Organizing Happiness

“Why didn’t I think of that?!? It’s too easy!” That’s what I thought when I started reading Mrs. Lorrie Flem’s e-book  "Organizing Happiness."  

In "Organizing Happiness," Lorrie gives tips or habits to inspire you in 4 areas:

• 7 clutter keepers
• 7 Habits that will make you and your family happier
• 7 spiritual weapons for Happiness
• 7 quick organizing tricks.

Right off the bat, I got excited when I read Lorrie’s 7 clutter keeper ideas. Hey, I’ve got clutter! My bedside table was quite the little eyesore with all of my reading materials scattered here and there. Not anymore! Now it looks so inviting with a cute, cute basket, perfectly shaped for holding my books. It’s my own bedside library. It makes me want to go to bed and read! I look forward to implementing Lorrie’s clutter catcher ideas thru the rest of the house. I can do these ideas today, right now!

Lorrie's e-book, Organizing Happiness, specifically addresses quiet time as a habit that will make me happier. As a homeschooling mom of 6, my life can get very busy as it seems I’m always in demand. With this new school year, my personal quiet time often went by the wayside because I couldn’t seem to fit it in. I realized I was setting a new habit, and not a good one, that left unchanged would leave me to face my day alone without God. That just doesn’t seem like a good option but my choices were making it a reality.

Lorrie says "being consistent is what makes or breaks great people and great lives", thus, for the past few weeks I’ve been grading my own spiritual consistency. Am I praying in the morning and having my quiet time? Am I feasting on the word of God? Am I opening the scriptures with my children daily and giving them spiritual “food” to chew on throughout the day? Are we praying together? Am I thanking God at the end of my day? With Lorrie’s encouragement I’ve been able to get things back on track. Perfectly, no, but each week I’ve been taking baby steps and it’s starting to add up.

Spending this last month focusing on Lorrie's "7 habits that will make you and your family happier," one thing I’ve learned about changing habits is how easy it is to go back to my old way of doing things, especially if I’m trying to make a drastic change. Lorrie reminds me of the long term goal when she says, “Instead of being so concerned that you get off to a strong start make sure it becomes a new habit over the long haul. Once the habit is instilled, it will be much easier to raise the intensity.”  This reminded me to keep it simple.  Take one small action at a time.  For me that translated into setting my morning alarm a little bit earlier and make sure I have a quiet time first... not checking my email, eating my breakfast, starting the laundry or other things that I like to do before the little ones wake up.

One thing I love about Organizing Happiness is Lorrie’s upbeat writing style and sincerity. Lorrie makes me feel so optimistic and encouraged. I feel like I'm sitting on my couch with a good friend, one who always makes me feel better after having spent time with her. I feel like she's sitting in the trenches with me and truly understands my struggles. She reaches my heart in such an encouraging way that I have no time to feel bad about what I don’t accomplish. Instead I feel energized and begin to see the possibilities.

If you want to be encouraged like I have been, go here www.eternalencouragement.com and sign up for Lorrie’s newsletter and you can get "Organizing Happiness" for FREE! You can’t beat that for an after-Thanksgiving deal!

The Power of Words

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get it.  It should seem obvious since the Bible says it over and over on the first page!  I’m talking about the power of WORDS.  God said, let there be light, and there was light.  If God’s words are so powerful, what about my words or the words of others? 

My friend used to say to me, “Hung by the tongue,”  if I said something negative like, “I can’t do _____.”  She was trying to teach me how powerful my words are in my life.  If I say, I’ll never have a clean house, I probably never will.  I don’t think I fully understood what she was trying to teach me until a few years ago.    It started when I read some books on being a Godly wife that had a profound impact on me.  This message changed me instantly.  It moved me to repentance.  It moved me to submit to my husband’s authority as an act of my own free will.  It moved me to even change my thought patterns.  It’s like I’d been walking down one path in life not realizing exactly how bumpy and dim it was till I discovered a new path that was so much smoother, easier and brighter.  I’ll never be the same woman again because of the power of the word.  I get it! 

Why do many religions teach us to read the word of God daily?  Because of the power of the Word;  The power to move and inspire us onto a brighter, smoother path. The path that brings us joy.  The path that brings us nearer to God. 

True principles work in every aspect of life.  The power of the word is not limited to God’s word alone.  Let me give you an example.  Suppose you’re struggling keeping your house clean. (I wouldn’t know anything about that….wink, wink!)  Did you know that there are men and women who are passionate about cleaning and have spoken and written books about it.  They believe that what they know is so good,  too good to keep it to themselves.   They’ve taken the time, money and effort to write of their passion, their expertise, their WORDS, to help others.  Never underestimate the power of words. 

Try this little experiment.  Take one of these books, written by someone with passion and read from it for 20 minutes a day.  I believe you WILL be inspired.  You’ll probably be inspired enough to actually do something they suggest. 

You may be saying, but Deanna, I read a book about cleaning once... about 20 years ago, and my house is still a mess.  I know, I know, I’ve been there myself and I’m still working on it.  But scripture teaches that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  What truths do we learn from this?  How often must we eat bread (food) to live?  Daily!  How often does God want us to read his word? Daily!  If this is God’s pattern, shouldn't it be your pattern too?

How often should you read about cleaning if you want the power of their words to change you?  You got it, daily!  I don’t mean that you’ll have to read about cleaning daily for the rest of your life, but daily until it has produced a significant change.  Till it has sparked a change in you that you could not have done on your own.  Till you feel the power of the word in your life.  Don’t forget that Christ says, we can do anything thru Him.  If you seek changes in your life that are scripturally correct, right and good, God will help you as you persevere and ask His help.

God spoke, and by the power of his word said, “Let there be light.”  If we truly grasp this principle of truth and strive to bring the words of life, truth, hope, prosperity, goodness into our lives,  there will be light and that light will be beautiful to behold.