Day 20: Organize your Love

1 Corinthians 14:40  But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

Head: No matter how it's translated it still means the same.  Proper and Order!   I have had this whole post in mind for awhile but have had the worst time trying to sort out my thoughts.  I've had this "Everything has a place" mentality for the last few days and that goes for myself.  Even Winnie the Pooh knows that being organized is important.

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  -Winnie-the-Pooh/A.A. Milne

So, I have this feeling that when I keep things neat and tidy and organized my life will be less stressful.  Why did I start feeling this way?  I visited a girlfriend of mine who never has a thing out of place.  She has 3 little ones who are demanding and a smallish house.  It's never cluttered, dirty looking, unorganized...it's simplified and orderly.  Everything is orderly.  She is an amazing woman and I love her to death and she is going to teach me a thing or two about being a Godly wife just by her actions.  

Then I read an article called "The Sock Drawer: How being organized helps you both."  I truly thought I had it all figured out.  God wanted us to be organized, I mean, haven't you ever heard "Everything has a place" or "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"?  So, I thought I would have no problem whatsoever finding scripture to back this up.  It took awhile.  It shouldn't have, because I knew the scripture at the top of this post.  

Heart: Truly, an orderly and properly organized life is going to save you time, make your everyday life easier, and even more flexible for spontaneous fun.  It doesn't have to be about being a boring person or take time to maintain.  Just think, when your husband comes home and says let's take off, it would easily be able to pack up some items and leave instead of feeling like you can't leave because your house is out of order.  Or, if your husband is having a particularly bad day, you might have a pick-me-up activity or even a gift waiting around for the perfect opportunity.  

Organizing activities will help us.  If we can see upcoming events on the refrigerator calendar, along with appointments, holidays, and birthdays; we will feel less stressed when the time arrives because we aren't in a scurry to get to them.  What does that mean, less fighting and finger pointing and frustration.

Organizing space is just as important.  It would be easy to go from room to room and make sure that things are in their place; bath towels on the rack, soap in the shower, shoes in the closet, etc.  It would also be wise to purge all things that simply get in the way, that are never used and cleanse our living environment of anything unnecessary.

Organizing can even make us a better spouse.  We'll leave fewer messes, be more thoughtful and considerate of upcoming events, be able to help out or even just have fun because we are aware of our time and resources.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10: 24-25

Hands:  Begin to organize the things that are not.  As you go through your day, write down where you see a problem.  Take each problem and brainstorm how you can organize your time or space.  Try your solution and if it doesn't work, try again.  It'll be worth the effort as you find yourself with time well invested, a freedom to play and less friction in your marriage.