I posted something short earlier, but God’s been nudging me to come back and invite you to be part of something He’s laid on my heart.
- If you knew that having more order in your home would bring more order to your world – freeing up your time, emotions, thougths and spiritual gifts to do what God’s called you to do – would you make it a priority?
- If you knew it was actually possible, would you take some small steps towards getting and staying organized?
After posting confessions of my cluttered counter tops, closets and cabinets, I worked for a few hours on the mess in my nest. And, I feel like I’ve lost 10 mental pounds! The feeling of freedom that followed my progress is amazing. I promise to post photos later this week of my “before and after.”
Today God reminded me of 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” In the context of this verse, Paul is talking about order in the church. But in the context of our lives this truth also applies.
Order is part of God’s character and peace is the promised fruit of His spirit.
Our longing for order and peace is woven into our souls because we are created in God’s likeness. Our spirits long for a lack of confusion. The Holy Spirit has been showing me since last week that this is a big deal. We care about our homes and want to be good managers of our piles and files. As I read your challenges and honestly assessed how I’ve been feeling about mine, I sensed that our messes are not only piling up – they are weighing us down. Consider this:
- When you see your organizationally challenged areas, do you feel a sense of peace or defeat? Do you get all irritated inside?
- Does your life start to feel out of control when you think about what you need to do to get organized but feel like you have no time to do it?
Can I encourage you to give yourself the gift of bringing a little order to your world. A little peace to your heart and home. I want to gather some girlfriends to encourage and pray for each other this week, and commit together to tackle one of our organizational challenges. Will you join me?
And because we all need some incentive, I’m giving away another copy of Karen’s book “The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized”, and some organizational pretties!
If you want to join in this quest, click on the word “Comments” at the end of this post and tell me what one area will you give an hour or so to this week. Your commitment will qualify you for the give-away. And will you pray for the person who leaves a comment right before yours? I’ll leave the first one. Then for a second chance to win, click here and get the encouragement you need to finish what you start.
On Friday, I have another P31 friend and author who is writing a book called, “I Used to Be So Organized” who is going to stop by to encourage, pray for and help us with some very practical ideas! And I’m working on having my before & after photos up then, too.
I have a few places in my sidebar where you can stay connected via Google connect or Facebook, and sign up for email updates. By the way, I love having you along!
Discover more from Renee Swope
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
How "funny"/divine you posted this!!! One of my dear friends blessed me today with the gift of her time (an early birthday present). My home office/disaster area was absolutely horrible, and we worked from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until it was DONE! We only stopped to eat lunch, and amazingly, the room looks incredible!!! I only have 3 boxes of things to put away (that don't belong in the office), and I will have a HUGE chunk of my house organized! Praise the Lord for my friend, who was so willing to give me her time!!!
hehe Jenn, looks like we are tackling the same closet, I didn't read your comment til after I posted mine, definitely praying for you.
…the linen closet. This whole thing has weighed on my for a number of years at this point. I want my home to be a haven for those I love, especially my husband and it is not. Not like what you see on tv – but still TOO MUCH STUFF.
I am in too. I will tackle the bathroom closet that is packed to the gills with 'stuff'! Thanks for the encouragement to go forward!! I also commit to pray for the one above!! 🙂 🙂
the "mail center" (which is currently the "everything that doesn't have a place center") is my area to tackle!
I will organize my stack of bills and create a system to no longer have late payments. The clutter has put a financial and stressful burden on the family
laundry
and clutter
and walking in the door and droping EVERYTHING in a pile two feet from the door, in the corner between the door and the little alley kitchen – whew small houses make it hard to find places for things!
I am committed to getting my kitchen organized. I started on it yesterday and got a few drawers & cupboards organized, got rid of expired canned goods, got all the dishes done, the floor scrubbed & the table cleaned off. I still have several more cupboards to clean out & organize. I am committed to seeing this project through until it's completed.
It almost seems like you've been reading my mental journal. We spent a week in a condo this summer and I felt such indescribable peace and joy with the simplicity of our daily routine. I really felt that God was calling me to clean out my excess stuff at home. I went at it full speed. The master closet as well as the linen closet in the master bath are well organized. But then I made the mistake of taking on two organizational projects at once, got overwhelmed and haven't had the heart to go at it again. This was exactly the encouragement I needed to get started again. In fact, I think I'll go spend in hour in my worst spot right now. The laundry room is the dumping ground for everyone as they come and go from the house. It is also the storage space for my crafting supplies. OK, prayer first and then action. Thank you, Renee!
Oh my – I was definitely led here! Thank you, Renee, for your honesty! I have baskets, folders, accordian folders, binders, file cabinets, etc. You name it, I have bought it in my quest to get organized. I commit to spend an hour in my kitchen organizing all the piles of papers/junk on the counter, tables & in the infamous junk drawer!
My desk. My work space is getting smaller and smaller. And we won't mention the area around my desk. 🙁
I am committing to get things off the kitchen counter (our office is in the kitchen) and organized into a cupboard above or our file cabinet.
I'm committing to cleaning off the piles that accumulate on my desk and the floor of my office for one hour first thing tomorrow morning!
Praying…for each of us to be encouraging to the other and be freed from all this mess.
Hmmm . . . where to start? I would say the two least organized areas in my house are the kids' homework area, and my office. Neither one has really been touched in about 6 months- ugh! Definitely going to give each one an hour this week, but I'm afraid that will only scratch the surface.
I'm committing to going through the clutter in my bedroom, mostly the dresser and desk. I am feeling extremely weighed down with the disorganization of our home since we moved, so I am definitely hoping for a sense of peace!
How TIMELY! What a blessing for me to read this today….we're facing a huge challenge as we prepare to move and leave our old nest. I'm committing atleast an hour tomorrow morning to my kitchen — dishes, cleaning cabinets, cleaning the fridge and mopping ALL need to be done. Eek!
Thanks for the much needed encouragement Renee and my prayer buddies.
P.S. RaeRae, I'm praying for your home to become a home again after such a devasting event. I'm so glad you're ok. I'm so sorry you had to go thru that. I pray God would return to you ten times, but in an orderly fashion(!), what you may have lost.
I will spend time on my guest/sewing room. I am almost finished after several years of taking care of my Mom before she died in Feb. and not having time to be the organized and sane person I use to be. Dear Lord, please be with the person who posted before me…..encourage her and guide her in the area of her need. In Your sweet name, I pray, Amen.
Oh my gosh. Have you been reading my diary?! I feel like God just plucked me up and put you right in my path today. I was convicted by my messy house today when my teen said he was just bummed because of how messy the house was. I was just feeling bad…then I found this "accidentally!" I've never even been to this site before! GO GOD!!!!! He is SO good to mind even the tiny details….the ones that drag me down. 🙁 So tonight I start. I will be boxing up the piles of "I Want To Scrap This" papers and pictures and putting them into one large tub to be organized as I scrap, one handful at a time. In between running a ministry for pregnant, homeless women, subbing so we can pay the electric bill and being enslaved as a band parent (lol), I have let these areas slide. I didn't realize how much it was affecting my family til today. And then God provided the answer thru you. THANK you from the bottom of my heart for listening and following His call to you. Count me in!!
I am committing to my bedroom. We had a kitchen fire about three and a half weeks ago. Alot of damage, mostly smoke. We lost alot of furniture and clothes. So with washing many times to salvage what I could, my room has been a catch-all. I was de-cluttering before the fire, now it has been a have to get rid of stuff. It has been hard with all the stuff I have held onto through the years.BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!! I will keep everyone involved in organizing in my prayers. Thanks so much for all the encouragement you have already given us.