Dear Reader:

Don’t we humans have a tendency (especially) in today’s society to compartmentalize? Nothing makes us happier than sorting through drawers and getting organized….by color, size, popularity of usage, or any other of a dozen different categories we create for ourselves.

We feel so proud of ourselves for cleaning and sorting through drawers, cabinets, and closets. And there is nothing wrong in it…to an extent. The problem arises when we spend inordinate amounts of time categorizing our blackberries, or apps, or emails or phone calls…it is an endless job and takes away leisure and family time from our busy schedules. More importantly it takes away spiritual time.

Americans have been accused of separating their secular lives from their spiritual ones more  than any other country… In our country we see continuous conflicts between “church and state” in the legal sense…and so perhaps, over time, we have steered clear of  mixing the two together…easier to keep them in separate compartments.

From the blog (Christianity 201- This Pilgrim’s Progress) Chris observes:

We live segregated lives while career, family, and leisure remain in separate drawers. We particularly make sure that our secular versus  spiritual lives remain separated…we don’t want to get in any trouble over mixing those “drawers.”

Over time… we have become so adept at this separation that we rarely give it much thought when planning our daily schedules. No “spill overs” becomes our banner for the way we live our lives.

Chris remembers an “A-Ha” moment he had while leading a devotional at a conference in Fort Worth. He recalls that the devotional leader (the previous day) had offered meditation on the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

He sat thinking about that line of scripture. It appears to put out a call for people to pull away from the busy-ness of life to seek God’s presence. But, he thought, don’t we also need to heed the call to bring God into the busy-ness of our lives?

If God is everywhere wouldn’t it be easier to de-compartmentalize  our spirituality by making it a part of our every day secular life?  Shouldn’t we strive to stay in prayer 24/7 by making God our co-decision maker at work, our understanding neighbor at home, and our first baseman at play?

John Castle made these remarks (excerpts) titled: ” Stop Compartmentalizing Your Life” -The High Calling:

The truth is God calls us to journey with Him just as decisively as He called Moses to free the children of Israel. He invites us to be a part of His plan and to seek and find our meaning in Him. But we can’t continue to hold onto the illusion that we are the CEO of our lives or that our work is separate from God. No, on this journey, all belongs to God. It is a journey characterized by commitment and obedience and trust. 

I am sure that wherever the journey leads there are going to be good times and bad times, and it will be full of surprises as well. But there are two things I know: I know who will be with me on the journey, and I know where the journey ends. And in truth, that’s really all I need to know.

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 Instead of adding a whole separate compartment titled: Time to Chat with God  wouldn’t it just be easier to ask Him for His intervention and guidance throughout our day…and then be open to His ideas?

So until tomorrow…Let’s all work towards integrating all the wonders and blessings of life God has created for us into each day …keeping our compartments flung wide open… with the keys thrown away…Help yourself God to my life!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Rutledge definitely has his trucks in his top category of interest in life at this two year old stage …so much so that it sometimes runs into the sleeping category!

• I almost forgot…today is Lachley’s 5 month birthday….Go Lachley! You’re catching up fast! Sweet baby!
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• Jakie’s top two categories are eating and watching Mickey Mouse!