I usually don’t endorse a product but this month’s issue (April 2015) of Real Simple magazine is just excellent.

It’s their 15th anniversary issue and literally I have torn out almost every article to use around the house!

One article is “The Ultimate Life Handbook” which helps you organize, cook and clean everything. Another gives us “15 Game-Changing Cleaning Shortcuts” which are amazing.

The issue also gives its best rated recipes along with 67 of their favorite road-tested products including their Hall of Fame all-star organizing and cleaning products and a Hall of Fame Road Test showcasing the greatest gadgets, ingredients and more.

Emotional Check-Up

While knowing how to take care of our home simply is very important, I want to share another aspect we need to remember that was in this magazine issue: face-to-face connections are so crucial for our lives.

An author, Sarah Grey, realized that along with work and family needs, she and her husband just collapsed in front of the TV every night. She said, “We never saw friends and barely even talked to our neighbors.” So she took to Facebook with a post that has since gone viral: “Staring next Friday, we’re cooking up a pot of spaghetti and meatballs every Friday night and sitting down as a family – along with anyone else who’d life to join us. You are all invited and you can bring something but you don’t have to. The house will be messy but it’s time we spend more time with our village.”

The idea was so successful that it went global. With people working more, eating convenience food, doing what they have to do to get by – they were losing connection with one another in the process.

Connecting matters. Socializing is good for our health, both physical and mental. When we have strong connections, we’re more likely to respond to stressful situations by joining together for comfort and protection. This is especially true for women. Psychologists call it the “tend and befriend” theory, and neuroscience research has shown that it wreaks far less havoc on the nervous system than the more primitive fight or flight response.

That’s why having a church home, going to Bible study, being a part of a quilting club a book club or a tennis team is so important for us. You may want to join a walking group, a running club or even a dancing group. Being a part of a group is vital to our lives.

But I know what you may be thinking – I don’t have time! Well that’s why these Pathways to Organization tips can help. When we realize we need something in our lives, it’s time to stop and take inventory.

Look at your calendar and find a window of time. Now ask yourself, “What would I like to do that builds me up? You’ll be surprised how much better your life will be if you are able to add that one thing to your life.

I just know that God created us for relationships. That’s why He came to earth – to show us the way to our Father, our creator. When we invest in each other, our lives will become full.

Manna from Heaven

In response to all He has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good. Let us not neglect our church meetings, …but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near. Hebrews 10: 24-25

If there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Phil: 2:1-2

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. May God’s love and the Holy Spirit’s friendship be yours. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (TLB)