"Decently and In Order..."

   "Let all things be done decently and in order..."   I reckon this could mean anything from the organization of a church to running a business, to.....house keeping?  Have you ever felt like your life has no purpose, no direction, no order whatsoever?  You get up whenever you want to, you eat a haphazard breakfast (if you have breakfast at all), you wonder what the day will hold, and you go from one chore to the next without really getting anything done, then you go to bed at a different hour every night, waking up the next morning exhausted because you "stayed up too late last night".  Some folks call it "Running in circles", "Spinning your wheels" "Going nowhere fast", etc.  It really is a miserable feeling.  I've found myself "Stuck in the rut" lately.  Going in circles and not accomplishing anything to speak of.  I found myself CONSTANTLY cleaning and doing laundry, and yet my house never really seemed to get cleaned in spite of me wearing myself out.  I never seemed to have time for anything anymore because I was constantly working.  The plaguing question that all wives face, "WHAT IN THE WORLD am I going to cook tonight???" has been a constant enemy of mine lately.  When you ask your husband what he wants to eat, you get the famous answer, "Oh, anything is fine", or "I'll eat whatever you cook".  Well, that didn't work!  
   So, Andy and I had a "conference" yesterday.  :)  We sat down and re-figured a working budget.  Then we discussed a daily schedule for our household.  I made a list of what needed done around the house and what days it would get done.  Then, since I had him cornered, :) I asked him what his favorite meals were and what he wanted to see on the table for the next couple weeks.  I scribbled down all his ideas and some of my own.  Then I sat down at the computer and began working out a menu for the next four weeks, including breakfast, lunch, and supper for the entire month.  I've already been referring to it, and I'm amazed at how well it is working!  No more, "WHAT IN THE WORLD am I going to cook"!  All I have to do is glance at my menu and its already decided.  :)  And its things my husband and kids enjoy.  I went to several grocery stores and did some bulk shopping, finding the best prices on groceries instead of going to one store.  So much cheaper that way!  So now I have enough groceries to last us a few weeks, so scratch those little trips to the store several times a week for that one item that you need to complete your thrown together supper, or that thing you forgot to pick up the last time you were there. 
   Next I'll work on a printed out chore schedule for myself.  Its been nice trying to get our lives in order.  The kids are already on a pretty good schedule, so nothing much will have to change there.  I do want to start Christian on some kind of pre-school in January.  He's ready to learn, and is very excited about "going to school".  I know this new schedule will help when the baby arrives as well, though we will have to make a few changes due to his little routine.  But I'm excited about it! I'm hoping to get some things done that have been needing my attention for some time now, like mending (there's a huge difference between mending and sewing... :), organizing closets, and cleaning out our storage room.  I'm determined to start scratching some of these mundane chores from my list, and then staying on top of them!  Why do we go to all that work to clean something, then let it go back to its original state two weeks later????  Doesn't make much sense.  :)  
   So, Decently and In Order?  I'm going to give it an honest shot!  There IS a reason God told us to do it.  :)