Brain-Washing...

My steno pad can hold so many ideas, thoughts, recipes, and more.

           



           Every day I make a To Do list. I have a steno pad just for this purpose. It is the perfect size. It will fit in a book bag easily and can be dropped in the crack between the center console and the drivers seat in the car. I leave it open to the page I am on and I can use it all day. I can also write any notes I might need on the other side or flip a page. I will sometimes use it to write down a recipe I want to try or a phone number of someone I want to call. As long as I am using that pad of paper I have the info in there. When I am done with a pad, I will thumb through it and pull anything out of it anything I might  want. Sometimes I will pull out stuff I don't need and throw the used pad in a bottom drawer in my desk if it has info I may need later (conversation with an insurance man, or notes on the car repair).
             I will open the pad to a new page for the day and visually cut the page into 4 sections. From the top left, TO DO. Top right, TO CALL. Bottom left TO GO/APPT (appointments). Bottom right, TO BUY.
              To Do is pretty self explanatory. The To Buy isn't my whole grocery list or Target run, although I may write -See List under there if there is a big shopping list for today. Mostly it is for the odd items that you remember at odd times. Like," Prizes for kids at church."  Nail polish remover. something you may not go for today but, put on the big list later. Or it might be an item you get all by itself, like stamps. To Call I might  put in any e-mails I need to send or answer as well. To Go/Appt is just that. Where I need to go. Whether I have several stops and don't want to forget to pick up dry cleaning or it is an appointment I have that day, either out of the house or a service person to come. It can be a reminder of the time my son's writing class is, or what time the dentist appointment is.
              Well, like most of you, I don't always get everything done on the list everyday. In fact there is never enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done. Right? Well, my husband and I are really working on our relationship with God and what he wants for us to do with the time he has blessed us with. It is really hard to do everything else much less fit in what I need to do to grow in Christ. So tonight we went to bible study. It was about managing my time. I wanted to laugh. It talked about writing a time journal just like you would do a food journal if you were on a diet. I am thinking, are you kidding? Didn't you hear me I don't have time. I have a husband, 4 kids, I home school and I don't have a house keeper. Did I mention I have 4 kids and one of them is 2!? When will I have time to write down all of the stuff I do all day!!?? How detailed do you think I should do it? Little girl has a runny nose because she is cutting her 2 year molars. Do you have any idea how much time I spend in a day wiping noses? Really. It is a  lot of time. Well, I am still working on that in my mind but, I did really glean a big nugget of information that I will use starting tomorrow morning.
               I have read that there are 5 purposes for our life. They are to worship, to fellowship, to discipleship, to serve others and to share Jesus. It occurred to me that I remember a teacher in school doing the pickle jar visual years ago. It goes something like this. You put bigger rocks in the jar until it is full. These are the things that God wants you to do. Read His word, pray.  Then you say yes it is full. Then you put in the small pebbles, being careful to shake them into the crevices. These are your "have to's". Now the jar is for sure full. Then you pick up the sand and shake it into every empty crack in the jar. These are the things that come up that aren't planned for. A cold, flat tire, helping a friend pick up her kids, making dinner for a sick friend. Now the jar couldn't be any fuller. Now you put in the water. Slowly and steady until the jar is now full. This is all of the time you have left to do the things you want to do. Recreation. You would be surprised how much you can fit into your "full day" when you put things in their proper order. If you will put God first the rest will fit right in.
             Tomorrows To Do list will have 5 new things on it.

1. Worship - I can turn on a CD while the kids and I do chores in the morning. That will put us in the proper frame of mind. 
2.  Fellowship- that one is easy for me. On 2 days a week we are at the church working with other believers. On the others I talk on the phone to my dear friend who encourages and challenges me to stretch and be radical. Not to mention all of the other friends and family I talk to and visit with daily. 
3. Discipleship
4. Serve others- this one is going to take some thought. What can I do for someone today that will serve them? Make a meal to take to someone? Bake cookies to share with a lonely neighbor? Send a thoughtful note to a busy and overwhelmed friend.
5. Share Jesus- My hardest. Who can I share the gospel with today? I heard that the longer you are a Christian the less amount of unchurched friends you have. Also, the less likely you are to tell someone else the Good News. (That one scared me. That is complacency.) I guess I should just look around and start speaking up. I can share the gospel anywhere I go.  A neighbor, the check out guy at Trader Joe's  ( here we come Mr. Ken). 

My To Do list is my brain. This is a way for me to "wash " it. Who says brain washing is always bad? I'd rather have clean thoughts than dirty ones!