Sarah starts today with something that she discovered.
"For years I have suspected that in happy and fulfilled lives, domesticity and spirituality are invisibly but inexorably connected."
I think I've quoted this scripture before.
"Organize yourselves;
prepare every needful thing;
and establish a house,
[spiritual]
even a house of prayer,
a house of fasting,
a house of faith,
a house of learning,
a house of glory,
[domesticity]
a house of order,
=
a house of God;"
- D&C
Until I read the line from Sarah, I never put that scripture together that way. We are commanded to establish a house of God, and are given spiritual and domestic principles to help us accomplish that. Of course this is one of many interpretations, but I like it.
Sarah talked about the Shakers, and how they said "a prayer each morning for the grace that would enable them to express their love of God through their daily tasks-tasks as simple and mundane as making a bed."
I have always had a hard time being organized. It's not that I'm not good at it, it's just that I think I never developed good habits. I don't have a hard time cleaning, or staying clean, but tidy has always been an issue. I used to only make the bed if I had to, but now, I try to make my bed everyday.
"Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed by outside circumstances...instinctively I turn to homegrown rituals to restore my equilibrium. There is an immediate emotional and psychological payoff to getting our houses in order...I have even noticed that there is a direct correlation between the days when I'm feeling depressed and the days when the house is in disarray." -SBB
"It's not the tragedies that kill us, it's the messes." -Dorothy Parker
That is so true.
She gives some advice.
"If you feel constantly adrift but don't know why, be willing to explore the role that order - or lack of it - plays in your life. No [one] can think clearly when constantly surrounded by clutter, chaos, and confusion, no matter who is responsible for it.
Begin to think of order not as a straitjacket of 'shoulds'...but as a shape - the foundation - for the beautiful new life you are creating.
It may be as simple as putting something back that you take out, hanging something up that you take off, or teaching those who live with you that they must do the same for the common good of all."
Thanks Sarah. That's some freakin' awesome advice. It seriously helps me when I'm doing the same mundane chores every day to be grateful that I can do them, to show God that I am willing to take care of what I have, and that I do take care of them well. To live is to get things dirty, and then to keep living well we need to make them clean again.
"Order is the shape upon which beauty depends." -Pearl Buck
Gratitude leads to Simplicity.
Simplicity leads to Order.
***
Gratitude Journal
***
1) Good friends. We had a great play date today with some really good friends. And they have some really fun toys.
2) Chase came home. There is odd feeling of security knowing all three of my children are sleeping under the same roof.
3) My parents. To see them love on my kids is so exciting. And to see my kids love them is even more exciting.
4) Blood. Someone beat up on Chase, I don't know if it was Riley or Jacob, but all of a sudden there was blood all over his ear. When you're not going to bleed out or anything, blood is really beautiful. And fascinating. Is it weird that my children know the word blood?
5) Being exhausted. It's not like a sick tired, it's a I know that I worked hard, and that's why I'm tired. My cousin texted me this "If you're completely exhausted and don't know how you're going to keep giving this much of yourself day after day you're probably a good parent." -Bunmi Laditan. She said she thought of me. I don't think I quite agree with Bunmi, but I get the point. Being a good parent is exhausting in every way.
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