One Hour Cleanup

I'm not gonna lie...

Last week I just about hit my breaking point.

Life seemed disorderly. I was being pulled in all sorts of directions. Clean clothes were a well sought out commodity and I couldn't find my keys.

Now before you go thinking I am usually a neat freak....let me assure you that is not the case. I usually have a stack of something to go through on my kitchen counter, there's usually a pile of dog hair that I missed somewhere when sweeping, I keep my bedroom door closed for a reason and there is always a load of laundry to be washed and a toilet to be swished. But usually, at first glance things can look pretty tidy.

But not last week. And I was turning into the Incredible Mrs. Hulk because it looked like the four little pigs had taken up residence in my home. It was beyond the norm.

Bruce realized I was near "hulk green" on Saturday morning after he was already at church working. It had been a crazy week with the install of a new sound system and other ministry related things going on and I knew he was tired too. I had tried to hold back, but I was at the breaking point that no man ever wants to see their wife reach...the hide under the covers for days with peanut butter cups and ruffles potato chips breaking point.

When Bruce realized I was about to lose it, he came home. But first he stopped at Whataburger, and picked up food. I guess he realized it would be better if I wasn't hangry too! We sat around the kitchen table and divided up the household chores with the kids and we got busy. In one hour the house was picked up and smelling clean and all that was left was the kids rooms (which they are responsible for). I felt so much better. Order had returned to our home.

Spiritually speaking we can find ourselves in the same scenario. Life can get crazy and we miss spending time with the Lord on a personal level, then we miss a church service or two, we start scheduling things around life instead of around what God has for us and we lose fellowship with other believers. It can happen quickly because that is how the enemy operates...quick, stress-filled, hurried decisions that he makes us feel are life and death, when in reality, we just need to slow down, do a one hour clean up of life and carefully evaluate what has us stressed out or too busy.

One hour in the scheme of things is nothing. It is such a small investment in your sanity. And just like with my house, one hour can be the difference between the Incredible Hulk and Mrs. Incredible! Take the time to nourish yourself...take the time to clean up spiritually on a regular basis. If we don't we become burdened by the filth we live in and consumed by our own circumstances. God made a better way. Daily communion, cleanup with Him. Imagine that. He is always making a way of escape for us. What a good God!

Teaching Tuesday- We Buy Ugly Houses

You've probably seen those commercials on TV that say, "We buy ugly houses!" Sometimes the house will look worn down on the outside or the inside might need updating. Sometimes the bones might be infested with termites or the plumbing might not be up to date. Investors come in, offer a certain amount of money for the property and the owners decide to take the deal or no deal.

Just yesterday as I was driving down the road I saw one of the local signs for "We buy ugly houses". Having bought and restored two, one hundred year old homes in my lifetime the thought immediately struck me in rebellion...."Ugly is relative." I remember walking through the "awesome house" (nickname my daughter gave our first remodel) for the first time. Shag carpet, musty smells, outdated wallpaper, appliances that needed to be replaced, painting that needed to be done, weak flooring, electrical that would scare even the bravest electrician... and yet, the beauty of the house...the character, the shiplap, the space, the layout, the vision....it was all there...just waiting to be uncovered.

Our journey with Christ is filled with similarities. When He finds us, he finds the weak, the bitter, the sin infested, the unkept. When we begin our relationship and He begins working in our "ugly house", things begin to change. Oh, it may take some time to clean up the cobwebs and to rewire our thinking, but He does the constructive work and we are made beautiful and restored in His time.

I needed to be reminded of this yesterday. Sometimes the enemy reminds you of all the repairs needing to be done in your life and there can be a sense of unwelcomed urgency to bandaid fix all our sins, issues, struggles and shortcomings. Jesus isn't a bandaid fix. He makes all things beautiful in His time. We don't have to rush His work, we just have to be willing to be worked on and cleaned up as He does the remodel.

Teachable Tuesdays

As a mom of two teenagers I have some anxiety about how quickly the years are passing by. I hear people say things like....

Time, slow down

I wish I could turn back time...

I wish I could put a brick on their head so they'd stop growing

Time flies

It seems just like yesterday they were....

But the truth is we only have a good 18-20 years (more or less) with our kids living under our roof. And what we do with that is important. 

And while I hear parents wishing time would slow down....what I see parents...me, you, them... doing is a bit contrary to that...

I see makeup on girls when they can barely tie their shoes on their own.

I see high heels and a runway walk before daughters have learned to comb their own tangles out of their hair.

I see boys worried about hair gel and skinny jeans before they are old enough to need deodorant.

I see boy/girl relationships forming at earlier and earlier ages.

I see parents endorsing and enabling behaviors and habits that put sons and daughters as kings and queens of household and we wonder why there's no respect for parents. 

And I realize...maybe just now... that I kind of sound like a fuddy duddy.

But the truth is we as parents are talking out of both sides of our mouths. We say we want to savor their days but really do we? Those younger days are hard...they are the formative years of potty training and manner learning and respect giving and sharing toys and demonstrating kindness and providing a firm and consistent Biblical foundation. Whew...I am tired just thinking about all the work that requires of us as parents and let's face it....in our world today, we don't get accolades or facebook likes or retweets when we are doing this hard and important work. But post that picture of "Betsy" with her gel nails at her 6 year old birthday party and everyone thinks it's "so cute" or "watch out boys here she comes". 

I struggle just like the next mom to provide that balance of age appropriate fun and Biblical standards with my kids. The struggle doesn't stop once they are teenagers. Now it's clothing and activities and hobbies and yes, still teaching respect and manners and kindness and all those important virtues that make for responsible and upstanding adults.

Parents..

We need prayer....we need to pray for God's wisdom. 

We need friends.....we don't struggle alone. There are others who are really trying to do this parenting gig well. We need to partner with each other, praying together, supporting each other with Biblical instruction.

We need to get in the Word. There is no substitute for the parenting manual. And yes, God did give us one. His Word has all the answers. All the principles. All the guidance you need. And while I've read some wonderful books on parenting throughout the years, I always come back to the perfect source. The Bible. 

We need to be the parents. We need to dad-up and mom-up. We need to quit letting the world tells us how to raise our kids. We need to quit letting our kids tell us how to raise our kids. We need to do the work. We need to be tired at the end of the day...from parenting....from doing our job. From building strong foundations and teaching our kids the way they should go. 

I had a hard time writing some of this because I'm at a stage where I need to be more diligent in some of these areas. I don't have it all figured out. But I want to do it right. Each stage. 

How 'bout you? Do you feel the struggle? How can I pray for you?