When it is time to put away Christmas–the ornaments, the lights, the decorations, the wrapping paper and the bows–I have an intended place for everything to be stored. Boxes are labeled with my annual Christmas items and placed in the attic until next year. My goal is to keep everything organized so decorating for Christmas the following year will go smoothly. When next year rolls around and I’m ready to decorate the tree, I will know exactly where the boxes of lights and ornaments are. When I’m ready to decorate the fireplace mantel, I will know exactly where the boxes of mantel decorations are. Did I mention that the operative word here is, goal?

Often, by the time Christmas is over, I’m too anxious to get my house back to normal. I’m ready to put everything away and begin the process of thoroughly vacuuming every floor in the house since those little, tiny pine needles seem to resurface on a daily basis and find my shoeless feet!

I’ve come to the conclusion I may treat Christmas clean-up too frivolously. In my rush to get everything packed up and put away, how often have I put something in the wrong place? Maybe I already packed the box where a certain item needs to go, and rather than trying to find the correct box, I simply put it in another one. I reason that when next year comes and I begin to unpack the boxes of Christmas decorations, I’ll eventually find what I’m looking for. But every year there is always, at least, one item that appears to be MIA!

Without fail, this year was no different. On more than one occasion, I climbed the attic stairs and proceeded to rummage, once again, through the shelves of Christmas boxes. I experienced a familiar sense of deja`vu as I scratched my head and repeatedly asked myself, “Now where did I put that?”

Since Christmas decorating is over for another year, I guess I’ll have to wait until next Christmas to find out if I made any progress toward my goal of being organized.

Christmas decorations aren’t the only things I have misplaced. There have been times when I have read a Bible verse, or have come across some words of wisdom in my devotion reading that have powerfully spoken to me. Often, I have assured myself I would remember exactly where I read them. But then, when I would find myself in a situation where I could have benefitted from reading those treasured words again, instead of knowing exactly where to find them, I struggled trying to remember where they were located.

Have you ever experienced those, “where did I just read that” moments, too? Just like the Christmas decorations I annually have to search for, have you ever searched the pages of your Bible trying to locate that specific verse you once read while repeatedly asking yourself, “Now where did I read that?” I have often thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have labeled boxes for God’s treasured words just like I have labeled boxes for all of my Christmas decorations?

Everyone has their own system of organization, but the following ideas may offer some good tips that will help cure the common, “head scratching, and where did I just read that” blues!

Write                                                                                                                           Have a notebook or journal with you when you do your Bible reading or quiet time. When a verse or something you read in your devotional seems to speak directly to you, write it down!

Label                                                                                                                          Label the pages of your journal or notebook with topic headings. For example, Faith, Joy, Hurt and Disappointment, etc. When you read a verse about faith, write it in the section labeled, Faith.

Personally Pray                                                                                                Personalize the words or the verses you read by incorporating them into your prayer time. In Psalm 42:1 we read, “As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, oh God.” Therefore, you could pray something like this, “Dear God, as I just read in Psalm 42:1, help me desire and long for You just like a deer desires and longs for water.” When you repeat the verses you read, and use yourself as the subject or the direct object, you will be etching God’s truths more deeply within your heart.

Re-read                                                                                                                      During your devotion and quiet time, re read the words or verses you wrote down the day before. You can keep God’s truths fresh in your memory by repeating them often.

I may have to wait until next Christmas to find out if all of my decorations are exactly where I think I placed them this year, but when it comes to finding God’s priceless treasures, it’s quite possible that I can pinpoint exactly where they are, and I may not have to wait any longer than tomorrow to find them!