Posted on by Angela

Blessings of a Cluttered Desk

1 Timothy 6:17 

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 

I sit at my desk this morning with a cat on my left hand. She rubs her head against my hand, causing my hand to type letters I don’t intend. I sigh and backspace to correct the mistakes. I have a notebook on my right entitled “Blog.”  On my left, past the cat, are a couple of journals and a devotional. My husband brought home a novel from work, so it has been added to the stack. I have two monitors. Beneath one is an old shelf- thing with a drawer. I have no idea what its original purpose was, but I loved it when we came across it in a thrift store, so it became my Mother’s Day gift that year. It makes a great monitor riser. It is in serious need of dusting. The other “monitor riser” is another Mother’s Day gift. It has a couple of Bibles and a hymnal and odds and ends some of which I don’t know quite what to do with, so they get stuck there. I also have a large candle holder full of pens, pencils, and highlighters. I have paperweights and stress toys and lotion and sticky notes scattered among the risers. This more or less constitutes my desk, which is a small dining table shoved against a wall.  

My purpose in describing my space is not to bore you or show you my organization skills, or lack of them, but rather to remind myself and you that there is a blessing in a cluttered desk. A while back I posted about identity in the things on the desk. How the things on the desk can reveal things about us. This time I want to look at it a little differently. Maybe there is a blessing in the clutter.  

Most of us tend to hate clutter. It makes us feel claustrophobic and cramped. We cannot relax or think straight until the clutter is gone. In fact, you may have read my listing above and had some anxiety. I admit to some anxiety myself. Yet, as I take a second look and consider the items, I discover how blessed I am.  

The cat wants to be near me because she loves me. She has, since I began typing, moved to lay on the notebook, to sit in front of the keyboard watching my fingers or blinking at me. The risers and novel indicate I have a family and am loved. The notebook reminds me that I need to study and plan content. I have a responsibility to whoever reads this blog. Even the dust reminds me of the fact that I have a home, a roof over my head. The Bibles remind me, if I ever need reminding, there is a God and He loves me and gave Himself for me. He is the reason I do this. He is my Audience of One.  

There is a blessing in the clutter. I am not saying that the clutter doesn’t need to be cleared away. Not at all. But maybe the next time we grumble and complain about the inconvenience of the dust, the dishes, the laundry, the mess, we can take a moment to remind ourselves that these could remind us why we have them in the first place. They could mean we have a family. They could remind us that we are loved. Regarding a pet, the clutter could remind us that an animal depends on us and trusts us. The dirty dishes mean we had food to eat and had something to prepare it in and eat that food from. The laundry indicates that we have clothes to wear. We have been blessed far beyond what we deserve and in truth we can live on far less than what we have.  

So, there is a blessing in the clutter. Whether it is a desk, a corner, or a room, the clutter can be used to remind us we have a blessing and a purpose. Clean it up certainly, but while you do so rejoice in the blessing of a God who gives us all things to enjoy.  

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Things on the Desk

The desk where I do my writing is actually a small dining table. I have it pushed against a wall. My house has an open floor plan, so I am central to living, kitchen and dining areas. It got me thinking though about the kinds of things we keep on our desk. If you have a desk, take a moment to look at what your desk holds.  

I don’t mean the normal desk things like staplers, pens and pencils, tape dispenser, and the like. Of course, even those things can disclose personality. What I am thinking of is what could a person gather about you with the things on your desk? My home desk looks different from my work desk, but there are similarities. Both have sticky notes on the monitor; things I don’t want to forget or want to have at hand. My home desk has paperweights, an electric pencil sharpener (I use colored pencils for Bible study, and I even have real pencils), I have a large glass candle holder full of pens and pencils and highlighters. There is a Bible and a hymnal. Several journals. I have a few fidget things and stress toys. Right now, I have a menu planner marked for the coming week. It is incomplete. I also have a spiral binder with tabs which contain projects taken from my notebooks or that need to be typed into various folders in my computer. Recipes, writings, etc. There are a few other things crammed in, but this is basically my home workspace. 

