Overcoming Chaos!

By Tara Gagye

Why does God care about the details of my life? 

Luke 16:10&12 (NIV) “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

Matthew 25:21 (NIV) “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

I believe that God wants Great things for us, His children.  He wants to bless His children.  These two verses right here tell us that he wants us to be trustworthy, not just with the great things in our lives. 

This was a lesson I learned:  My Mom who lives a much cluttered life (home as well) always said, “I gave up cleaning after I had children, it just seemed an impossible task.”  So, my question is, what is her excuse now that all of here children are grown and out of the house? 

One day as I looked around my home a revelation hit me,  I had become my mother.  I didn’t want to go Grocery shopping and do laundry everyday. Some things didn’t get washed for 2+ weeks because they weren’t a priority. You could walk around the house and see what my husband calls “Ghost Turds”, better known as “Dust bunnies”. They were starting to move on their own. I didn’t want a messy house. When flies decided that my kitchen counter was a nice place to live, I knew it was too late, I had fallen into my mothers habits.  I even went so far as to forward a person coming to my home that it was a mess.  I had a sign posted on my door that read, “My house was clean last week.  Sorry, you missed it!”    It was truly sad, because I run a business out of my home, and was embarrassed to have customers over.   After God prodded my heart to make a change in my life and my home, things began to change.  I wanted it to be a dramatic change and I wanted my husband to see the change without me pointing it out. 

I sat down with a friend who was a well organized woman of God.  Her home was clean and her life was in order.  Her family was happy and as grown adults they were serving Jesus Christ.  I wanted a home like hers and realized that  I can only control what I’m in control of. She gave me a basic idea of how she has made her life a little easier, even working a full time job.  I took her idea and ran with it.   

I started with a list of what I needed to accomplish to achieve my goals.  Goals are just dreams with deadlines.  Then I broke it down as detailed as I could possible think. 

Taking my list and knowing my priorities I created a map that would walk me through the course of an average week.  We are after all creatures of habit.

A Goal begets a challenge, a challenge begets a discipline, a discipline begets a habit, and a habit begets a way of life. 

My husband being a military man, wanted to put me on a schedule for years.  I would always refuse, thinking to myself, “No man’s going to put me on a schedule.”  Well no man did,  the Holy Spirit help me truly organize my life.

Was Jesus an Organized person?  John 20:3-8 (NKJ) “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple (John), and were going to the tomb.  So they both ran together, and the other disciple (John) outran Peter and came to the tomb first.  And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb;  and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple (John), who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he say and believed.

I love this glimpse in the Bible that reveals to us Jesus’ character.  Jesus could have jumped out of the grave shouting “I’m Alive!  I’m Alive!”  Tearing the grave clothes off of him and leaving them in a heap on the ground.  But, no, it says that the clothes were folded, and it wasn’t until John saw that the clothes were folded that he believed that Jesus was truly raised from the dead.  This shows us that was a natural part of Jesus character; it was a “way of life” for him.

Aren’t we to have the character of Christ?

In my business I hear people say all the time, “I don’t have time for….!”  My question to them is how much time do you think it takes?  Can you make the time?  Do you want to make the time?  If it’s truly something that you want to do, we all have time. We just have to make the time or find the time that is lost in the course of our day.  I always like to ask this question, “What is your biggest Waste of Time?”  Many respond that television is their biggest waste of time.  Even if you don’t watch TV, many of us waste time on other things like playing computer games or unproductive chatter on the phone or computer.  Don’t be afraid to look down deep and see what your biggest waste of time is.  You may find more time right there. 

How do you create a schedule to get control of your life?

1. Grab a sheet of paper and right down all the rooms in your home, and don’t forget the outside (garage included). 

2. Walk around your house and right down what needs to be done in that room.

You should have just broken them down into categories such as dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc.

3. Write down the days of the week Example: Sunday through Friday.  Give yourself a day off to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

4. Under each day right down your priorities, these are the things that have to be done that day. Example:  School, Work, Meals, Piano Lessons, Community Service, etc.

5. Now comes the hard part.  Pick one day a week that you want to do your shopping, One day to do your laundry.  One day to Mop your Floors (I like to do this on Friday that way they are clean for the weekend).  Make sure these things aren’t all the same day.  Example:  On Wednesday I do my laundry and on Thursday I do my shopping.  I don’t go to the store any other day but Thursday unless we can’t live with out it.  You may be surprised what you can live with out for a day or two if you stick with this.  Don’t forget to keep a shopping list.  I have a magnetic shopping list on my fridge that I add things to that will need to be picked up on the next shopping trip.  My family knows if it’s not on the shopping list; don’t expect me to buy it.  My husband has gone 2 weeks using the same razor because he didn’t put razors on the list. This may be a learning process for your family as well.

5.  Now comes the details.  Here is an example of My Monday:  6:30 am Wake up and wake the kids up.  Go to the bathroom and do my morning devotions (I know, too much information, but I’m not wasting my time). 7am   prepare Breakfast. 7:15 Eat with my family while my husband leads in family devotions.  8am make sure lunches are packed, and backpacks are ready for school, teeth and hair a brushed.  Leave for school at 8:30 .  9am drop kids off at school and head to the gym.  Work out until 10:30 .  Go home 11am clean breakfast dishes, wipe down counters, and prepare lunch.  12pm Eat lunch and check emails. 1pm (Warm weather if not raining) Mow lawn and weed eat. If indoor activities are required, clean Refrigerator, Oven, and Microwave.  After those things are done I have Free time. 3:30pm leave to pick up children from school. 4pm pick up children.  4:30 arrive at home and begin dinner preparation.     5:30 Eat Dinner.  6pm Clean up dinner dishes wipe down table and chairs.  6:30 – 9:30 Family time (Homework, baths, devotions, etc.)

Now your Day may look different from mine, but this gives you an idea of how to break it down.  I find if you clean as you go, it’s not as overwhelming to do it all at once.

Tip: Open your mail when you get it from the mail box.  Throw away the junk, have a place for your bills, and when you read it, if you don’t think you will read it again, either throw it away or recycle it. 

Here is my general chore list through out the course of the week.  This is open to change.  Sunday is Family day and my day to work my business.  Monday is out side work if I can, and doing those odd things that many times get neglected.  Tuesday is Community service day and the day I clean my Car.  Wednesday is Laundry day.  I don’t go to bed until the last load is dried, fold, and put away.  Thursday is Grocery shopping day and the day I do all of my dusting.  Friday is preparation Day for Saturday. On Friday I make all of my meals for Saturday so all they need is heated or baked.  I sweep and mop my floors.  I clean the Bathroom. I change the Bed Sheets (tip: do this when you crawl out of bed first thing in the morning).  Saturday is my Day of Rest.  The Cycle starts again.

The Basic foundation of my list never changes.  My seasons change.  For Example You may have a doctors appointment or an emergency arise.  I always try to schedule my appointment into my free time.

Having a structure to your day can truly bring you peace.  I know, I’ve lived in chaos and it’s not very peaceful.

Here are some scripture to post throughout your home to remind you of the peace you want to achieve in your home:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NIV)  “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”

John 14:27 (NIV) words of Jesus “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Proverbs 14:30a (NIV) “A heart at peace gives life to the body.”