To Do: Write List

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love, love lists. I'm guilty of keeping small black books in my purses, backpacks, and general vicinity. I had a Palm Pilot for awhile, but somehow found that important stuff took too long to type with a ink-less stylus, and the stuff got lost, anyways. My lists are somewhat cryptic, anyways, running the gamut between "books to write about" to "business ideas" to "Do (or not do) by 2009..."

The battery died months ago, but lists in paper are forever :)

I resorted, for awhile, to keeping dry-erase markers in a toothbrush holder on my bathroom mirror, but then a friend left "Smile, you're on Candid Camera!" written above my sink, and getting out of the shower the next morning I saw it... and it made me feel funny inside.

But I digress. Today I laughed out loud, because I had left my little diary at home. In my haste, I scribbled some notes on a post-it from work, and put that on my wallet where I'd be sure to not forget anything. Know what it said?

-Stapler
-Ink
-Makeup
-Breakfast for attorneys

I could explain, but it really doesn't matter. Ok, maybe I couldn't explain. You'll just have to imagine.

Anyways, the whole event made me start to think about lists themselves, and why they are helpful. But then I started thinking that maybe they aren't so helpful. For example, they are helpful when you are planning. They are not so helpful when you are allowing your mind to run away with itself with the unknowns. For this particular post, I'm only going to refer to the former.

I've been thinking that perhaps I can use my love for lists to offer up to the Lord some things that are weighing on my mind. I have a few "regulars," you see. A few requests and things that are burdensome that come up during my quiet time. But more than this, I've been learning to still my heart enough to listen for Him to prompt me towards more things to add to the list. More, you say? Yes, much more.

I am not advocating for the Christian's prayer life to be reduced to a list. Prayer is far to personal for this. I am, however, saying that it can be a powerful tool towards focusing your mind and heart into the quietness of prayer. Perhaps, too, it wouldn't be so terrible to think through some of those particular areas of sin, in all their ugliness, and create smaller lists of each to ask specific forgiveness for. I find that this creates accountability in my life.

Thanks for letting share a little bit of my day. If you ever get a post-it stuck to the bottom of your shoe, and if it came from the general vicinity of a Starbucks, and it has some sort of cryptic writing on it that may or may not include abstract ideas mixed with "learn French" scribbled above "get mascara," you know where to find me. :)