My point in this exercise is that who we are is sometimes identified by what we surround ourselves with. By looking at the contents of our desk we can see where our time and energy is focused. It gives us the opportunity to make adjustments to our priorities. If we look at our desk and see an overflow of bills, maybe we need to consider our spending habits or work on budgeting. Sometimes our desk reveals what we enjoy.  An abundance of cards, stamps and pens could reveal you send cards to those you are thinking of or those who are sick or struggling. A desk covered with everything, but desk related items could mean you don’t use a desk at all. It is only a piece of furniture that is now a catch -all for all the clutter you don’t know what to do with.  

What are you surrounding yourself with? When you look at your workspace, home, or work, what stands out as a priority? The Bible tells us the from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (see Matthew 12:34). I think this is true not only in our speech, which is a big clue to our heart, but also in our workspace. What is important to us is what we keep close. Pictures of family, bible verses, inspirational quotes, things that build us up and those which visit our space reveal what is inside, what is important. Obscene pictures, insulting language, divisive posters, etc. also reveal what is inside. We are talking about a heart issue more than an organizational problem.  

I know you are probably thinking it is only a workspace but take a moment to look at your space either at home or at work. See if what I am saying is true. What does that space reveal about you? What does your desk or workspace say about you? Does it reveal your identity in Christ? Or does it reveal a life lived for the flesh? Maybe somewhere in between?  

I am not here to condemn; that is not my job. I only want you to think about what you identify yourself with and how you want to align your life. We want to be individuals who give our all for one. Who give everything we have to God. This means we are a work in progress, and it involves every aspect of our life from the company we keep to the insignificant little things like what we keep on our desk at work or home. Everything we say or do reflects who we are in Jesus. The changes may be gradual, such as replacing one item that may be inappropriate with something that is encouraging and uplifting. Maybe your whole workspace needs an overhaul. You decide.   

Maybe the time has come for you to decide for Christ. It’s time to follow Him. Put the things of the world behind and accept His gift of salvation. He loves you so much He died on a cross for your sins, and he alone can change you from the inside out. His identity in you is the only way the things on the desk make any difference.  

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Solitary in Families

Family. The word conjures all sorts of images. Some of those images aren’t always good. Sometimes families are messy and hard. I imagine there have been times we have wondered how we landed in our messed-up family while it seems other families have it all together and love and support each other. They seem to be places where someone can grow and thrive and prosper. Then there is the other side. The dark side we don’t want to talk about. The family that is cold and abusive and destructive. Members of those families seek that nurturing they missed anywhere they can find it and it seems what they find is more of the same or worse. Deep down what all of us really want, and need, is unconditional love and acceptance,

I have worked in my present job as a secretary in a mental health clinic for over ten years. In that time, I have seen a lot of families come through our doors. Some families are more broken than others. Some leave a lot of damage in their wake and pass it on for generations. Broken people creating more broken people.  Yet, some have learned to cope with their brokenness and begun to heal.

Psalm 68:6 says, “God places the lonely in families, he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land (New Living Translation)

Adam may have related well to the first part of this verse. As the first man in creation, he saw all the wonder and beauty of everything God had created. Alone. He named all the animals. Alone. He tended the garden. Alone. Adam had realized his loneliness as he named the animals and saw there was no helper for him. In all of creation, there was no one else like him. He was truly alone. It was during this time that God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” So, He created Eve.

We are social people. We need each other. I have seen and heard and been a part of the “debate” over introverts vs. extraverts. Some of us are geared to be around people and need to be around people. Then there are those of us who think the world is way to    people-y. We need a high degree of space and can be on our on for long periods of time just fine, thank you very much. Yet even in that aloneness, there is a realization that “it is not good…to be alone.”

God gives us people we can relate to and talk to and be ourselves with. Sometimes this is our birth family. Sometimes it is our in-laws. Sometimes it is a really good group of friends. I think that when we spend too much time on our own, and I fall into that introvert group, we become prisoners to our mind and go to dark places. The family God gives us helps take away our prison and can fill us with joy and freedom and removes the loneliness.

I don’t know what your family looks like. It may be a place of joy. It may be a place of darkness. If it is a place of joy, I celebrate with you. You have found a special thing. Rejoice in the Lord’s provision. You are not alone. If it is a place of darkness. Let me tell you, you are not alone either. There is hope. God has a family for you also. Trust Him to bring you into that family. Get the help you need. If you are seeking and lost in your own prison, let God bring you into His Family. Trust Him today to be your Father and let Him adopt you as His child. There is no better family than His.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-422-4453

National Suicide Hotline: 988

Angela