I am definitely not a naturally tidy person. I have been working hard at improving in this department for the last year or so. I can have no excuse for the clutter around me, I live alone and I am the only one here causing chaos. The first big thing to do when you want to tidy is to sort out the things you have had for ten years or more and never used and send them to a charity shop or the local tip. You have to be ruthless with this if you are to make real progress. If you don't do this your tidying will consist of finding new places for old things in a different room, and that just won't do. The problem for people of my age, born just after the second world war is that we were brought up by mothers who had to make do and mend. Old clothes were cut into strips to make rag rugs; Mother's old dresses were cut down for a daughter. When you have been brought up in that kind of atmosphere it is hard to lose the habit. We are living in a different era now. I have been making do and mending recently. Some years ago I was given one of those alarm clocks which are sent a signal to keep them on time. It has an aerial. Two or three years ago my grandson of about two then tore the aerial off . At the time I mended it with sellotape. This week it fell apart again but I simply stuck it back together again. The clock was given to me by a friend no longer in this world and I was loth to throw it away. It is functional and treasured, you don't throw something away like that. Of course men are terrible hoarders often. I knew a man who used to hoard junk mail and keep in his attic to read later. It took a house move to get him to part with it. I suppose having "stuff" makes us feel secure, but it is a false sense of security. For the christian, hanging on to things can be a sign that you are not trusting the Lord to provide for you. This doesn't mean that you have to throw everything away and buy a new wardrobe. but there needs to be balance in what you do. Just check your reasons for hanging on to stuff.
First of all thanks to Fat Prophet for your interest. I see from your blog you are having trouble commenting. To get back to my assessed service. Criticism albeit constructive is harder for some to take than others. I felt a little crushed after my assessed service but then remembered I had recorded it on my dictaphone. I listened to it all through and although my assessors were quite right about me speaking a little quickly and rushing from item to item, I was actually very pleased with the content of my sermon and how I presented it. So I have decided to take heart. I highly recommend other trainees to record your services. You can hear your good points and your bad and there is no argument about it, it is all caught on the recorder.
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