Clean up

The school year is about to start at the Sillin house.  The coursework has been planned, the pencils have been sharpened, the rubbery smell of new erasers and the crisp white sheets of fresh notebook paper await our arrival at the first day of school.  But something else has to happen before we can get started.  Call me old fashioned but late every summer, we spend about a week cleaning out the house.  Call it the last step before a fresh start. While the work is hard, the payoff is substantial.  I need to know that my house is in order before I can move into the next season. 


Tonight I, with my three helpers, cleaned out my two youngest children's room.  When I started I really didn't think it was that messy but in the process of cleaning we discovered:

57 assorted pens/pencils/markers/other writing utensils
25 batteries of various sizes (watch all the way to D cell)
2 bags of trash and a dresser that could no longer be justified as use able
1 basket of clothing that doesn't fit anyone
6 pairs of shoes (and a pair of cleats) that do not fit anyone
18 books
1 bag of goodwill toys
9 large toys that still have all their parts, but no one plays with any longer that I am permitted to sell.

Amazing how there IS room in there for them and ALL of their belongings
My youngest son says to me "Wow mom, my room seems a lot bigger."  Ya think?!?! I can't believe they were living with all that clutter. 

But isn't this what we all do?  First one thing out of place and then another, and before you know it the whole place is cluttered up.  It didn't seem so bad at first, just a few things out of place, but before you know it, you're feeling awfully crowded.  I'm not talking about your desk, or your nightstand, or even the dreaded junk drawer (which I confess occasionally overflows onto the counter at my house!)  No,  I am talking about the heart. 

There was that one small thing out of place, maybe it was a goal that you never accomplished, or a letter never written, a thank you overlooked, or an apology overdue.  Somehow that little bit of something out of place, has a way of becoming a room full of clutter. 
We could all probably root out a couple of bags of trash and an old dresser if we tried hard enough!  And that is the point, isn't it?  Before moving into the next season, the old has to go to make room for the new.   The cobwebs of the heart, the clothing that is too small, that old pair of cleats, (and who needs 57 things to write with?!?!)  ALL of that has to be moved out, packed up, sold off, and sometimes put out to the curb, before life can resume. 

Lessons from cleaning the room?  It's hard work, and it took longer and was more laborious than I thought it would be.   It was made much easier by having some good helpers.  The time when we wanted to quit the most was about 20 minutes before we actually finished.  There were some surprises along the way, both good and bad. 

Mason said he would sleep better tonight in his clean room.  Wouldn't we all sleep better with a clean room?

Go

I saw this today and I was surprised...and then I was not surprised. 

So many nice little sayings and thoughts are posted all over the Internet, and this one seems like such a good idea, but it isn't.

Frankly, this is one of those things that seems good, but is really evil.  Think about this practically...I would like to tell you a story.

Kasandra is on Facebook, one of her friends posts this pic to their status and she sees it in her feed.

As soon as she sees it, her friend, well sort of friend, DeJa, comes to mind.

Several weeks ago Kasandra had a falling out with her friend DeJa.  At first she thought it would blow over, but something has changed and every time she sees DeJa at her church or home group she feels an uncomfortable tension.  Kasandra has thought about talking to DeJa, but she has heard some gossip about DeJa and feels like the relationship may be too hard to fix right now. She thinks about DeJa, the woman who she used to be close to, and the strife between them.  Kassandra starts to feel angry at DeJa all over again. While Kassandra sits at home she begins to rehash the incident with DeJa in her mind over and over again.  The more she thinks on this, the angrier she becomes.  Then, with a great effot, Kassandra prays for DeJa.  She prays God will help straiten DeJa out, she may not even be a Christian if she acts like that! and she prays that God will reveal to others in their circle the truth (or the truth according to Kassandra - that she was right and DeJa was wrong!)  She prays God will show DeJa her error, and help DeJa to be a better person in the future.

Kassandra clicks the 'like' button and moves on, feeling better about herself, confident she has just done DeJa a great favor by praying for her.

Please don' be Kassandra.

Instead pray Psalms 139: 23 - 24

Search me, God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Humble yourself.  Romans 15:1-3 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

Call the person and eat some crow, apologize, mend fences.  Ephesians 4:1-3

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Take an eternal perspective - Will it really matter in Heaven? 

Matthew 5:22-24

"But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.