Organized Living

I recently read an article about a prominent U.K. scientist who says he has proof that there has been no global warming over the past 15 years. That information could have earned him a Nobel Prize. Instead that award is hanging around Al Gore's neck.

Why did he choose not to share this information? In his own words, this scientist admitted that an overall lack of organization, and his poor record keeping and office-tidying skills had contributed to his reluctance to share data with critics, which he now regrets.*

Regret. Disappointment. Poor decision-making. The list could go on.

Sadly, for many of us, we are in the same boat as this scientist. Our lack of organization keeps us from the life we want to have. Or the dreams. Or the rewards.

It doesn't have to be that way. God never intended for us to live our lives in disorganized chaos. But that's how we live, and all the self-help, follow-these-steps, do-this-program type books that fill shelves upon shelves in the bookstores won't help us straighten up. Why not? Because it's not about the how of organization, it's about the who - Who God is, Who you are, and Who God's called you to be.

Not that I'm out to diss (or is it dish?) those wonderful people whose heart and passion is to help others become organized through the books they've written. I'm not. I love those books just as much as anyone else! The problem is that these books only focus on the external circumstances and don't delve into the internal understanding of the problem.

Let me explain in a way that we may all be able to relate:

Have you ever watched TV shows like What Not to Wear and Clean Sweep? Those are two of my favorites and I never get tired of watching them transform people's lives, wardrobes, and houses into something almost magical. The problem with these shows is that they only help fix up the outer/external appearance of the person or their home. They don't really help these people deal with the inner, heart issues that got them on the TV show in the first place. When you're watching the show it seems like these people have their act altogether now. But what if you were to visit them 6 months to a year after they were on the show? Would they really look or act the same, or would they have gone back to their old habits?

I'm sure we can guess what happened to them. Although their outer appearance got a makeover, they skipped the internal makeover that would allow them to keep their transformation going. Odds are they probably went back to their old way of dressing or filled their well-decorated house with new clutter.

It's the same with organizing our lives. It's not about how-to clean out the clutter in 5 easy steps. It's about realizing that organization starts on the inside of the messy person -- me and you.

Although we may have messes we think we'll never dig out from under, I want to encourage you that it doesn't have to be that way and I want to show you why. Over the next several weeks, I'm going to post what I believe are the true answers to an organized life. There will be no quick-fixes, no easy tips; just truth from God's Word that will offer us the hope we need to straighten out our lives, and maybe even a drawer or two!

I hope you'll join me as we take on this adventure. It may cause you to see things in a new light, but I promise the results will be well worth the journey. Are you with me?




* quoted from Fox News.com article
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/15/global-warming-insignificant