Who Loves Lists???

For me, lists have a place in my life when they seem practical to me; like when I am going to grocery store or when I am going on a trip and I don’t want to forget anything. The problem is that a lot of the times I make lists so I don’t forget things; for some reason, I still forget them when they are written down in front of me. So, you ask, what is your point? My point is that lists have a place and can actually make our lives better. Take for instance, the list that Kirk Duncan says you should make to get rid of the negative voices and the list you should make of positive declarations to get your life moving forward. Do they work? They did for me when I really spent the time to look into myself and see what needed to be changed so that I could be happy and move forward. And then, a dear friend of mine that I have at work was talking with me about how grief can stop us from moving forward. What did she suggest? Make a list of what I had before my father died and a list of what I would not have now. She said that when she writes it all out that clarity comes to her and she can better face the blockades that seem to appear in front of her. A very logical way of going about gaining clarity, don’t you think?

Did the Lord ever make lists? The Ten Commandments are a list of rules or laws that He wants us to adhere to. The Beatitudes are another list of those things that He sees can make us into better people if we follow them. I also love the list of the attributes of charity and the list of the spiritual gifts that He will give to anyone if they will just truly ask for them. Yes, I think that the Lord uses lists for the betterment of His children. He wants to help us see our worth and how we can continue upward by following those commandments and beatitudes that He has given to us as directions home to Him.

Lists have a place in life that can be used to help us become the people we want to be. I’m going to be moving forward into an area of my life that I am not ready for…retirement. Every thought in my head says that it is an impossibility for me to even think about retiring but my heart tells me that it will soon be time to move back out West to where my family is. What I know I need to do is to make a list showing what is right about retiring, what will be wrong with retiring and what will help me make the decision about retiring. How can I make this a successful transition in my life? How will I know when the time is right? For now, I just need to start preparing so that when the time is right I’ll be able to move forward without fear and doubt standing in my way.

My throw away list will include those things that are holding me back. My declarations will be positive and will give me goals that the Lord wants me to move forward on and that I know He can help me with. We have to clear out those negatives thoughts so that our minds can hear the beautiful thoughts that are dwelling in our hearts. We can do this…who is with me?