re not alone. High five!

What we need to do is revisit our ‘why’. Why did we do this? What brought us here? What were we hoping to gain? A better family life? Greater control over our kid’s faith development? The chance to reach the world with unique and outstanding online content about Jesus? Amen.

Yeah. Hands to the plough. Don’t look back.

But you also need a plan. A plan that shows you what is the first step, then the next.

My dad always said to me when I started out as a teacher and it was just so darn hard and overwhelming: ‘Just worry about each day, it’s too hard in the beginning to try and master the whole term or year. Just get ready for tomorrow’. It was great advice and I really needed to hear it.

Here's a quick guide to getting going again:

So, remember what got you here. Yes, Ok, your ‘why’.

Remember where you want to be going. (Get a plan)

And Start with the first step.

Keep it simple.

Remember, the first few days are the worst. It gets easier. Hand to the plough and don’t look back.