Order from Chaos - part 2

Yesterday there was a moment where there were eight children in our house between the ages of 0 and 13, plus ten adults. It was a little chaotic. Luckily we have a large house so there's room to spread out, but the noise doesn't respect walls. I'm not complaining about the chaos, I chose to live in this home with people who have kids in the hope that our house would be filled with visitors. It's great.

But it makes for some difficulty when it comes time to create. In the loudness and business of our house, I often have a hard time being productive. I like to have quiet and order to help me process my thoughts. Those conditions can be hard to come by around here.

I've invested in some noise canceling headphones for when I can't leave the house, but I need to get some work done. I use the Jabra C820S Active Noise Cancelling Stereo Headphones (note, this is an affiliate link and I earn a small commission on any purchases). They help me to tune out the noise of the world around me so I can focus.

I get out of the house (my office) to be creative. I go to the coffee shop down the street. Somehow, sitting in a crowd of people can bring peace and concentration where sitting with a group of people I know only brings distractions.

I spend time journaling to get out all of the chaos in my brain. Often the thoughts get jumbled which makes it difficult for me to pick out the good ones from the bad ones. Getting my thoughts on paper and out of my head helps to see what I've got and process things better.

What tips do you have for bringing order out of the chaos of your life?

Order from Chaos

In the Ancient Near East (ANE) mythology the ocean was the source of chaos. The land existed in spite of the chaos of the sea which sought to consume and destroy order. The heroes of the creation myths in the ANE had to fight against the chaos and the sea in order to carve out some order.

So when we see God in Genesis hovering over the water it would sound very familiar to someone in the ANE, a battle is about to be joined where God must thwart the chaos to make a tenuous space for order. The surprise is that God doesn't struggle or fight, he just speaks. His words bring order without struggle. God is not opposed to the chaos, he is above it. He brings order, but does not dismiss the sea altogether, rather he creates a balance between the sea and the land. A balance between order and chaos.

When we preach we speak order into chaos. We share the hope of Jesus and the good news of the Kingdom with people who are lost and hurting; with people living in chaos. But our job isn't to eliminate chaos with our well-ordered words, rather we ought to teach a balance between order and chaos.

How do you bring order to the chaos but still leave room for chaos in the order?