These are my answers for questions in this study.  They’re personal so feel free to read or not as you wish.

I am not living the abundent life Jesus came to give.  I survive day to day and try to make sure everything gets done.  I rarely take time to do my own thing (I don’t count exercise as my thing because it’s not a creative outlet) and fill my time doing things others want me to do.  The majority of the time I simply exist.  I start my day with “what needs to be done today” and end it with “that should have been done and wasn’t, this could have been done better, that was pointless to do” and it just goes on.  I rarely see the joy in what I do everyday.  Instead, I feel resentful of doing the same thing each week and don’t know how to break out of the rut.  This is not what Jesus created my path to be.  My current season of life words: frazzled, burned-out, overwhelmed, defeated, depressed, angry, discouraged, insecure, lonely, exhausted, emotionally unstable, unmotivated, directionless.  Words that I want to describe my life: peaceful, free, gracious, stable, confident, radiant, loving, sexual, healthy, balanced.  John 8:31-36.  Free doesn’t mean doing whatever you want.  Everyone needs boundaries or temptation abounds.  Free means few worries.  You don’t have to worry about being alone – God is with you.  You don’t have to worry about the future – God will provide.  You don’t have to feel unloved – God loves unconditionally.  This is what Jesus means with wanting his people to be free.  Galations 5:1 and John 14:6.  Jesus set us free with his death on the cross.  He made our sins forgiven with God.  Placing your faith and trust in God by reading his words and following his commands to you sets you free.  Going to Him with your worries and asking for help sets you free.  I don’t think there’s any area I’ve given up hope of being free of bondage in my life.  I’ve always held that things will be better in the future.  The trouble is that the future never becomes the present.  So, I never loose hope but I also never really become free from bondage.  My schedule is my greatest bondage.  My months are planned several months in advance and there are so many things pulling for my time.  It’s not unusual to have 3-4 things in the same weekend and do it all.  I don’t slow down because I fear that if I gave things up I would be disappointing others or things wouldn’t get done.  I feel I have to be in control of everything all the time or things just won’t work.  I hate it.  I hate being in charge and having everything rest on my shoulders.  My husband does a tremendous job at work and I appreciate him beyond words.  But, the majority of work and home rest on my shoulders.   He’ll help when I ask him to but I feel it’s a bother so I don’t ask.  I just do it and feel resentful.  I want this study to help me focus more on the joy in life.  I want to be able to see my daily tasks around the house and running children everywhere as a service to God’s children and not the tasks of a maid.  I want to feel ok with setting some activity aside because I need time alone.  (I got that this weekend and it was WONDERFUL!!)  I want to remember that I matter too and I deserve that play time like I give the children.  I deserve time to have creative outlets that give me a sense of accomplishment.  I want to end the day proud of what I did that day and know that I made a difference in my life because I saw the beauty of my path.  I want to live the life God planned for me to live.