Have you ever had a difficult time focusing your attention?  There is so much going on around you that is exciting that you find yourself shifting from one project to another without finishing any of them.  I have two boxes full of photos that need to be scanned, and organized into years and subject.  There are quite a few more boxes just like these two over in Pat's office that need the same work done with them. Then there are the family movies that I have talked about before.  They need to be put into digital format as well and then burned on DVD for saving.  How does one get started?  What will motivate me  to don what is needed, knowing that the only way to finish the project, is to get started! There is SO much that needs to be done that it is overwhelmingly a big project. It is not that I don't have enough storage space. I have three external hard drives that have in excess 400 GB each of room.  That will easily hold those pictures don't ya think?

Then there is the hundreds of books that need to be read.  What happens when they are read???  They are put back on the bookshelf to be "admired".  What do YOU do with read books?  You can email me with your suggestions.  gary.saffell@Yahoo.com    I have a nice office that used to be the master bedroom that needs to be overhauled with some organization, but don't have a clue on what I want or how I want to re-organize it.  With non-committed time on my hands, if I don't use it properly, it will be wasted.  Won't be able to regain lost time.  That seems to be a waste doesn't it?  My books are a hodge-podge of research/background books of a bunch of different subjects with the majority of them in the religious category.  Then there are music books, general reading books of interesting people that I would like to read their life history.  Then there are several Clive Cussler books yet to be read. I love his adventure stories.  Doesn't gain me much but is entertaining when nothing else is pressing.  I have a closet full of misc. books that need to be out where I can see them, but no room to display.  So that leads me to conclude I need to be taking some time to read them and ditch them.  I am a slow reader, so not sure there is time to read them all to get them out of the way!

So what am I going to do with this mess that I call an office?  Probably nothing drastic.  I will eliminate the piles that seem to stack up on my counter top and rearrange the other clutter, but that will be about it.  Is that how we live our lives?  Go along for a while collecting "clutter" and stacking them in a pile?  It's not so much when we do it one piece at a time, is it?  We start out with things arranged in pretty good order, once we understand we do need organization in our lives.  Our internal book shelves have things all sitting there, ready for us to use, nice and pretty.  Then life gets moving, sometimes pretty fast and things like standards of living, morals (cheating perhaps), speech patterns (vulgarity), honesty (oh, it was just a little white lie), start to swell up and don't get taken care of right away.  Then our book shelves start to look a mess.  To top it all off, our table/desk/countertops, start to grow STACKS of the stuff!  How do we manage it all?  What can we do to get rid of this growth of stuff that is slowing our lives down?  Lets look to our spiritual resources.  What do we have there that will get our lives back on track.  Get our thoughts back in line with where it really should be.  Getting rid of the clutter that is interfering with where God wants us to be.   Last night (Sunday, March 24th) Pat and I went to a sister Church and were blessed beyond what we are allowed, I am sure.  A Gospel music ministry group called the Joylanders had come to share their faith through music with a group of very appreciative folks.  I was smiling the whole night long with the inspiration and harmonious sounds that they washed over us all. Of course it was way too short of a time they shared with us, although it could have been all night long, it would have been too short of a time.  The talent in that family group is amazing.  Jason is a fantastic, and masterful guitarist, and his bass voice has a range that is astounding.  Vanessa's voice is one of an angel and her instrumental talents leaves me speechless.  She is perfection on the guitar, fiddle, banjo is beyond belief.  I know she also plays pedal steel guitar as well, but not last night.  I know envy is a not a good thing to have, but I do have it with her musical instrument variety of perfection.  Then there is Jay....bassist of extraordinary talent. Watching him play the bass during the sharing, was a wonderful blessing.  The notes were of pureness and perfection. His hands gliding from note to note were of a master of caressing the instrument.  Ally's voice was one of an angel singing praises, with a little kick of down-home humbleness.  All together with Vanessa's fantastic Parents, who are long time singers of the Word and the foundation of the group, did a wonderful job of re-organizing some of the clutter I have been accumulating within myself.  At least for the short time they were flooding me with their music, I was in heaven...worry free....feeling the grace of God flowing over my soul.

Now that it's over, and real life has crept back in, what am I going to do with the clutter?  Continue to work on getting rid of the bothersome stuff, that keeps getting in the way, and I suppose I will continue to get rid of some of those piles of no longer useful life things stacking up on my counter top and in those file drawers that have so faithfully been filled with "things I might need in the future" stuff.

How are you doing on your stacks of stuff?  Maybe its time for you as well, to start the process of getting rid of things in your life that are interfering with being closer to God in your life.  Just a thought.

Blessings,
Gary