Throwout Thursday

It was 2-3 months ago when I ran across a webcast for a Barna Group event called Frames Live. You can find info about it here.

Looking back, this webcast was kind of a turning point for me in some ways. I am a stay at home mom. My days are filled with mundane yet necessary details. I am not referring to my son or husband. They are the highlights of my days, for sure. I'm talking about the small stuff that keeps the necessary things in life going smoothly. 

Like laundry days, wiping down counter tops, scrubbing bathrooms, and killing ants. It's not a glamorous job, but someone has to do it. I am thankful that this someone is indeed me. 

But on this day, I was reminded that this stuff is good, but there's also other goods in my heart and life. It reminded me of why what happens inside these walls is important to what happens outside of these walls and etc. It reminded me that there is more to life than our usual routines. 

I was challenged to rethink how I use my time. It was a lovely thing. 

Then along came this character named, Bob Goff. I use the word "character" in the most friendliest and respectful of intentions. Bob Goff is a best selling author, lawyer, professor, and  founder of Restore International (a non-profit organization which was established to address injustice against children. He made me laugh. Yet I wasn't laughing at him. I was laughing with him and his incredulous invitation to live life ti the fullest in Christ. He also said that on Thursdays, he quits something. He explained further by saying it's not bad things that he quits. He quits good things. And he does this to make space in his life for people, to love them, really love them. He said that he wants to be available for people. When people call, he answers. 

This was cah-razy talk to me. I am a stay at home mom, but even then I am usually not available to anyone outside of my household in such a way. 

But then I decided to try it. I didn't really have much to choose from because at that time I wasn't really involved in anything. Therefore, I decided to quit the Facebook app on my phone and Instagram notifications. 

It wasn't the best idea. I post pics of my son on my personal Facebook page for my out of town family (and all of our family lives out of town) and close friends to see. I couldn't do that anymore. So, on Friday I rejoined the world of Facebook mobile. But I did stop getting notifications on my phone. 

It was kinda lonely on the first day or  two, but after that it was...magical? Okay, okay, maybe not magical, but it has been great for me. I still haven't reactived receiving those notifications, and I don't see myself changing that anytime soon, if ever. For once, I was able to get a grip of my time not for the sake of making myself less available but to become available. I needed to manage my time to more efficiently finish the mundane and necessary tasks so I could move on to the other stuff that was just as necessary...like loving people and doing whatever else God led me to do. 

When the next Thursday came along, I had nothing else to quit really. So instead I finally started cleaning out some of the unnecessary things that we have in our home that is causing clutter in more ways than one. We have stacks of clutter that moved into this home before I even did that are still there. Oh they have been moved around the house a bit, but they serve no purpose. Thursdays are the perfect day to get rid of them bit by bit, slowly but surely. I often say that Goodwill either loves me on Thursdays or hates me because I have been there probably eight times in the last 10 weeks or so.

Oh yea, it's that serious. 

I'm kinda hooked.

Our home is getting uncluttered and it's all going to a great cause. What I couldn't do in 3 years is happening every week. We are starting to see real progress in our home. 

Quit Something Thursdays. 

Throwout Thursdays. 

One of those or none of those will work out for you. I'm just sharing my story. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you have a routine way of clearing out clutter in your life?

And here's a little Bob Goff for ya.