Proverbs 14:4

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests. - Proverbs 14:4

Dear Lord,

Sometimes I get stressed by my cluttered desk, messy garage and disheveled closet.  But I find comfort in this verse.  Neatness is not a biblical mandate but productivity is.  When we are busy about your work, we will have temporary clutter.  Make my life more like a messy home factory than a museum for others to tour.   After I have accomplished some task like yard work or repairing the car or building a table, I get a a sense of what you must have felt on the seventh day.  You looked at all you had made with pleasure.  I'm sure you still feel pleasure in your creation still today.  Give me joy in your creation and in mine. Today I will look at what you have made and marvel with you in its beauty and symbiotic efficiency. 

Amen

Pastor Don Patterson 

A productive carpenter's shop always has fresh shavings on the floor.