*Shrinkwrap*

So I have this book that I purchased a long time ago called Living Organized. I planned on reading it at some point, mostly because clutter is something I struggle with and it stresses me so much I absolutely hate it. I have long thought that living a minimalist lifestyle would suite me perfectly because I am not a materialistic person at all. I enjoy being able to go places and do things with my family but I also love being a homebody and love the simple pleasures that a hot cup of herbal tea and a good book provide. Life is so amazing yet we complicate it with so much junk that it becomes distracting. Even in the home we feel like we have to hang tons of pictures on the wall, photographs of family and friends, anything we can do to personalize it or make it our own. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that but if it becomes a struggle for you to get out of bed and clean, if being around the house depresses you to the point that you have to get up and leave or make excuses to not be home... more likely than not you are feeling the stress of having too much clutter surrounding your space. I do not function well in an environment when it is unorganized. Whenever I was younger I would sit at my desk at home and organize it perfectly. I would put everything in the drawers, stack books and papers neatly, everything would have a place and had to be a specific way. My whole room could be a heaping mess but my desk would be perfect. Maybe I focused on the desk so much because it was the one thing I could control, the largeness of the space that surrounded me made it more difficult to master the whole room, but this one thing... my desk, I could manage. 

I remember it would drive my mom nuts... she would come upstairs to my bedroom and just dump everything out of my dressers, she would make 1 huge pile on the floor, whether it was toys, clothes anything really. Then she would have me go through it all in 1 exhausting day and get rid of things I didn't use. It was helpful for the moment but before too long another holiday would come around and I'd have that many more things... THINGS. What is that word? Why do we use it to describe items that we'd rather not name individually? I looked up the word things in the dictionary and this is what I found it to say:

1.

a material object without life or consciousness; an inanimate object.

2.

some entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described: The stick had a brass thing on it.

3.

anything that is or may become an object of thought: things of the spirit.

4.

things, matters; affairs: Things are going well now.

5.

a fact, circumstance, or state of affairs: It is a curious thing.

What struck me the most is number 2. cannot be specifically designated or precisely described. Wow, that's kind of sad if you think about it. If something has value or means something to us then wouldn't you be able to describe it? In a sense this exercise kind of gave me some perspective on how we place material value on things of this world. If you have money, you can buy things... THINGS. You often here people say, if I won the lottery I could have any*thing* I want. Well then name it right? What is your hearts desire? I know that my own heart desires to be closer to God and to remain focused on Him and not the things of this world. The Bible says 1 JOHN 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. This is a great verse that I often need reminded of. Thank you Jesus for the love you extend to me so graciously without reserve. I ask that I'm able to walk through my home and recognize those things which are of this world. I pray that I might consider removing the clutter that surrounds my life so that I may walk closer with you. I long for the quiet moments we spend together. I desire to be calm in my spirit and to have a fuller heart of your love. Please direct me in the path of the righteous and cleanse me of the wrongful desires of this world. Help me to fill the emptiness with you God, only you. Amen