From Clutter to Clarity: Simplifying Life from the Inside Out

Nancy Twigg is a Knoxville, Tennessee-based author and friend whose work I've enjoyed for many years. I believe you will, too!

From Clutter to Clarity: Simplifying Life from the Inside Out
by Nancy Twigg

When most people think of simplifying, the first thing they think of is getting rid of clutter around the home or office. Cleaning out closets and drawers is definitely a part of simplifying, but true simplification goes far deeper than that. Clutter is much more than old magazines, outdated clothes, and kitchen gadgets you never use. Certainly those things are clutter, but from now on, think of clutter as any possession, habit, thought pattern, attitude or activity that fits into one of these three categories:

• Anything you don't need or use anymore
• Anything that doesn't fit or work for you like it used to
• Anything that doesn't add value and meaning to your life as it once did

Under this new definition, clutter is anything that complicates your life and stands in the way of simplicity. In the past, you may have only thought of clutter in terms of stuff: those size 8 jeans you hope to wear again someday or those unfinished projects in your garage. But let me share a secret with you. These kinds of unwanted and unneeded material possessions are only the tip of the iceberg! What about the multitude of commitments that cram-pack your schedule? What about the thoughts that jumble your mind and the spending habits that sabotage your finances? All of these things are clutter too, because they cause chaos and confusion.

When you think of clutter in this new light, you begin to see what a tremendous problem clutter truly is. You will also see that the root causes of this ugly clutter make the clutter itself look tame. Think about it. Why do you say yes to everyone who requests your time and services? Are you afraid that people won't like you if you say no? Do you feel the need to present a Super Mom image to the world?

What about those clothes you hold onto even though you know you will never wear them again? Are you afraid that if you get rid of them you will need them again someday? If you did happen to need them, do you doubt God's ability to provide more? And if you have a tendency to spend more than you can afford, ask yourself why you do that. Are you driven by feelings of discontentment or the need for instant gratification? Are you afraid that if you pass on a sale now you will never find a good price on that item again? These issues go much deeper than just having a messy desk or disorganized pantry. These are issues of the heart.

Clutter is a problem for anyone, but for Christians, it spells major trouble. Clutter does more than affect us physically and emotionally; it affects us spiritually because it keeps us from following Jesus fully. We simply cannot make room for Him when so many other things are in the way. The more we stay focused on the junk of this life, the less time and energy we have to focus on the important mattersGod and His plans for our lives.

Have you ever tried to lug an overstuffed suitcase through a crowded airport? Not an easy task, is it? No matter how hard you try, you simply cannot move quickly and efficiently when you're carrying a heavy load. Think of clutter as baggage, physical, emotional, and financial baggage that weighs you down and holds you back. Clutter is the heavy load that keeps many of us from maneuvering effectively through our lives. Our suitcases are filled with all kinds of deadweight: habits we need to give up, attitudes we've long since outgrown, activities and possessions that no longer serve a reasonable purpose. If we want to lighten the load, we have to get rid of some of the junk.

What keeps you from moving forward at a steady pace in your life? Undoubtedly the things that slow you down are some kind of clutter, clutter you want to get rid of for good. Maybe you struggle with physical clutter around your home. Try as you might, you cannot seem to get organized. Or maybe you want to get a handle on your finances. You are tired of making good money but having nothing to show for it. Or maybe yours is an issue with time. You are tired of living at warp speed. You want to stop running and start living.

Whatever clutter challenges you face, trust me when I say you can learn to clarify your life by putting clutter in its place. I know because I have done it myself. My biggest clutter challenge was not dealing with cluttered living spaces or even cluttered finances. My challenge was to open up my emotional suitcase and go through its contents carefully. When I did, I discovered all kinds of clutter lurking inside. I found worry and doubt. I uncovered a faulty self-image and an inability to set appropriate boundaries. I even found an unhealthy preoccupation with what others thought of me. It was a painful process, but necessary. One by one, I learned to trade in these old clunkers for the more efficient models God offered.

