Living In The Moment

For some folks, myself included it is so easy to use lots of brain power thinking about what is coming up next. Whether that is the next turn you are going to make on the way to the store or what you will do in the next six months.
Once you have stepped onto the future “brain train” it is hard to get off, in fact often times you spend your journeys looking out the window and only getting off between stops.

While I am a big believer in the fact that keeping our destination in mind is very important I think there is something to be said for living to the fullest in the moment we are in.

Our Christian journey in scripture is described as a walk. Walks are slower; along the way you can see the small things that you would miss at a greater speed. A person who needs some encouragement, a special treat that God has dropped into your day, a divine appointment all of these are prime candidates of things that can be found as we open our eyes in the now.

God is the same yesterday today and forever He describes himself as the I AM, not the I will be, or the I was, but God with us.  Being created in His image we should display the same characteristics that He does.

The season that you are in will never come the same way again.  Last night I was speaking on the phone with a friend, she is on the verge of having a major change happen in her family. Things will never be the same again and though she has a few months to prepare, the time and culture she is currently in have a known deadline. Many of us also have an appointed time in what we are doing or the people who are around us, that will soon come to an end, we just don’t know it like she does.

Honestly would you be a little more patient with the distractions (people) in your life if you knew you’re your time with them was short?

Would you recognize the gifts the Lord gave you along the way? Last fall I was working the registration for a camp. The sky was a brilliant blue with a lively wafts of cool air streaming in the breeze, just enough to keep it from being hot and I was inside looking out again. I silently wished to myself that I could be outside just for a while. 

Interrupted in my reverie by the need of the moment I turned toward the work.

Soon a problem arose that required me to head to a different building about a mile away.
On mission I stepped outside only to realize that I had loaned my car to someone else and would have to walk. I grumbled out the door and down the first section of sidewalk.
A breeze blew through my spirit reminding me of my desire to spend time outside. “You see,” said the Lord “here is your outside time” I slowed down and began to enjoy the rest of the walk seeing it as a gift rather than the annoyance that it seemed at first.
Yes, there have been other times when I missed the message and marched from point A to point B without a thought that it was the Lord that was intervening in my day.

But on the days when I look deeper into the detours of my day I find the Lord listening to my heart and shaping my outside world in the most delightful ways.

Have you recently found yourself on a detour? What did it look like to you? I would love to hear about it!

Organization is Cheerful, Immediate and Complete

Sometimes I still need a mom to tell me to go clean up my room house. My mom used to always tell us that true obedience was cheerful, immediate and complete. I’d like to borrow that mantra, and alter it for my current stage of life.

True Organization is cheerful, immediate and complete.

You see I’m moving into our first home this week, and as I pack up my little 1 ½ bedroom apartment, I am simultaneously shocked at how many things I have half-finished here and there, and intimidated by the thought of keeping a 3 bed, 2 ½ bath, home (with an additional cottage) organized. The problem is, I am both the person who can’t rest when things are in disorder, and the person who is easily distracted from the task at hand (did you see that butterfly… ooo… a mini Snickers bar!).

So today I am waxing philosophical concerning my housekeeping skills and making the following observations:

Disorganization comes from:                          

• Not dealing with things the first time I handle them.
• Not carrying things to their complete end.
• Which results in a frustrated and discouraged housekeeper.

Hmm… let’s review… Cheerful, Immediate, Complete. If a system is too complex I simply won’t remember it. Surely three little words will stick the landing (pardon the Olympics reference, but it’s that time of year). 

All the best organization books (of which I have read several) say that the key to organization is how many times you handle something. If you bring the mail in, don’t just put it on the table to be moved before dinner, moved again when you are cleaning later, and then moved again when you actually need it. Sort it immediately. Find a system for each area of disorder, and stick to it.

If it comes through your door, deal with it immediately, deal with it completely, and give your family the benefit of a cheerful mom.

Check out my Pinterest board, Making Life Smarter, for some of my favorite organization solutions which I intend to implement in the new house.