For longer than a year, I’ve been in the process of adding 250 sq’ to the back of my house. We’ve added a 10×16 sitting room to our bedroom plus a small office. Yesterday I FINALLY started laying the new laminate flooring in the sitting room portion of the addition. The floor had already been installed in the office. In fact, we’d moved in the desk and furniture and it’s been in use.

So… yesterday’s work did NOT go as well as I had planned and hoped for. Even with the great helper I had working with me. (my WW) She made most of it fun!!

The main problem was that I had too much STUFF already in the room. I didn’t take it out. My thought was: “I’ll just work around it and move it out of my way as I get to it.”

Mistake! Big Mistake! BIG! HUGE!! It turned a “Do-able-in-one-day project” into a “I’m-STILL-working-on-it again-today, and WOW, what a Process Mess this turned into!”

The inevitable difficulties one encounters when attempting to do something I’ve only done a few times before were made immeasurably worse by The (good) Stuff in the Way.

My plan was that I would move it out-of-the-way in order to install the flooring and then move it back into place after the floor was done. That’s where my plan failed. I kept running into unforeseen problems that required me to go back and start again in areas that had already been done. Of course this required me to move the stuff again. And again. And then, even again!! I even had to remove part of the (finished) floor in the office. Of course, THAT meant all the office furniture was in the way!!

As my WW and I took a lunch break I begin to reflect on what we were doing. I began to wonder how much all the stuff in my life interferes with the important things I want to accomplish. How much time and effort is wasted because I still have to deal with STUFF? How often do I just move stuff from place to place instead of taking care of it once and for all?

So, Today, God’s been yakking at me. Again! He’s showing me the lesson that he has for me in all this if I will stop, listen and pay attention.

I think today God’s saying; “Jim, it’s time to clean out some of the stuff in your life so U’n I can concentrate on the work that is important.”

My life is full! Busy! Of GOOD things. Much of the misery and unhealthy habits that drove me into that darkness have been replaced. But the goal is PROGRESS, not perfection! I don’t have to deal (so much) with the consequences of the things I used to do. But – what are the things I need to say “NO” to, because it’s “too much GOOD, not enough BEST!”

LORD, examine me, show me those things in my life that are In The Way. Show me the things which are interfering with that work which U began in me. U promised to continue the work, but help me get out of Ur way.  

A few weeks ago, one of our pastors shared this thought: “Watch out for the GOOD things U encounter that don’t have Ur name on them – learn to say ‘NO’ to the things that are not meant for YOU!” 

BTW, We finally got the flooring finished!

P.S. – Writing is one of those BEST things I’ve been neglecting. My friend Jon challenged me on FB the other day; “Hey, Jim, now that the addition is winding down, GET BACK TO WRITING!!!
YesSir, JonBoy!! and THKQ