An Everyday Way to Bless Others

How many of these statements can you identify with?

o I’d like to find more time to spend together as a family.
o I struggle to find the right balance between my job and my home.
o I frequently seem so tired.
o How can I fit time in to spend with my husband?
o I’d like to serve in ministry opportunities, but where do I find the time with all my other responsibilities?
I offer no magic wand  which solves any of these problems completely, but there is one skill that will address a major contributing factor to these challenges:
Organization
Organization: a way to ‘work smart’; it simply means a method for greatest efficiency.

Consider:
A wise woman organizes time, possessions and activities with the goal of enabling and blessing others .

According to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns 15+ mins. a day- roughly 3 weeks a year- looking for things they know they own but can't find.
(Newsweek, 6/7/04)

What is to be gained if I Get Organized? (the 5 A’s)

1) Achievement – Gateway to greater opportunity for using time & resources
2) Accessibility – Knowledge & ease of locating what you need when you need it
3) Aesthetics – Your surroundings will look more pleasing, reflect order & comfort
4) Avoidance –
• Frustration of not locating what you need, of wasting time to eventually find it
• Wasting money by having to purchase what you already had but couldn’t find
5) Availability: Gain time for what you deem is truly important

Self Check (or Why should I care about being organized?)

1). Is God honored by the way I maintain my home? Do I avoid both extremes of hyper-concern for all things orderly AND little concern for anything orderly?

2) Is my husband pleased (not just ‘used to’) but happy with how I keep my home?

3) Would I be embarrassed if a neighbor had to come into the front door of my home at a moment’s notice to help w/something? (Should I be?!)

4) Are my children ashamed or hesitant to bring friends into our home?

5) Am I able to entertain or have house guests with only a few hours of cleaning, as opposed to a few days?

What is my Goal?
~to enable and bless others

Everyone has a calling/role/ responsibility in their life: a child; a husband; self, others outside our homes and/or within;
Our organization (what WE do) can influence others in their callings; both those closest to us & beyond!
Our orderliness can both….
o Enable others (assist, help, make easier, facilitate)
o Bless others (encourage, inspire, make task more pleasant, smooth the way)

Does the way I run my home, my life, enable and bless others to more easily and more pleasantly fulfill their calling?
Does my organization of time, stuff and activities allow me to bless others?

As God continues to do His work of sanctification (growth) in me, the fruit of orderliness, peace, and the freedom to minister to/for others should blossom.

I’ll suggest some practical strategies to get started with in my next post….