Order From Chaos

Today marks 1 full week into the new year. Can you believe it? Craziness.
Anyway, I have a few New Year's resolutions which include regular blogging, no biting my nails, and smiling more. But my #1 New Years' resolution isn't health/weight/diet related like 90% of most people. (Though I could stand to refine that aspect of my life a bit more...)
My resolution is simple: to achieve order and maintain it joyfully. Simple but certainly NOT easy. The intent was mostly practical but then I remembered my spiritual director years ago say to me, "Theresa, exterior disorder reflects interior chaos..." Which is as true today as it was 8 years ago when she said it to me. She is a wise woman. And so my quest began after the Christmas hustle and bustle ceased.

Order from chaos (in all aspects of my life) is a tall....TALL order to fill. Where does one begin?

I am not completely overwhelmed with the job...though most people would be if they really looked at my life. I know I have the tools and possess the know-how but what I lack is DISCIPLINE. I.Am.Lazy. And laziness is an ugly hideous vice that slithers into every single aspect of a person's life (when it isn't kept in check). It is dangerous and disgusting and it has gotten a bit out of control for me these past few years.

The weapon of choice?.....a book. Yes, a book. I've read this book several times over the past 4 years. I've applied a few of the ideas in it though I always made an excuse that it didn't really apply to me yet because my kids weren't old enough to apply the techniques mentioned. Yeah right. I was just lazy. Looking for an excuse. Anyway, it is a fantastic book and I am going to pick it apart and apply it because I KNOW it will help. I've LIVED a similar lifestyle before and there are immense blessings that come from it.



Seeking to order my extremely disordered tendencies is going to kill me. And I say that quite literally. But I know without a doubt that God is asking me to put forth an complete and sometimes heroic effort to achieve this....NOW. I say heroic because lazy people like me tend to do something half-assed or begrudgingly incomplete and almost seek out a reason to bail or flee at the first sign of conflict or obstacle. The author makes a wonderful point by saying, "YES!, God will bless the effort. But He needs to have an effort to bless." And by effort she means a whole-hearted, fully dedicated effort to change. A complete dedication of my WHOLE self to my vocation. It is there that the graces and blessings are waiting.

And that is what the first 2 chapters of the book are about. They are beautiful and motivating and provoke thought, excitement, and change (for the willing and mold-able soul). This week as I dive into chapters 3&4, I focus on my vocation and my daily response to God's call by

*****doing what I ought to do with a joyful and willing heart....and pure intent...

And so by the grace of God I go. Because only with Him is this even remotely possible. ;-)