A few days ago, I was thinking about how much I adore the Bible Study that I go to. I love it because it has provided the consistency, and therefore the depth, that I’ve always wanted, but never achieved on my own.

Sometimes I have a very self-sufficient attitude. I’m an intelligent person, and am successful at many things. So, I often have the thought that “I shouldn’t have to . . . ” You can fill in the blank.

In regards to the Bible Study, I used to go through short spurts of daily study. I had this idea that personal devotion time should was something I should “just be able to do.” I should be self-motivated. I should be consistent. And like with my house, and my weight, I always thought that “someday” I’ll have to start doing that.

The reality is, that although I should be able to eat right, exercise, keep my house clean, and consistently have personal time with God, saying I should doesn’t make it happen.

While there are other areas in which I have an internal drive that makes me be consistent and focused, in these areas I have to set up a system to make up for the lack of internal drive. I have to compensate. And hopefully, setting up the system will ignite something that will create the internal drive.

Thinking that I should doesn’t do anything for me. But going to a very organized and in-depth Bible Study has ignited a fire in me to be consistent. It is no longer a struggle for me to find a time to spend in God’s Word. Now it is a major part of my routine, and it isn’t easily forgotten.

I’ve been going to Weight Watchers for over a year now. Before I went, I knew what foods were healthy and which were not. I knew how to read nutrition labels and measure portion sizes. But I needed a system that made sense to me to keep me motivated, and to keep it as a priority for me. I could lose some more, but I have kept 30 lbs off for an entire year now, and it is primarily because I know that I have to go weigh in every week. I am accountable, and I have found a system that works for me.

With my house, I’m exploring through this blog what works and doesn’t work for me. I’m finding that I need non-negotiable tasks. I’m finding that even though a normal person might not need to sweep their kitchen every single day, I do. I should be able to notice when it needs to be swept and hop to it, but I don’t. So for me, daily sweeping is the system that works.

I should find a time every week to clean my bathrooms thoroughly from top to bottom. I should naturally wipe down the faucet every time I wash my hands. But I don’t. Weeks can go by without my ever thinking about the need to clean bathrooms. So I wipe them down every night. This works for me because it’s consistent. I don’t have to remember the last time I did it, because I do it daily. It perhaps isn’t as thorough as a huge cleaning day, but by doing it everyday, I’ll hit tomorrow what I might miss today.

So what’s the point?

I have to do what works. There are things that I shouldn’t HAVE to do, but I do have to do them, if my house is going to stay in order. I have to accept my struggles and find ways to keep them from overwhelming me.