Are you “list-less” today? 

It is really hot here.  No, let me rephrase that.  It is hot in Pueblo, Colorado.  We just got back from our work-share day down at the organic farm.  And while we are a bit wilted and listless from a hot morning’s work however, I am referring to a different kind of list.  Read on and see what manner of madness is sprouting from my mind. 

 It all boils down to this:

I don’t know what I would do without my lists!  My grocery list, my “to-do” list, and my chore list are necessary evils to keep this haphazard life of mine resembling order.  And while list making seems like a pretty orderly form of function, those of you who know me, know that I am the Queen of Chaos!  But lest I brag too much, I had better get on with my foray into the appeal of lists.

Since the topic of Thursday’s front porch is Unschooling, I must figure out a way to incorporate it into the post.  (smile.)  Unschoolers like me (if there are any out there) might use lists to keep their un-schoolish brain functioning in a relatively forthright manner.  It’s easy just to forget about lists, but in all honesty, I need to see my objectives written, then I need to see them checked off.    I need that finality.  I need a sense of  completion.  There.  All done. Mission accomplished!

  The end.

Well, not the end yet……don’t we have other lists in our minds or on our hearts that aren’t necessarily "to-do." They are the “to-be, or not-to-be” kinds of lists.  And I am not talking Shakespeare here.  A couple of these lists have popped up on HSB lately, and I am going to share them with you.   First of all, from OreoSouza's blog: how about a list of Lies We Homeschoolers Choose to Believe?   We all have a nasty habit of listening to, and believing lies, don't we?.  We need to stop it right now!  Start listening to and believing the truth.  I will get to more of that at the end.  Hang in with me, ok?

And how about the; What We Would Have Done Differently list?  Amanda Bennett wrote that wonderful entry.  Great hindsight and circumspection.  We need more of that in our lives, it is good to review, revamp and revive our lives! These two blog posts will really make you think!   I urge you to read both of those and then take a moment to write your OWN list, and re-evaluate where you are in your Homeschooling journey.  But here is the catch:  Don't just go by your own "revisionist history."  We all have our problems, and our journey is just that, ours.  It quite possibly has been a trouble filled one, but don't dispair.  Please filter it through the truth.  Renew your mind about your past, present and future with the absolute truth of God's Holy Word.  Here are a few of God's lists to help you sort out your own lists.

How about the Days of Creation? 

Did you ever stop to think about the order the days were created?  There was a plan there, see if you can see the “common sense” in the way God did that.  We all need a dose of good old not-so-common, common sense now and then!

Then there are the 10 Commandments.

The list of Blessings, and the Curses.   The Sermon on the Mount,   

 the Fruit of the Spirit list, and the Love list. 

(There is also the God Hates list, and that one might be a good one to review also. Yikes.) 

 My favorite, and most needed here is the “Whatever” list, also known as "Think On These Things." That one is quite possibly a list we need to make and keep in front of our eyes at all times.  (I wrote about that awhile back right here.)

It is so easy to get our minds on the wrong things.  We can side-track ourselves quite easily. And while grocery  and to-do lists are important, the lists highlighted here today supersede those!

Now can you see that if our Heavenly Father created lists, then they must have a very special purpose in our lives?  Don't be listless!

Blessings,

Homeschooling is…..lists!

Nancy

 The self-proclaimed Queen of Chaos over four loyal subjects, Nancy Baetz ,is the author of Homeschooling Is Life! Stop by her blog and say hello and see if you can help straighten her out, ok?