Here we are at our final week of the Simply Nesting challenge. Thank you for coming along, friends.
I have something different for you this week. While there are still many areas of my home that could use simplification and a good clean-out (oh, let's see...the bedroom, kids' dressers, refrigerator, master closet...), I've decided to end our challenge focusing on an area that may perhaps be of the greatest importance in a mother's life. More critical than a clean closet, an organized pantry, or a simplified utility space, is a de-cluttered life in the way that matters most: that is, in heart and mind.
What I have learned the last four times I've been blessed with a new baby is that structure, schedule, and simplification in the home makes a huge difference in welcoming a newborn, but more than anything, it is how I'm prepared in the thoughts of my mind and the meditations of my heart that seem to most greatly affect this, and other seasons of my life.
Simply stated, we must not think that providing a blessed nest for our little additions only involves cleanliness and comfort...a mother surrendered to the Lord may be the sweetest nest of all.
So, this week, feel free to de-clutter and simplify your messy drawers, pack up unused items for donation, and clean out your refrigerators. I will be. But, more importantly, let's give deliberate time and thought to how we might de-clutter our lives...our minds...and simplify our hearts to focus on what's really important.
THOUGHTS TO GET THE JOB DONE...
1. If you desire to be driven by the worship of God, how is that reflected in your daily routine?
2. What does your current routine reveal as your greatest priorities? Are they the priorities that are informed by the Word of God?
3. If your mind is a (junk) drawer, what things are superfluous, and really need to be weeded out.
4. Does your time on the computer help you focus, or does it clutter your thoughts? While resources like the internet, blogs, and websites offer helpful information, does your time on the computer suggest that you should choose more wisely which ones are most worth your time?
5. Does social networking online simplify or clutter? Does the time spent "connecting" result in greater focus, or less? Determine what is the appropriate amount of time and energy to be used in this arena.
6. What does your mind meditate on most throughout the day? Worries? To-do lists? Material things? Scripture? Prayer? The Gospel truths? What changes can you make so that your mind meditates on fruitful thoughts?
7. Does caring for your home, family, responsibilities feel like an obligation or a privilege? In what ways could you cultivate a more thankful heart in your daily routine?
8. Take out the trash! What sinful thoughts and tendencies can be mortified today, acknowledging the finished work of Christ on your behalf?
9. If your heart was a closet, are you storing up treasures in heaven, or are they earthly?
10. A complete remodel, rather than a surface cleaning, is what our hearts really need: apply the truth of the Gospel as the means for all change.
We will link up on Friday once again, but this time, I encourage you to perhaps consider writing a post that addresses an area of your life you'd like to seek discipline and de-clutter in. You can be as vulnerable or as vague as you'd like to be, but I'd love the opportunity to hear your response to nesting in this way this week...and to pray for you in your struggles and victories.
Thanks for letting me speak to the heart, and for sharing what ultimately matters most.