The List

Confession time:  I am obsessed with making lists!  Grocery lists, To-Do lists, Reading lists, lists of cute things my kids do/say...the list goes on.  (See I even made a list about lists!)

Now, if the word "list" still has any meaning to you after reading it so many times, please continue to read.
^ (You know what I mean..sometimes a word looses meaning if you say it too many times.  My favorite example:  Frisbee!  Try it.  Frisbee, Frisbee, Frisbee, Frisbee, Frisbee...but I digress.)

I have now come up with a brilliant (if I do say so myself) new list!  I call it my,
"I DID-List."

First, let me explain my reason for coming up with said list.  As a stay-at-home mom, I often times find myself at the end of a day with no time for a shower, urgent to-do's weighing on my mind, and a messy house (read:  kitchen looks like it exploded, a toy tornado must have ripped through my living room, and you would need some serious mountain climbing gear to scale our ever-growing pile of laundry)  Then I collapse into my bed while praying that both of my kids sleep through the night, so I can have enough energy to face the next day.  But if all of those things on my to-do list didn't get done, then what did get done?

Needless to say, I often deal with guilt and a discouraged spirit, because in my Type-A mind, I should be able to take care of every thing every day.  But I have proven time and time again, that it's just not possible.

God is continually reminding me that it's okay not to finish everything on the to-do list.  It's okay not to have perfect control over everything.  Instead, I need to prioritize and do everything to glorify Him!

I don't know about you, but I need encouragement.  Here is where the "I DID-List" comes in!  I have decided to make a list of the things that I do each day, and who benefited from those actions (my kids, my husband, myself, my extended family, friends...you get the idea).

So far, so good!  I am thrilled to see that even though my house is a wreck, and I have a million things left on the to-do list, MY DAY COUNTED!  I did things during my day that touched my kids, my husband, my family and friends, and I even did a few things for myself.  Ultimately, I pray that my day was glorifying to God!

And no, I am not going to give up the to-do list.  But I am going to be encouraged by my I DID list!

Here is a song that has inspired me to create the "I DID-List," and it has greatly encouraged me as it has played in my head over the last couple of months.

Steven Curtis Chapman's "Do Everything"