Throwing Out the To Do List

Happy Monday!

This has been a wonderful week. Much has changed from the being an overwhelmed being running around like I was in the Hunger Games. 

The last several days were permeated with a sense of life and moments of true peace.

Each day upon waking I gave the day to God. Before I lifted my head from the pillow I asked Him what needed to be done. Then I waited until everything on my to do list became clear and I had an idea of priorities. I still made a list each night of things that needed to be accomplished, but rather than going it alone, I give that list a once over with God in mind. A couple days I tossed the list out all together in lieu of unplanned activities, a couple days it went just as planned (surprisingly) and the others it was a little of both. However, when including God on my daily planning ritual, it worked out considerable better. My house seemed to stay clean with little effort and my children helped without being bribed or threatened. I had some much needed time to spend with my mom which hasn't happened in months and was nowhere on my to-do list. 

See God really knows what I need to thrive not just survive. 

Some friends took my children and I to see "Moana" (really fun!) And last night our volunteer project for church went smoothly. There was one minor hiccup, but it was rectified almost immediately.

I may actually like this whole "letting God in" routine. In the past each morning I would wake up and ask God what He wanted me to do in my world today and then I would go about my business. Somewhere along the way this practice ceased and life took over. It is so easy to let good routines slip away and let negligent patterns and faulty thinking take over. While my laundry is still a little behind, my truck needed repairs, my children still haven't finished school, and I did not made it to the grocery store yesterday, life has been good to me this week. Each of these occurrences would have been a huge wrench in my planning, they didn't seem to throw off God's plan. There will always be laundry, that's just life; my truck was fixed with the help of my brother and my dad; we will get school done today, hopefully; and there is still plenty of food in the house.

Since beautiful things inspire me, I drew out (literally) a task list for the week. Decidedly choosing one task to accomplish each day, will hopefully be an easy way to create a routine with God's help. The list is simple, after considering what is going on, where I will be each day and keeping in mind my goal to allow God in, I chose to clean one room in my house each day. Moving furniture to vacuum, clearing clutter from shelves, tossing out unused items and taking it one day at a time.

Here's to a beautiful week, celebrating life with my husband and daughters, finding small moments of peace and relying on my Savior.

Have a wonderful week, smile at a stranger and hug a friend.
Merry Almost Christmas.

To Plan or Not to Plan

When to let go of that schedule and let life happen.

Plans are made to be broken, or is it rules. Either way nothing this year has gone according to my plan. So, God may have thought all this through and has a genius objective hiding somewhere out of my sight, but until its full disclosure I walk with blind faith. Not for big picture points but for an everyday awareness that I am not in control. I have not been in control even when I felt as though it was all playing out just the way it had been arranged to. Like an orchestra that flows from one sound to the next with ease, this way my life last year. But 2016 has brought an entirely different production to the stage. 

Still remaining encouraged, still praying, still hoping, and yet disconnected in a way that is unprecedented, I move forward.

The Lord of all the universe has seen the depth of the situation and knows where this road turns, ends and merges into the next. As I continue on this adventure with God I will write the thoughts and the ideas that help me move day to day in hopes to clarify for myself and help others facing similar circumstances. Together, with God, I will walk onto the next path better and wiser. In the meantime, I will continue to plan with the help of God, ask for His guidance, and watch as things go in a terribly different direction than what I put on paper. 

Daily tasks will be thoughtfully penned onto pretty notebook paper, cleaning lists will so carefully be constructed, menus arranged and groceries bought, all to find that life throws curve balls and almost none of this will go as I thought. 

So join me as I figure out how to let some of that type A personality slowly adapt into a calmer, free flowing spirit that can plan just as easily as go with the flow. 

This year has taught me that it imperative to have a plan, but that life can happen when you least expect it. Today I will write in my home binder all the things that need to be accomplished and then I will allow freedom for exchanges and substitutions of these carefully drawn outlines to life. It is okay to let my husband bring home popcorn chicken and eat it around the coffee table as we sing Christmas carols instead of sticking to a rigid schedule of always eating our meals at the dining room table like a proper family. One day I will find a balance between planning and letting go, but today I will just step out and trust God's plan more than my own. 

Always,

Stephanie