My hand hovered over my cell phone as I was just about to sign up for another blog post series. I had just yesterday lamented over how many e-mails I had that needed to be deleted. I have several e-mail accounts, seemingly unable to just stick to one. I deleted well over three hundred messages yesterday on one of the accounts and I have just about that much on another one. What I was about to sign up for wasn’t bad, it was actually about organization and how to simplify in the new year. I already ‘follow’ this person on Instagram who updates simplification suggestions each day, so why do I need to see it in my inbox as well?

In 2016, I wrote a three part series on “Finding Your Even Place” on my former blog. Life gets out of control, papers pile up, e-mails multiply, leaving us depressed and unable to cope with even simple tasks anymore. And I am finding myself in this position yet again facing 2018, thus the update of the series on my new blog. I need it!

“My foot standeth in an even place” -Psalm 26:11.

An “even place”: Balanced, steady, continuous, unwavering.

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us”, Hebrews 12:1

I am finding that, for me, it’s not where to START, but better yet, what to STOP or lay aside. It is in finding space to breathe, to think, and to restore. And the things that are taking up space that take my breath away due to frustration, I need to clear. This week’s focus will be to clear out old e-mails and to unsubscribe from sites I hardly ever read. They may be all well and good, but they are not needful.

Happy New Year! If you are seeking for clarity in 2018, maybe instead of looking to start something new, consider stopping something first; something that may be hindering your focus on what really matters in your life. Take a step back. Evaluate what is important. Clear some space. Breathe.