Musing from cleaning bathrooms

Okay I don't usually have spiritual thoughts when I clean my bathroom. I actually hate doing bathrooms and when I do I try to get it done as soon as possible. For some reason as I started cleaning today, I thought maybe I should clean a little deeper. I actually took everything out of the shower and sink and scrubbed it all down. I had lots of cleaner, sponges and even an old toothbrush. As I started cleaning, I kept finding things that needed more cleaning until I found my bathroom the cleanest it probably has ever been since I have lived here. It felt good to not just clean the surface but to get the bathroom really clean.



Sometimes I find I can be like that in my life. I see something that needs cleaned up in my life and I ask for forgiveness and my actions are changed but God wants to go deeper with it than that. God wants to deal with what caused those actions. He wants to give me a pure heart. I can have a surface job of right actions but deep cleaning means my heart is in the right place. It means there is no room for negative thoughts, anxiety, or pride. Because if I don't deal with the heart issues, they will affect my surface issues.



Dear God, Thank you for not just stopping at the surface when it comes to creating in me a new heart. You cut to the core of the problem. May I always be ready to hear, repent, and obey. Amen

Calling for Reinforcements

My son had been fighting a cough for a week. We were on our way home from church where he had experienced several bouts of coughing. He seemed to be getting worse not better and we were scheduled to leave in about a week to go out of town. I decided to call my mom who seems to have a special line to God when praying for things and asked for her and some of her friends help in praying for healing for David. We essentially were calling in for reinforcements. That day things seemed to get worse instead of better with the shower treatment, humidfier on, and big D pretty much isolated to inside play. On Monday and each day after the progress has been dramatic until last night we didn't even have to give him his cough medicine. Thank you God for answering our prayer.



Sometimes I have periods where I am struggling with depression, anxiety or even just understanding and relating to my kids. I can find myself overwhelmed and feel like my prayers are hitting the ceiling. If I am smart, I will call for reinforcements. Reinforcement may come from my home team, family or even from a group of three girls I meet with once a month for accountibility. Sometimes we need help not just with physical matters but also emotional and spiritual matters as well. The battle is more easily won when we help each other bear our burdens.



Dear God, Thank you for your healing of D. Thank you for hearing us when we call on you. Thank you for the friends and family that you send our way that help us in the journey of faith. May we be faithful to lift them up to you in prayer. Amen

Blind Spot

Okay, I actually looked to see if someone was in the other lane and I am sure no one was there. :) One second later as I am moving into the other lane, someone was there and had been there all along in my blind spot. Luckily all that I got was a dirty look from the other driver and no damage to either car just to my ego. I am finding myself more often looking twice remembering that the blind spot is there. I have also found myself looking twice in other areas of my life. When one of my children does something I often have to look twice to see the actual situation instead of reacting to what I think happened. Sometimes my second look is my idea and sometimes my dear husbands. Sometimes I see in time to avoid words I shouldn't say and sometimes I have to back track or swallow words in mid sentence. But taking the second look always pays off.



Right after the blind spot experience in my Expedition, I found myself not just once but twice the blind spot of other drivers. Since I have been guilty many times, I just smiled back as the other drivers waved that they were sorry. Hopefully I can be that way in life too. A friend, husband, or even someone I don't know might have a blind spot in relation to me. They may take wrong something I say or do. In those situations, I need have grace and right the situation if at all possible because blind spots in life can go both directions.



Dear God of no blind spots, Thank you that you see all yet give grace in all situations. Help us to see others as you see them and to remember to look twice before we react. Amen

A First Response

When I was pregnant with Big D we had a sonogram that told us there was possibly something wrong with him, my response was lots of crying and some depression. When my dad told me that he was going to have surgery for cancer, my first response was tears and denial. When my husband suggested I go back to teaching, my first response was fear and panic. When Job was told that everything that he had was destroyed and that his children were dead, Job's response was that he arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and fell to the ground and worshiped." (Job 1:20) Wow!! Job worshiped and then went on to say "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21) In my situations, I did eventually remember that God is soveriegn and accepted that this was a part of his big plan but my response was not worship.


Job's worship must have been so beautiful, not because of what he said, but because of where he was. Job's worship was not a response to a blessing God had bestowed on him but rather a response to who God is. Job was saying to God I love you in the good and in the bad. He even tells his wife in 2:10 that we should be prepared to accept both good and adversity from God.



Soveriegn God, May my first response in all things be worship. May I remember that life is not about me but about you and your perfect plan. May you be glorified in all things. Amen

Did you say "I'm bored?"

These words spoken together at my house will get you extra chores. I happened to hear them one too many times during our first week out of school and knew this would be a long summer if I didn't put a stop to it. Now I am not saying that my children can't ask me for ideas on what to do. That is acceptable. But "I'm bored" reeks of complaining and lack of imagination. It is often found especially in childhood that "boredom" can lead to creating new things, exploring new ideas or giving you time to just sit and listen. As adults, it is probably the latter item that needs to be done more often. As a fast paced society, it is a challenge to put enough margin in our lives for these moments. Some of the things I am treasuring this summer as I am off from work are time to read, think, play with my kids and sometimes having to think "what should I do?"


By the way, thanks to my little rule, my big D did some dusting for me today. The funny thing is I think he even enjoyed doing it though I am not sure about the quality of the dusting.


Dear Creator, You have made us to enjoy your creation. You have also made us in your image with the need to be creative and learn and do new things. You have also made us with a need to just be still and listen. May all these things be present in us and glorify you.

Amen.