No, you read it right. That title says "listing" practice, not "listening" practice.

Are you a lister? Do you keep lists? Grocery lists, menu lists, to-do lists, cleaning lists, shopping lists, prayer lists, assignment lists?

I'm not sure if it's a byproduct of age and memory or simply having more plates to spin and balls to juggle, but the older I get the more lists I seem to need. It's not just a matter of effectiveness, timeliness, or efficiency anymore; list-keeping has become a kind of anchor for my brain.

This is NOT a good list.

Yes, I know the Bible says "hope is an anchor to the soul," but isn't that what lists are? Scribbled out declarations of hope (expectations of good things to come)? Desires and goals and plans and purposes to be achieved and accomplished? Even the dreaded "to-do" list has an element of hope attached to it... we look forward to the moment the last to-do can be checked off and we will be FREE from obligations and appointments and tasks and assignments for a time. Free to attack those other lists, like the "I wish-list" and the "I want to-list" and the "If only-list."

This list will propel you forward in life.

I'm trying to figure out a new method/system for my lists. I used to use an appointment book, the old-fashioned paper kind. It worked well for me. But then I got an iPhone, and my list-keeping measures have been askew ever since. I just can't seem to make the transition to digital when it comes to listing... much like my prayer journals are still hand-written. Maybe, just maybe, there's a connection.

How about you? Are you a paper lister or a smart phone lister? Do you try to "sync" the two? Which do you prefer, and why?