Organized chaos...

Ask my husband, my mother, numerous work colleagues, my friends and anyone else who has spent any amount of time with me and they will all inform you that, left to my own devices, I would live in a world of "organised chaos". My husband is exceptionally tidy, which is the only reason my house always looks immaculate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not "messy" (at least I don't think I am) but I have a habit of leaving little piles of things lying behind me for someone else to clear up...

For this reason, I have, over the years, had to pick up some tips and ideas from some very organised people. With these lists, rotas, labelled boxes and storage ideas in place, my life has become way more organised (OK - its not perfect... just ask anyone who looked in our Year 6 cupboard at school last year!) but seriously... I feel FAR more relaxed because everything is ordered. And God created us to like order, because he is ordered! (Just see Genesis ch 1!)

I LOVE the things I have put in place in my life to help me bring order into my chaotic world... I love them because they give me a sense of purpose at the start of the day and a sense of satisfaction at the end, they stop my brain hurting, because I no longer have to store my to-do-list in my head, they free up time so I can prioritise my life, they please my husband because my house stays clean and I am more relaxed as a mother too. But these things are not the be-all and end-all. No. Here the Girl Talk girls have got it spot on in their book "Shopping for Time";

"We don't evaluate our priorities, consider relationships and simplify tasks merely to avoid being overwhelmed. We do it so that our manner of life would be worthy of the gospel. We do it because, by God's amazing grace, we can live a life worthy of the gospel"


Its only because of God's grace that it is worth bringing order to chaos and "seizing the day". These tips, lists and tools are not meant to govern our lives, they are meant to serve them, because our lives are about serving God and sometimes, just sometimes, he chooses to "interrupt" all our nicely laid out plans for his purposes and our to-do-lists have to go to pot.

Next week, I'm going to share some of the things I've put in to place that I've magpied from various people. I hope they will encourage you to "shop for time" and "seize the day" for God's glory, so that you are freed up to take hold of his "interruptions" without fretting about the 101 other things you were meant to do this week!

"Carpe Diem"

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