To-do-list frenzy

Ever wonder how to Overcome to-do-list frenzy? Guest blogger Christine Williamson from mygracewalk.com helps you learn how God’s lists keep you sane in the midst of the chaos.

As a mom, I have a love/hate relationship with August. On the one hand, I love it because soon, my four children will be back into the school year routines that everyone has dismissed for the summer. I abhor August because it ends my time with all my kids at home. It’s a bittersweet tug of war for me.

Several weeks ago, I was scurrying around helping my son and daughter get ready to head back to college. It’s mid-August, and the kid’s brains seem to kick back in. They realize they have a long list of things to do before leaving. Of course, many of those things need my help. Suddenly I have a list with tons of things that have to get done. Can you relate?

Shopping for clothes, shopping for food snacks to go back with them, shopping for supplies. There were more things on the list, but I am sure you get my point!:)

There are the lists of items the school needs uploading for admittance. In addition, there is the packing and making sure the kids see as many friends and family members that want to see them before they go. It can be an exhausting process.

I have a list too!

On one particular day, I, too, had a list of things I wanted to get done. Such as, I wanted to spend time in my bible study and research verses for my next blog. Ideas were swirling in my head I wanted to get on paper. I really wanted to write! I was even looking forward to grocery shopping and doing some cleaning around the house.

That day was the day before my daughter moved into her dorm for her freshman year at college. Let me share with you, I did not get one thing on my list done, but we completed several items from her list.

That evening as I sat and rested, yes, it was a packed full kind of day. I found myself thinking of the lists we make. All the things we think have to get done. We get ourselves caught up in a cycle of living by what we get done from ‘the list.’ I wondered if we had a list of things that really mattered and if we worked as hard to get those items done.

I thought about my bible study and the list of things Jesus gives us. That’s right, Jesus gave us lists or instructions on how we are to live our lives.

Overcome to-do-list frenzy with the 10 commandments

The 10 Commandments:

• I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery
• You shall have no other gods before me
• You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain
• Honor your father and mother
• Do not kill
• Do not commit adultery
• You shall not steal
• Don’t bear false witness against your neighbor
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods

Over the years, I have spoken with several people that thought of the commands as rules we had to follow to please God. I don’t look at them as rules but as guides or instructions on how God wants us to walk our faith.

Another list to consider is the items God tells us to arm ourselves with. I encourage you to read Ephesians 6:10-18, but in short, the list goes something like this.

Overcome to-do-list frenzy by putting on your armor

Let’s arm ourselves with:

• The belt of truth
• The breastplate of righteousness
• Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace
• The shield of faith
• The helmet of salvation
• The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

I absolutely love how Jesus tells us how to protect ourselves from the enemy. We are under constant attack from the devil and require God’s divine protection.

Now, if you are still in Ephesians, flip to the left to John 13:31-35. Jesus can whittle down all these commands to the one we should emulate in our everyday life. Take a close look at verse 34.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John 13:34 ESV

Yes, I know for many of us, there are some lists we need to write out. I can tell you, if I didn’t write out my grocery list, I would forget half of what I needed and would buy tons of unneeded stuff.

For me, my passion in life is staying obedient to my God. Therefore, I take this one command deeply to heart. But, it can be very challenging. There are many times I don’t want to love someone. The someone that hurt me or disappointed me. The person who broke promises or lied to me. Truthfully, I know it’s not me loving them.

I believe in my heart that if I am obedient to Jesus’s command, he will pour his love through me to them. I can love them with Jesus’s love. You can read my blog, My Unusual Walk in Obedience to God’s Word, at mygracewalk.com to read more on my perspective of walking in obedience and how fulfilling it is.

Overcome to-do-list frenzy with love

Jesus takes us right to the heart of the matter, what’s most important. Love one another as he loved us.

As a believer in Christ, my focus is living how Jesus lived and how he wants us to live. It is my greatest joy to imitate his walk as closely as I can.

There is no way to know why God loved us so much that he sent his only son to save us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have erternal life. John 3:16 ESV

We have no right or claim to it; it is a gift we can humbly accept, a gift he gave his life for. Jesus loved us so much he called us friends.

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing: but I called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15

To thank him, I will strive to be obedient to his command to love one another, to walk my walk as close as I humanly can to his walk.

So, I will ditch the many lists I think are very important to everyday life and concentrate on his lists.

Overcome to-do-list frenzy the list Jesus has

His Lists:

• The Ten Commandments
• Wearing the Armor of God
• Loving my neighbor

My friends, I have four children and know how busy life can be; when you haven’t overcome the to-do-list frenzy. Yet, if we follow that one command, to love one another, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will guide us to accomplish what he believes are the vital items on our list that need to be accomplished.

I pray the heavenly Father blesses you with the peace of Jesus in your life today.

Meet the Author

Christine Williamson is the creator of her blog, mygracewalk.com. Her purpose with mygracewalk blog is to not be a biblical scholar, but a sharer of life! She is a wife, a mom, and, working woman who has transformed into a Jesus Chasing Gal! Her purpose is to share and chat with you, to encourage, to hopefully build a community of sisters traveling this road of life together. Using her experiences to show you how God was with her while she was broken, knowing that while she cleaved to Him, He was building her back into the woman He made her to be.

Christine Williamson