Have you ever felt the feeling of stepping on a lego? Not good, it’s not good, it hurts! I actually saw a meme about it the other day, it was kind of funny!

That’s life with kids, that’s life with other people. There are things out of place, there are things out of order. There’s stuff on the floor, there’s stuff everywhere. Mess happens, that’s a part of life it’s something that we all deal with. There are ways to overcome it, ways that I found to make it not so big and scary to have to clean up the mess because sometimes it can get overwhelming, especially when you live with people.

When my kids were little we came up with a technique that we use called the five minute pickup. We would go and set a timer for five minutes to pick up. When my kids were little and home all the time it was five minutes per room now that they’re older and not home so much and not making such a big mess it’s just five minutes. We turn on the timer for five minutes and everybody picks up. Pick up after yourself, pick up after someone else, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re picking up! My rule was that if all the kids were doing it and actively helping then I would help too and if they weren’t then I wasn’t helping. We just see how much we can get done in five minutes. It’s pretty simple, pretty easy, not hard, we can clean up a lot in five minutes!

My daughter and I just got hooked on watching this guy who records himself doing car detailing. You seriously would not believe what these cars look like! They could be such disasters and he just makes a video of himself cleaning. It’s seriously so therapeutic and feels amazing to watch the transformation happen. 

What would it be like in your life if you could just implement five minutes of everybody getting on board to get that synergy going? Maybe you could even turn on some good music as you clean up. It feels so much better when you have a fresh slate and you’re not stepping on legos. I encourage you to give it a try!

It can be really hard to get your family on the same page, especially when their activities and schedules are so different. You could have children of different ages and stages, and not only is your family not on the same page, but they’re not even in the same book! How’s that for a visual? Is that how you feel your life is right now–your family is not on the same page, but you’re starting to wonder if you even have the same books? Is that how it feels? You have your little kids and they’ve got their little books. And then you have your medium kids and they’re in their medium size books. And then you have your bigger kids and they’re in their bigger books. And you’re thinking, “How am I supposed to make sense of all this, when I am managing a family and we’re not all on the same page? We’re not even reading out of the same book!” 

How do you manage that? Well, I have a tip for you. I have been teaching for over 20 years, mostly children, and I have a tip for you. The best way to get on the same page is to gather your family at least one time a day. Gather everyone together, everyone on the same page, and everyone in the same book. I’ll tell you the book I’m talking about. It’s the scriptures. The scriptures were written for us and for our time, for the circumstances that we’re living in right now. Because God loves us, he has given us a book so that we can all be on the same page. 

During this time of constant change, there is one who is never changing, and that is God. As we turn to Him, and as we turn to His book, our family can be on the same page for at least a portion of the day. My daughter told me that one of her favorite things about going to school, back when they went, was the morning announcements. She loved to hear what the plan was for the day, what new and exciting things were happening, whose birthdays were happening, and what they were serving for lunch (even though she didn’t have school lunch). Just knowing what the plan was for the day was comforting for her. 

Children and adults are comforted when they know what the plan is. There’s comfort in that. When we gather at least one time a day, and we read from the same book (which was written for us and teaches us about God’s plan), and we’re all on the same page for a moment, it’s going to help your family feel better. It’s going to help you feel like you’re heading the right direction, on the right path, doing the right things.  

All of the change and all the chaos going on in the world today is not surprising to Him. It’s not surprising at all to Him. This is all part of His plan. We have the opportunity to take some time, amidst all the chaos in the world, and create a space and a moment and a time in our family to be on the same page. I encourage you to gather your family. Gather your family and read from the same book at least once a day and you will find more unity, and your kids will have more stability in this world of constant change. I know that our family has been blessed as we’ve done that, and I know that it will bless your family also.