Regina 
Organizing a life can be one of the hardest things we ever do. I am so thankful our Good Father found it pleasing to give us a Good Book, the Bible, chalked full of all the instruction we would ever need to organize a beautiful life. When we set Scripture down on our path, it’s like taking a lit candlestick and setting it upon a dark field, the more candles you light the brighter the way gets. The more you see so as to understand truth, the more you live truth. And isn’t that what we desire most… to live out the living Words of our God?
So while all those 6 steps to blah-blah-blah articles can be a tad impractical… We all know that life is simply not that simple (warm grin), still I desired to share with you a few things I pretty much do everyday that allow my life to run smoothly. I didn’t say perfectly and that is critical to note. There isn’t perfection in any life but Christ’s {praise Him}! The things we will discuss are combination of things that help me develop in different aspects of life, because we are whole people after all. I believe the epitome of all things is the glory of Christ in it. Sometimes though it can be easy to forget that the Lord cares for and tends to all aspects of us. Where we are in relationship with Christ defines *everything* else. This relationship with our Creator remains the focus so we don’t take the other stuff and turn it into an idol. Are you trekking with me?
Now before I get to full out list making and chatting casually with you I am going to go ahead and attempt to debunk legalism here. If our relationship with Jesus defines every other aspect of our lives including all our disciplines, preferences, callings, interests then there is no room for legalism, there is no space for pride, and no place for insecurity. Our lists won’t be exactly the same, and that is ok because we are unique people. There will be irrefutable similarities among Christ followers, because we are all studying the same book (warm smile) and seeking the only God, but the calls, flow, and pace of our lives are different. I am not trying to give you another burdensome useless set of rules to follow, simply sharing what the Lord has taught me to do as pattern in my life. Take what might be of use and leave the rest. Get to know anyone and you’ll find out they are pretty weird (incredulous smile)… So if you leave thinking hmmm (eyebrows raised) “she’s different,” well… now you know how to pray for my husband (laughing smile). Here we go…
- Read Scripture. I do not know by what grace Jesus saved me and folded me into the story of God’s redemptive plan. I am just a recipient of this lavish favor, like many of you. God the Holy Spirit is my teacher, and if you are indeed in Christ, He is yours as well. The Lord teaches us when we come to His Word with the sole purpose of knowing Him. Hear me when I say, it is not always or mostly quiet when I put my nose in the Word. This morning some random voice read Scripture to me as I was tending to a sick little one. It’s a relationship; it’s not the same everyday but there is a pattern. It is your pattern of life that will dictate your depth of relationship with God. Search the Scripture and see if that’s true. Wasn’t it Moses pattern to meet with God? Didn’t He know the will of God, because He was diligent to come to God? Wasn’t it Abraham’s pattern to believe God? Didn’t He inherit the promises, because He was full of faith? The pattern is most revealing of reality. Remember when Proverbs says all a man’s ways seem pure in His own eyes. When we evaluate ourselves, we often approve of ourselves, but we are not a good judge. Paul said, I don’t know of anything I’m doing wrong, but I am not acquitted because of that. Our own assessments of ourselves often color a prettier picture than our real lives display. If you want to evaluate where you are ask God to do that work. Pray as the Psalmist of Psalm 139 Search my heart, oh God…. And then look at the patterns in your life. If the rhythm of life does not lend itself to regular Bible reading, it doesn’t matter how we feel, we do not know God as well as we assume. For me, I read the Bible each morning, because I do not know how else to make it in life. I am not saying that for dramatic effect; I am saying it, because I mean it with my heart. 1 Timothy teaches us that discipline for the purpose of godliness has value for the present life and the life to come, and I experience that value each day as I keep these disciplines of grace. If I could persuade you to engage in any one thing everyday it would be this… ENJOY God’s perfect Word.
- Pray a lot about everything all the time. There’s nothing like talking with God and pressing your ear up to His Word to listen to Him. Pray God’s Word and in doing so you will pray His will. His Words are trustworthy and can instruct our prayers if we let them. In a typical day the kids & I pray for meal times, ambulances driving by, daddy’s day at work, & a thousand little somethings in between. To fellowship with God means we must open ourselves up to Him and let Him lead our days. In the Old Testament book of Numbers the presence of the Lord guides the Israelites through the wilderness with a cloud by day and fire by night. He moved them from place to place. Today the Lord does this same thing by the Holy Spirit, but we can quench the Spirit and even grieve Him. Let’s be careful not to do that. Spend time each week in prayer and fasting. These disciplines create an attachment to God that is beautiful and needful in each of our lives.
