40 days of Lent - Clear the clutter

Today's Lenten thought -

March 11 - Clear out come of life's clutter.  Make a plan or take a first step toward quitting a bad habit.

I wonder what they mean.  I probably have a lot of bad habits that I don't think are bad habits.  Okay I am a chocoholic - but is it bad?

I am all for clearing out clutter though, too much clutter and I can't think straight. 

I read this on another site -  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5171/3-Tips-to-Clear-Clutter-Transform-Your-Life.html

"If you are ready for a break-through in your life, I highly recommend you set aside some time to begin clearing away the clutter in your life. Once you have cleared your clutter, you will feel amazing; happier, lighter and free!

This is because as you clear up the physical clutter in your life, you are literally healing yourself from the inside. This creates space and possibility for the “new” to enter your life."

 

Well - that sounds absolutely lenten doesn't it! 

40 Days of Lent - Why worry?

Today's Lenten thought:

March 2  -  In the spirit of Easter, think of three old things your are going to stop worrying about and three new things you're going to look forward to instead.

hmmmmm

The three things that I am going to stop worrying about, I won't share.  That way if someone would ask me, "hey did you stop worrying about......" I might start worrying about it again.  LOL Actually I feel they are kind of private, so I will keep them that way. 


But I will share the three things I am looking forward to.

1)  Spring - it can't come soon enough.
2)  A trip to the shore - my favorite place.  Anywhere were land meets the sea.
3)  Reading the books in my book pile - especially the next three

Maybe these are not three big things, but I look forward to each of them.

My favorite scripture about worry is as follows:

Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

One time I was so worried about money that while I was driving to work  I was thinking, what if I don't have enough money for food.  Suddenly a pancake fell from the sky just missing the hood of my car. (True story! At first I thought, manna from heaven?) Then I saw a crow swoop down, pick it up, and carried it away.  There were so many nearby restaurants I figured he must of got it out of the trash somewhere and that's when I remembered this scripture.  Certainly if God could  provide pancakes to crows then I should not be worried where my next meal would be coming from.  I remember this story every time I worry too much.

So make you lists and throw out the worries and look forward to something exciting.

40 days of Lent - When Silence wasn't Golden

So - I started my day with a call to the bff, Cathy - It went Hi Cathy - Hello - Whatcha doing? - Nothing - What's new? - Nothing - I remained silent.....listening..... and Cathy said - Are you still there?

So much for today's Lenten thought -

February 23 - Clear out the chatter.  Really listen to other people today.  Don't just wait for your turn to talk.  Life might get more interesting.

This is not something easy to do on a Saturday - I am home cleaning.  Cathy told me - I need to practice this on a work day.

Now, I can see Barbara, my co-worker, reading this - she is saying - Bev never listens.  It is true, I work like I drive, I never see or hear what ever is going around me.  Many people think I ignore them while I am driving.  The truth is - I DO NOT SEE  OR HEAR YOU.  You may be tooting your horn, but I have my radio on ....loud.   And you might be waving right at me.  But I am looking straight ahead as to where I am going.  You might be butt naked standing on the corner, but sorry - I didn't see you and you better get inside before you get arrested.  Thus, I am like this when I work - Barb can say something - and then she follows it with - "did you hear what I said" and my answer is  - "huh?"

So maybe this is my true challenge, not for just today but every day.  A true challenge for me because I don't listen - I have endless chatter going on in my head and that's why I blog, because I have to get some of it out.  So I have to try living outside my box, which is my thoughts, and open my ears and listen to others.  Listen to what is happening around me. 

My friends, please be patient, this will not happen overnight.  After a lifetime of talking,  learning a new trait like listening could take a while. I will pray on this and ask God for His help, because this challenge like any challenge requires help.  We are not in this world alone,  we always have God, our family and our friends; and to each one of them I  need to learn to listen.