Organization...is it Biblical?

Happy Wednesday! I pray this post finds you happy and healthy on this glorious Fall day. My topic today is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I have actually found some evidence to back me up :-) Stay with me!

Organization is a huge part of my life. Yes, there are people more organized than me, but the thrill I get out of organizing my pantry, color-coding our closet (or my son's), alphabetizing our DVDs, checking off my daily cleaning duties on my daily cleaning chart, or re-organizing the freezer again and again knows no bounds. There are so many other parts of my life that I love to organize...I just don't have the time to list them. You get the point, right? I love it. It's part of who I am, and if I am a daughter of the King, then it's part of who He is!

Some have told me this is the "controlling/type A" personality that consumes me. Obviously, this was not a compliment :-) Perhaps! But, fellow organization-loving mommies, is this such a bad thing? Order is good. Routine is helpful. At the very least, knowing where all of our junk is simply makes me smile. I've decided to stop apologizing. I've decided to embrace my obsessive need to straighten under a cabinet and then stand back and marvel at my accomplishment (come on...you know you love to look at a job well done, again and again!). That being said, I needed to do some sleuthing. Check out what I found in His Word! Let's start with my favorite:

"But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 1 Corinthians 14:40

Can I get an Amen, sisters?! Yes, Paul was giving instruction the church in Corinth on how to properly run a church, but if God adamantly wants order in His place of worship, why would He not want it in our homes?

"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money." Matthew 25:14-18

I share this passage because organization is a talent, a gift even. There are many areas where I am not gifted, but I can celebrate that the Lord chose to give me the gift of order and organization. This parable (a fictional story meant to teach a deeper lesson) gives an analogy of God giving either financial prosperity or talents/gifts to each person, according to his/her ability. If you finish the passage (through verse 30), you will see that the master (a.k.a. God) is quite pleased with the first and second servant who double their money, meaning they put their talent/gift to good use and saw a return on the way they invested their abilities. With the third servant, he is quite displeased. A talent wasted is a slap in the face to God. I love the saying...A talent is God's gift to you. What you do with that talent is your gift to God. Beautiful :-) You may wonder how the talent of organization can bless others. The next time your husband asks where his latest copy of Honda Tuning might be, just thank they Lord He gave you the brains to make a super cute magazine pile near the front window!

Finally, think about the planet that where we all dwell. Think about plants, animals, oceans, and deserts. Think about the solar system. Think about the seasons. Think about our bodies. Think about the miracle that made you a momma. He is a God of order. One step leads to the next, which leads to the next, and the next. Sometimes His order is incredibly simple. Sometimes, His order is so complex that the human mind cannot comprehend its magnitude. The first chapter of our Holy Bible explains the seven days that the Lord took to create the world. He had a predestined, planned set of affairs for each day.

To me, this is all evidence that we do not worship a God of chaos. We worship a God of order. So, sweet mommas, celebrate your compulsion to organize the laundry room, put your Facebook photos into chronological albums, alphabetize your children's books, and perfectly tab each book of the Bible. After all, you wouldn't want to waste a talent! Be blessed today and everyday :-)

MMSM #49

Have you canceled cable (like I previously suggested), and now you're dying to catch up with your favorite shows? Check out Netflix or Hulu. We're trying to decide between the two for the winter! They give you tons of movie choices and TV series for way less than cable. And if you have the right equipment (an Xbox, Playstation, etc.), you can stream them right to your TV. Not a bad deal for less than $10 per month!

 

Tip #36

Because I LOVE consignment sales, I like to shop ahead. I keep a running supply of clothes my son will eventually need. I organize them into sizes in a closet in our guest room. When your little one's pants start getting a bit too spandexy or start to look like capri pants, you can go visit your closet for great deals you already found, instead of frantically buying too expensive outfits at the store!