- Serve your family sincerely starting with your husband. You are a wife first. Model that in every part of your life; what a deep blessing to offer our children, a real example of Christ’s love and relationship with the church. I get ready for Chris. I anticipate him. Often after laboring through a day with three small children, I can get disheveled in heart. Sinful attitudes creep in, and I try to deal with them all quickly, but before he comes through that door I like to reevaluate. Too many times I fail miserably at this and all the mess of my day pours out. That’s usually when I go at it without prayer, without resting on what Jesus has done for me. Other times the Lord performs that miracle of heart that I so desperately need in order to offer my husband some real good. Also, I try to get our home and our children in a happy state, so that he can be blessed by meals louder with laughter than tears. There is no perfection in this, and it certainly not a science, but it is a blessing more often than not. Hear me well though, the baby is still going to throw a fussy fit when he’s done eating dinner. The big kids are still going to spill drinks sometimes, struggle with interrupting some and the like, but when there’s intentionality it shows and it blesses. Even simple things like fixing your hair, putting on make-up can help your husband to see that you desire to be pleasing to him. No matter what our guys’ individual preferences, I promise you, he likes it when you are put together, most of all, in heart.
- Eat well. I almost didn’t include this, because propping our manner eating up as an ideal is just not my thing. This is different for every family and there are budgets, I know. I feel you completely on the budget thing. This is deeply personal, but I want to share my life with you and eating is a big part of it. Of course, to ease your mind this post was written on two separate evenings when I had eaten too many chocolate chip cookies (silly smile). In all seriousness though, eat well. You don’t have to adhere to any certain food philosophy and, of course,it’s just fine if you do. The point here is if you put junk into your body, you’re going to get junk out of your body. Food can affect your mood, mental ability, energy level, and more. (Just a Tip: If there are more than five or so ingredients in the list and you cannot pronounce half of them — helpful hint? It is not food. It is what my husband calls food product; we all eat some food product when we eat out or what have you, but we probably shouldn’t eat a ton of it… you know?). Eat more whole foods (AKA: one ingredient in the list). Buy an apple… the ingredient is Apple. Voila, whole food. You will feel better. Try to avoid the dirty dozen if your budget allows and shop in season. For example, strawberries are on the dirty dozen list and organic strawberries can really break the bank, so when they are out of season we just don’t buy them. They are our favorite fruit just to give a little glimpse into how important it is to us to eat food that is not inundated with pesticide residue. When strawberries are in season they are usually $1.00 or so more than regular, and trust me you can afford the extra dollar just skip the local coffee shop once a week (that’s an extra dollar for each week of the month). Organic can be affordable, and I really want you to know that. It just takes a little effort, but this is not law here. This is just what I do. My little list. It just helps me, maybe it will help you (warm smile)?
- Exercise often, BUT if you are prone to addiction or have struggled with any type of disorder in this realm, please create healthy boundaries and gather accountability to yourself to avoid such strongholds taking root again. There’s all sorts of grace for all of us here. Even if we haven’t struggled with a disorder of some kind most have been a little too interested in the scale. We all have felt the tension in this area as women. Our culture sees to it that we feel pretty inadequate, but we don’t have to feel that way. I know, because I don’t feel that way. We can be happy in who God made us to be. We really can. All that said in sincerity, friend. Typically though, in our culture we are too sedentary, and it isn’t good for us. We need to move our bodies and work them well for our health and energy. Scripture plainly teaches us physical discipline is of some value. This has been the absolute hardest discipline with three kiddos. For me, when I had two it was somewhat easy to manage, but the third sent me for a loop. The deciding factor finally was me just deciding, no matter what, this is going to happen. Much of discipline is just like that, a resolve. Practically, I treat working out as a second fiddle to my time in Scripture. I try to do it in the morning hours. Today I felt tired, but my resolve is set so I worked out anyway. Afterward my body felt energized, strengthened physically for the day. We don’t need as much coffee as we think (knowing smile).
- Set simple goals and often have a theme for the day (i.e. Monday’s are laundry/cleaning, Tuesday/Thursday are errands). I love this discipline, because it gives everyday focus and clarity. When I fail to do this with my days, I can feel a bit aimless. Many days contain repeats from the day before (like Bible/Prayer Time each morning, Getting Ready Time, Meal times, Wisdom & Learning Time with my children), but there’s always a few hours each day within which something can be accomplished. I like a theme/goal/deadline for those hours. It can be work or it can be fun, I just like to know its purpose. Maybe that’s too much the planner for you, but it helps me (grin).
So there are a few other things I would like to share with you, but for real it is almost midnight and I’m burning the oil down to the last drop after hosting a Super Bowl party here in our home. I hope this was of some encouragement. Listen, I can be an idealist, glass half full type, but trust you me I have seen my fair share of trials and harder than hard times, the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible reading and serving my family have seen me through those times. I can take some of these to the bank y’all, and they will change your life.
So many of you, I have never laid the first eye on, but I want you to know, really know, you are loved and prayed for here. Couldn’t be more grateful for this Smiles of Grace family.
