organization

Well.
Here we are.
Nearly one month into 2019.
How did that even happen?!

In some regards it feels like it was Christmas just yesterday. And in other ways it feels like an entire year has passed in these 28 days. Am I the only one who feels that?!
This year has already kicked my butt.

But this year has already changed me too, in just 28 days. No, I’m not exercising every day or eating healthy (quite the contrary for both!😳) but I am 10 times more organized than I was when 2018 ended! I started this year off with a bang by vowing to meal plan one month at a time and by creating Daily To Do Lists for my kids on the Wunderlist App (I get no reimbursement for that but it has been a life saver for this homeschooloing mom!) I wake up and take time to create 3 of my own lists, as inspired by my friend Melissa, the last of which is my daily To Do List. I create these in my bullet journal that my niece, Kate, gave me because she already knows how my brain works, and then they look pretty and I get to mark them off when I’m done and feel super accomplished! I have other small goals that I have integrated into my calendar to help me achieve them over a long term basis and also so that they don’t get lost in this crazy life or forgotten because my brain often forgets...all things.

And BOOM!! Ten times more organized than last month!
And can I just tell you how grateful I am that all of those habits started up in the beginning of 2019, because about a week into 2019, we took on a challenge that God put before us which made our lives 2x (minimum!) busier than it was a month ago and suddenly all of those organization habits became necessary for sanity and survival!!

However, the most valuable habit that I put into place was my nighttime prayer. I tend to have constant conversations with God throughout the day, but they can to be “back burner” prayers, or one sentence momentary prayers. Things such as, “Jesus, I’m about to lose it right now. Please keep me sane.”  Or, “I’m not in the mood for this so please give me the strength to handle it.” I often thank Him for beautiful sights, like the hills on a sunny day or even just to thank him for the sunshine because I’m not a fan of fog, gloominess, or overcast days. But again, these are my “here and there” prayers.

So I started my intentional nighttime prayer, which I used to do years ago in high school and college. When the rest of the house is tired or asleep and I’m ready to go to bed, I’m climb into my fuzzy blanket and start a conversation with God. We recap the day, talk about struggles and worries, and touch on the next day (but not too much because then my brain starts to get going and that’s not good for my brain...) And then He always tells me the same thing: let it go, let it go! And yes, the melody of that song goes through my head every. stinking. night.

But I tell you what: it works! I let it go and tell myself to trust the Bigger, Better Guy who has it all under control. He reminds me to take it one day at a time. And if I do that, I can handle each day as it comes.

I might have my little tricks to staying organized and keeping my sanity, but God’s got things organized on a much bigger scale. And my little self is so glad that He does.

KC