Skip to main content

Fill in the blanks

By
Lately, I've been pondering a few quotes a friend of mine wrote down as we were discussing how overwhelmed I get with too much STUFF.

"What you NEED is buried underneath what you THINK you have to have."

"GOOD things are the enemy of the BEST things."

These quotes are helping me tremendously as I strive towards de-cluttering my home.  But, I think they have pretty amazing spiritual implications as well.

I'm going to try a little experiment.  Quickly, without too much analyzing (like that is really possible...this is me we are talking about) I am going to fill in the following blanks:
 ___________ is buried underneath ____________
 ____________ is the enemy of _______________
with the first things that pop into my head.

Whoops, I said I wasn't going to analyze...but I'm analyzing so I want to provide the following disclaimer before you write me off as a friend:

These thoughts are not coming from a standpoint of judgement.  And, I am in no way planning to quit all of the GOOD things in my life.  I am just pondering what I want my primary focuses to be on in this mega short life.


"What you NEED is buried underneath what you THINK you have to have."
 ___________ is buried underneath ____________ 


REST is buried underneath BUSYNESS
PEACE is buried underneath CONTROL
NUTRITION is buried underneath MY SWEET TOOTH
ORDERLINESS is buried underneath PERFECTIONISM
GIVING is buried underneath FEAR
SOLACE is buried underneath LACK OF TRUST
FORGIVENESS is buried underneath PETTINESS
FRIENDSHIP is buried underneath INSECURITY
RESPECT is buried underneath PRIDE
TIME is buried underneath CLUTTER


"GOOD things are the enemy of the BEST things."
 ____________ is the enemy of _______________

TELEVISION is the enemy of READING
BOOKS are the enemy of the WORD
FACEBOOK is the enemy of DEEP RELATIONSHIPS
THE TELEPHONE is the enemy of PRAYER
ENTERTAINMENT is the enemy of PURITY
SMALL TALK is the enemy of FELLOWSHIP
PROJECTS are the enemy of ENJOYING MY CHILDREN
YARD SALES are the enemy of A DE-CLUTTERED HOME
MONEY is the enemy of DEPENDENCE ON GOD
COSMETIC BEAUTY is the enemy of INNER BEAUTY
(Focusing more on my face/body than my heart)

If you'd like to fill in a few blanks - feel free to comment.  I'd love to hear from you.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I'm just not feeling it

By
I have noticed something interesting about myself when it comes to opening the doors of our home. I am the first to admit that fifteen minutes before our guests arrived the place was a mess. I was barking orders to my kids, scrubbing our toilet, stuffing things in drawers and searching for underwear (yup, probably dirty) that pop up in the most random places. I don't mind admitting that I don't have it all together, but I have a hard time letting anyone see it. I am the same way when it comes to my emotions. If I'm really struggling I tend to pull away. Just last night I found myself tempted to postpone a scheduled visit with a few close friends because I had no desire to admit to them that I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. Praise God, I dragged myself there and they gently began the process of gluing me back together by simply listening & loving me - despite me. And then there's "grace in the midst". I love passing along thoughts, ideas an
5 comments
Read more

Star Wars, Frozen & Scissors

By
      I make a grunting noise as I toss another lego into "toy jail". I step away and trip over one of the kids light sabers.  Glancing over at the breakfast crumbs (we could seriously feed a family of refugees , not that I struggle with the idea of how much we waste or anything), I feel my eyes well up and think "I could use some of 'the force' about now. Trying to determine if I should pull the kids from their happy game of Zingo or tackle the breakfast fiasco on my own, I decide on the latter. What was my dear friend's quote, I ponder. Oh yeah, "a little and often". She was referring to home maintenance (along with other things). Gently, she was reminding me to stay on top of things rather than let them build into tougher jobs. "This isn't a little and often", I sarcastically mumble "this is 'a lot and always'." Seriously, if I'd simply pray every time I pick something off the floor, I might actually get a gras
2 comments
Read more

Why you shouldn't give to the poor

By
     The day had just begun and I was barely holding it together. I had a couple of young kids and getting them dressed and out the door did not go smoothly. There were diaper explosions, bad attitudes, spilled drinks and a couple of arguments with my husband. We were both exhausted. The speaker had no idea how tired and discouraged we were. The Lord had given him a heart for the poor and he was passionately pleading with his listeners for help. He was begging us to open our eyes, to reach out, to make a difference. My eyes welled up with tears and I wish I could say it was out of compassion. It wasn't. I had no idea how I was going to make it through lunch let alone reach out to anybody. I wanted to stand up and scream "can somebody help me while you are at it?!" I left feeling like a total and complete failure. A few years later and yet another difficult day I sat holding my squirming toddler and tried to hear as much as I could of a Sunday morning sermon. The pastor wa
2 comments
Read more