I do my best job focusing when I have a great French Silk Latte from University Cup, steaming in a paper cup. Quiet music, nice lighting, a romantic setting. The problem with this is that University Cup doesn’t exist anymore, I graduated and moved 700 miles away from the town it previously did exist in and I don’t know the ingredients to a French Silk Latte. I have a baby who sporadically naps. There is no romantic lighting or quiet music to be found around here. Hence, there is concentration few and far between going on in this brain as of now.
But when the writing must flow, when the muse is present, I must follow orders.
So here I am to provide you with some encouragement, but it is mostly meant to be directed toward me. My fingers just flow- I write, the Spirit speaks. You read. I concentrate. I focus, find value in my own thoughts, understand what God is trying to whisper to me and finally, once all those words are on paper (or screen) to share, others can benefit as well. It is a lengthy process, but overall, I would say it is worth it.
Sometimes I begin the writing process by cleaning. My dreaming space is sacred regardless of where the physical location is. When I sit down I do not want distractions. I need a calm, clean, clutter-free space, even if that means I just move the clutter to behind a closed door. I’ve never been able to focus when there is a mess surrounding me. Last night I was looking up different methods to organize and clean (because baby, husband, dog, me, we have a lot of stuff floating around here) and stumbled across the KonMari method. Have you heard of it? No? Google, do your work- thank me later! The basic premise is to hold all your stuff up in front of your face and see if it sparks joy. If it doesn’t spark joy, donate or trash it. If you begin in the right mindset, you’ll be blown away at how much junk you’re holding on to that doesn’t spark joy.
Oh, there you go. There’s a metaphor for life, yes?
Now, I’m not one to advocate for the throwing away of valuable things, but sweaters without buttons and socks forever alone without a match drive me crazy. Those things spark some kind of crazy in me and it is nothing close to joy. So now that there is a name for my method of madness I call “binging all my stuff because I am overwhelmed by it”, I feel a little better.
In general, our relationship to stuff can be directly linked to our relationship with our own baggage. Have a hard time getting rid of things and you feel emotionally attached to a random pair of leggings with a hole in the seam or a picture frame with macaroni noodles glued to it that has never even held a photograph? Perhaps you have some breaking free emotionally to do. I find that this is a common theme in my life. Frustrated? Clean up. Not sure where to go from here? Get rid of some old clothes and reorganize your closet. Feeling lost and as though you would like to hide from the world? Organize the silverware drawer. Maybe you feel the same.
I don’t know where I’m going with all this. But in general, I’m starting to see that when you are intentional with the things you surround yourself with, you are intentional with the emotions and feelings you hold onto inside. If you’re surrounded by garbage, it’s likely that your insides sort of feel garbage-y. Maybe it’s time to purge some stuff. Maybe it’s time to get rid of your old turtle necks and free yourself from the ten year old bras in your drawer. And maybe, just maybe, you will start to feel a little more free of the emotions that are attached to those things. Why do you have twenty mismatched hand towels and only use three of them? Why are you holding onto the books with torn pages you haven’t read in seven years? Is there a purpose for these things in your home besides taking up breathing room? If you have 18 drafts sitting in your unpublished box, delete those ugly little babies and savor the feeling. (Speak for yourself, Vickie).
Something that you might need to know is that you are purposefully chosen by God to do whatever it is you’re doing. If we are to reflect the image of God in our own lives, we need to purposefully choose who and what we surround ourselves with so that we might carefully choose the words we are letting into our own head every day. You are hereby given permission to purge. KonMari your Facebook friends list. Get rid of the things that don’t spark joy. Start taking the chains that are holding you and look for the key. Break free from thinking God is not intentional in His every step with you.
I have seen and experienced a lot of heartbreak and hurt and the only way I have been able to overcome those things are to be purposeful in my actions. Intentional in my surroundings. Direct in my speaking. Honest, truthful, calculated, unwavering.
Start with your junk. See what it does to free your heart.
But when the writing must flow, when the muse is present, I must follow orders.
So here I am to provide you with some encouragement, but it is mostly meant to be directed toward me. My fingers just flow- I write, the Spirit speaks. You read. I concentrate. I focus, find value in my own thoughts, understand what God is trying to whisper to me and finally, once all those words are on paper (or screen) to share, others can benefit as well. It is a lengthy process, but overall, I would say it is worth it.
Sometimes I begin the writing process by cleaning. My dreaming space is sacred regardless of where the physical location is. When I sit down I do not want distractions. I need a calm, clean, clutter-free space, even if that means I just move the clutter to behind a closed door. I’ve never been able to focus when there is a mess surrounding me. Last night I was looking up different methods to organize and clean (because baby, husband, dog, me, we have a lot of stuff floating around here) and stumbled across the KonMari method. Have you heard of it? No? Google, do your work- thank me later! The basic premise is to hold all your stuff up in front of your face and see if it sparks joy. If it doesn’t spark joy, donate or trash it. If you begin in the right mindset, you’ll be blown away at how much junk you’re holding on to that doesn’t spark joy.
Oh, there you go. There’s a metaphor for life, yes?
Now, I’m not one to advocate for the throwing away of valuable things, but sweaters without buttons and socks forever alone without a match drive me crazy. Those things spark some kind of crazy in me and it is nothing close to joy. So now that there is a name for my method of madness I call “binging all my stuff because I am overwhelmed by it”, I feel a little better.
In general, our relationship to stuff can be directly linked to our relationship with our own baggage. Have a hard time getting rid of things and you feel emotionally attached to a random pair of leggings with a hole in the seam or a picture frame with macaroni noodles glued to it that has never even held a photograph? Perhaps you have some breaking free emotionally to do. I find that this is a common theme in my life. Frustrated? Clean up. Not sure where to go from here? Get rid of some old clothes and reorganize your closet. Feeling lost and as though you would like to hide from the world? Organize the silverware drawer. Maybe you feel the same.
I don’t know where I’m going with all this. But in general, I’m starting to see that when you are intentional with the things you surround yourself with, you are intentional with the emotions and feelings you hold onto inside. If you’re surrounded by garbage, it’s likely that your insides sort of feel garbage-y. Maybe it’s time to purge some stuff. Maybe it’s time to get rid of your old turtle necks and free yourself from the ten year old bras in your drawer. And maybe, just maybe, you will start to feel a little more free of the emotions that are attached to those things. Why do you have twenty mismatched hand towels and only use three of them? Why are you holding onto the books with torn pages you haven’t read in seven years? Is there a purpose for these things in your home besides taking up breathing room? If you have 18 drafts sitting in your unpublished box, delete those ugly little babies and savor the feeling. (Speak for yourself, Vickie).
Something that you might need to know is that you are purposefully chosen by God to do whatever it is you’re doing. If we are to reflect the image of God in our own lives, we need to purposefully choose who and what we surround ourselves with so that we might carefully choose the words we are letting into our own head every day. You are hereby given permission to purge. KonMari your Facebook friends list. Get rid of the things that don’t spark joy. Start taking the chains that are holding you and look for the key. Break free from thinking God is not intentional in His every step with you.
I have seen and experienced a lot of heartbreak and hurt and the only way I have been able to overcome those things are to be purposeful in my actions. Intentional in my surroundings. Direct in my speaking. Honest, truthful, calculated, unwavering.
Start with your junk. See what it does to free your heart.