And then HE speaks...

I have had this nagging suspicion in my heart lately that I should be able to accomplish more with the hours I have been given. My house while fairly clean at the moment needs a good dose of decluttering and organizing. Part of my health problems lately stem from being surrounded by clutter and way off schedule. So far off I don't even know where my schedule is!
Enter this lovely book. I borrowed it from a friend of mine at our homeschool group late last year. She told me to take my time... that I am doing. :)

Today Mrs. George chose to touch on a very sensitive topic. Scheduling. Routines.
One management expert that Mrs. George quoted said, "A routine, makes unskilled people without judgement capable of doing what it took mere genius to do before." Let that sink in for a moment. So I can say I am incapable of organizing or keeping a nice home, but really I am just slacking off in the routine area. How hard is it to come up with a routine? Start with a morning routine. Five things to do every morning. Work on that til you master it. Then start a bedtime routine. Five things you do before you go to bed. Master that. Add in routines during the day. Pretty soon you have a *gasp* schedule. I have done this before and it was one of the most rewarding times of my life.

Mrs. George talks about Jesus' routines. She says, "He was never rushed and never breathless. He just continued moving purposefully through His schedule and through His day." I'd never thought of Jesus that way. He was a very busy man. He had a lot of work to do and a little bit of time to do it in. She goes on to say, "The reason Jesus was so unhurried was that His schedule was based on God's priorities for His life." I think we can all agree with that!
Mrs. George advises us to, "...determine God's priorities for your life and develop a schedule that is centered on those priorities." Rocket science? :)
Here is one of my favorite paragraphs from the book. "Such a schedule (based on God's priorities for your life) will certainly simplify your life. You'll find yourself not having to think so much about every detail of your day because you've scheduled in your priorities. You'll worry less about whether or not you've scheduled in your priorities. You'll worry less about whether or not you're spending your precious time on the right endeavors. You'll seem to flow from one portion of your task and portion of your day to the next. "

Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that who we would all like to be? Flowing smoothly from one portion of our day to the next? Surely, we know that is not always possible. Especially with young children, but it is a good goal to strive towards. It is needed.

"Are you unsure about what your schedule and routine should be? Then dare to take a look at the busy days of the woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31. Note when she got up, when she went to bed, and what she did in-between." She made sure her household was in order and she cared for her family. Is this really asking too much?
I am finishing up laundry this weekend. After that my challenge will be a different room or two every week. Declutter and organize. I am teaching my children to maintain our home. I will count on them to do that for the next few weeks as I get our home decluttered and organized.
See, God has been nudging me for a few weeks to get on the ball. Thus, the laundry challenge. Today He spoke to me through the wisdom of Elizabeth George.
I am going to work on my morning routine. It will be in place for Monday morning. I will work until it is established. I will do this.

I will be putting up the laundry pictures and the home ec day pictures probably Monday.

Be Blessed!