The Third Coffee Mug - A Dose of Encouragement

I love to read little phrases that may be clever or humorous 

and I love going round craft shops or gift shops.  

        One day in Cookstown many years ago, I found a nice shop and spent an enjoyable time wandering round picking out some very early Christmas presents. 

          
        
The shop had a great display of mugs and of course I found one which I couldn’t resist.  

Firstly its design was in blue (which is by far my favourite colour I even wrote a post on it "I Love The Colour Blue" and I would probably have everything in my house blue if Fred would let me) and secondly the words on it amused me.  
        
         It read  

                      “I would get organised except it would only confuse everyone”. 

I bought it for my husband Fred because he told me that his desk at work was always a mess and I thought he could use the mug at work.  However the nice blue design was rather a floral design and I felt that Fred might not appreciate it, so I kept it for myself.  

          Anyway, I was always trying to get organised, I had a small two drawer filing cabinet in the kitchen, two drawers of my roll-top desk were filing drawers and the large drawer at the bottom of the computer armoire was also a filing drawer.  With all of these you would think that all our papers etc. would be organised and nothing misplaced or forgotten about; but no! 

                     
Even though 

                                                   

 I rarely end up completely organised.

In fact I'm pretty good at starting and not finishing things.  I'm good at getting everything out to rearrange cupboards etc. and taking ages to get it all back in again.

Fred often asks me why it is that every time I say I am sorting out something, he finds me in the middle of a mess.  

            
 My answer is 

 "you can’t tidy up properly without making a mess".  

I know that sounds stupid but it makes sense to me. 

When you are organising things you need to have piles or boxes for 

• Things you will throw out
• Things you will donate or give away
• Things to keep
• Things you like and know you don't really need but you don't want to part with.

Some day I will have a 

                                                                            

 but not just now.  

The only problem is that this can often affect my spiritual life too. 

• When to read the Bible?
• Where to read the Bible?
• What to read in the Bible?
• When to pray?
• Where to pray?
• What to pray about?
• When to study?
• How to study?

I kept thinking I must organise how I read, pray and study the bible; so then I would want to try to plan it all out in advance and decide when the best time was and method was but then I would get started and change my mind.


Let’s face it if I tried to wait until I got all that organized perfectly,

then I’d never be found in a quiet place with God.

So I knew I could not have it just perfectly organised and instead 

I just had to do it.

because otherwise I would never learn from the promises, love, mercy, grace, compassion of Jesus and the instructions God has given us.

Of course that was all years ago when I had the kids at home, I was working and Fred travelled a lot with work so perhaps the reason for not being properly organised was due to all of that.  

So now then when the kids are grown and away from home and  I am not working things can be organised perfectly can't they?

   No, not at all, it is just the same now as then.

(except I don't have that coffee mug now because it got broken some years ago)  

and I know


I just have to do it.

So I'm thankful God doesn't wants us to do it absolutely perfectly

 but just wants us to do it to the best of our ability and His Holy Spirit

 will help us with the rest.

Are you like me?
Or perhaps you have no problems at all with organising your quiet times with God.