Bound by Shoulds

I am busy. I have three jobs, two kids, one wife. It's enough to drive a saint to sin. The problem is, that it is all good stuff - securing clients so that my family can eat, booking speaking engagements so that peoples lives will be changed, spending time with my family, attending church, playing on worship team, the list seems endless.

I found myself exhausted the other day, but nowhere close to the end of my to-do list. I was sitting in a chair, ready to cry, carrying on an argument with myself. My body and mind were saying that I needed a break, while my guilt was stridently proclaiming the need to do the things I had planned. My guilt attacked my from every side, telling me why I should do certain things - because others were counting on me, because it would make a difference in the kingdom of God, because, because, because.

It is true. You should do the things you say you are going to do. But what happens when we do too much? What happens when we don't give ourselves enough time to recover, recoup, relax? Our minds get cluttered. We have a hard time hearing God. We get stressed out, snappish, and stupid. Unfortunately, that is the way most of us as Americans live.

What do you do when you feel bound by "the shoulds?"