June 14 – “Lists”

Do you make lists?  I make lists all the time.  Lists of groceries to buy.  Lists of what to do each week.  Lists of things I still need to get done before youth camp.  Lists of things I need to take to youth camp.  Lists of people I have met at Seaside.  Lists of things we want to accomplish in restoring the house after Hurricane Ike.  Lists of things we would like to have someday.  Lists.   I am reading a book right now called The New Birth Order Book.  I read the original Birth Order Book back when it first came out years ago, and I was fascinated by it.  It's all based on the work of some psychologist guy named Alfred Adler.  He taught that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, influences on how you act and the decisions you make in life is the order in which you were born in your family.  This book pretty much simplifies all the psycho-babble and makes it easier to understand – a work of pop art.    Anyway, this new book says if you make a lot of lists you are probably a first born or maybe an only child.  I think he needs to revise that just a bit.  It should say if you make a lot of lists and do everything you can to accomplish everything on those lists, to the point of being obsessive about it.  That fits better.  I'm a middle child.  I do not by any means obsess over the lists I make.  I just think it's fun when you get to scratch out something.  And if I don't finish the list, so much the better.  That means there's just more to look forward to for next week.    I do have to confess that the other reason I am so big on making lists has nothing to do with birth order or obsessiveness or even scratching out done stuff.  Much of the time I make lists it's because if I don't I'll totally forget what it was I was supposed to be doing.  There have been many times I have gone to WalMart for something in particular.  Once there I get so wrapped up in people watching or browsing the movie section that I totally forget my object.  It's frustrating to get back home and realize that I have to turn around and go right back again.  Of course that means I get to do some more people watching, so it's not all bad.  Making a list does force me to stay focused, though.  And that's not always a simple task.    We are heading into Texas this morning to pray with a family at Texas Children's Hospital before a surgery.  Before we go I have to get gas, stop by the bank, pick up a prescription …   Proverbs 14:30 says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."   Father, give Allie and her family peace as they go through this surgery.  Amen.