Disorganized Mom
by Nancy Van Pelt
Dear Nancy: My whole life is a disorganized mess. I need to get it straightened out starting with my relationship with God. My budget is in chaos. And the raising of my children and my relationship with my husband is all upside down. The days come and go and the mountain is so high I can’t handle it, so I do nothing at all, and it all pile up. I am depressed, anxious and helpless. I start a new job on Monday and I can’t find my nursing license or my children’s birth certificates. My goal is to become debt free, to manage a workable budget and unclutter my life. The task is so massive. Where and how do I begin?
Dear Disorganized Mom: You say your whole life is a mess and needs straightening up??your relationship with God, your budget, parenting and marriage. You can’t tackle all your life problems at one time. Here’s our plan. We begin with what we have today. Open your Bible and read a few verses–may I suggest you begin with l Corinthians 14:40. Ask God help you to put order and decency in your life. Then tackle one room today, putting away all visible clutter. Don’t try to tackle your entire house, or you’ll make a bigger mess and get discouraged.
Next I recommend you read my book Get Organized*, focusing especially on chapter 6, “How to Sort Through the Clutter.” I give step-by-step instructions on how to get your home decent and in order. Follow my plan for six weeks getting one room per week under control. You’ll find that the clutter and disorganization soon become a part of your past.. Once you can see over the visible clutter, you’ll gain control in other areas of your life.
The second book I recommend is Larry Burkett’s book Debt Free Living*. When Harry and I first read that book, we wept all the way through it as we realized how, through our ignorance, we had wasted money and resources. We became very serious about our finances, and within a relatively short time, we paid off every debt, including our home mortgage, and began living debt free. We cut up all our credit cards—we keep the pieces in a jar as a reminder never to go back to that style of living. What freedom we experienced.
After you get these two areas of your life under control read my book Highly Effective Marriage*. You and your husband will benefit from putting the principles outlined there to work in your relationship. You’ll find that when you get your home, your finances, and your relationship with God under control, many of the other problems you’re dealing with will automatically melt away.
Now, go, take on the day!
*Burkett, Larry. Debt-Free Living. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2001.
*Van Pelt, Nancy. Get Organized—Seven Secrets to Sanity for Stressed Women. Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000. (Obtainable from www.heartnhome.com)
*Van Pelt, Nancy. Highly Effective Marriage. Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000. (Obtainable from www.heartnhome.com)
This article is excerpted from Dear NancyBA trusted advisor gives straight answers to questions about marriage, sex and parenting, Nancy L. Van Pelt with Madlyn Lewis Hamblin, Pacific Press, Nampa, Idaho, 2005. (Obtainable from www.heartnhome.com)