I'm not saying I have it all together. Believe me, I don't. I'm not saying I never face challenges. But I have come to a place of clarity and life is much more pleasant now that I have. Is my life perfect? No, but it is much more peaceful and purposeful. And isn't that what we all want to live in peace as we live out our purpose?

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Nancy Twigg is an author and speaker who loves inspiring women to live more simply. To learn more about Nancy's speaking and writing ministry, visit her online at http://www.keepitsimplesister.com

Article Source: Faith Writers

Seeds in the Garden

And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; (Mark 4:26)

I planted a garden this year. In early February, I planted potatoes and onions, and green English peas. In early March, I planted corn, squash, green beans, and watermelons. First, I had to prepare the seedbed, then I had to make the rows, put the seed in the soil, and apply fertilizer. After I labored doing these tasks, I had to sit back and wait to see if the seeds I planted would spring forth from the soil.

The Lord sent a good rain, and some sunny days that warmed the soil. Being kind of impatient, I scratched the earth where I had planted corn, and discovered that many of the seeds I planted were planted too deep. I went to the seed store, bought more seed and replanted.

Early this morning, I went to the garden alone to see how many seeds had sprang forth. Lo and behold, most all of the seeds had produced a plant. I could clearly see the results of my labor! Potato leaves shining brightly, little corn stalks, green beans peeking their small ears through the warm earth, tiny watermelon plants stretching forth to the sun, and peas and squash making their appearance. Most all of the seeds I had planted, from the large potato seeds to the small pea seed, had taken root and were growing! My labor had not been in vain!

This earthly garden gives one a sense of God's presence, and of His infinite wisdom...who but God can grow a plant from a tiny seed? The Bible speaks of sewing seeds, spiritual seeds, into the Lord's kingdom. After awhile, the seed will germinate, if planted in the right kind of "soil", and produce a human plant for God. Planting seeds in a earthly garden is labor intensive. So is planting seeds for a heavenly garden. In both cases, all we can do is labor, and only God can give the increase!

And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. (Mark 4:27-28)

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Article © 2008 by Irvin L. Rozier, author of My Walk with the Lord, US Army, Chaplain of American Legion Post 181. Visit his song and video sites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lseFgH7XumU
http://www.youtube.com/user/walkin2e

Article Source: Faith Writers

What's Your Calling?

And He said to me: "...you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel." (Isaiah 3:5)

Ezekiel has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible. I love God's call on Ezekiel's life - the fact that he was sent not to an unknown or unfamiliar people, but to his people, the "house of Israel"... the children of God.

Today, the American Church places so much emphasis on "foreign missions," on reaching people in Africa or India or Indonesia that we forget our neighbors next door need Jesus just as much as anyone else!

While everyone is called to share a testimony of Jesus, not everyone is called to do so with people of "unfamiliar speech." Some of us, myself included, are also called to share with the children of God... the Church.

What's your calling? Don't think because you haven't felt God's pull to the mission field or the pulpit that you don't have one! You do. Ask the Lord to direct you as He directed Ezekiel - to those He wants you to share His word with today.

Making a Difference

Isn't that what we all want to do? Make a difference. In our families, our jobs, our churches, our lives. I know I do! What does it take to make a difference? Nothing big like we tend to think.

We can make a difference in the lives of our families by spending time with our kids and our spouse, by showing concern and interest in what they have to say, by loving them openly and with everything we have.

We can make a difference in our jobs by working hard, doing our best, treating our co-workers and boss with respect, showing honesty and integrity in every area of our life at work, living the Golden Rule with everyone we meet.

We can make a difference in our church by being there whenever the doors are open, faithfully giving, volunteering to help in whatever way we can, doing our best to get along with others, encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ, supporting our pastor, living a good Christian example in front of others.

We can make a difference in every area of our life by being the best we can be in all the little things we do.

Micah 6:8 exhorts us to, "Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with [our] God." Those aren't big things, but doing them can make a HUGE difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us. What an example of the perfect Christian walk, don't you think?