dust bunnies and cobwebs...

The sun is out in all it's glory this morning, warming my back as I sit at my dining room table. As much as I love the sun, I also hate the things it reveals... My windows are covered in fingerprints and nose-prints from children and a black and white fuzz-bucket named Max. Not to mention all the cobwebs and dust bunnies (as well as clumps of black hair from the aforementioned fuzz bucket) that have taken up residence throughout the nooks and crannies of the house! Oh how I need to do a deep and thorough cleaning...then maybe I can finally get that fresh coat of paint upstairs! There is nothing quite like a clean, uncluttered house with a fresh coat of paint...it makes it seem new again, doesn't it? It's the "doing" that I dislike, so I tend to put those things off that I know need to get done. 
My life has it's own cobwebs and dust bunnies that have taken up residence in the recesses of my heart. Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness and pride are always there, but not always visible. I am really good at ignoring this sin, but I know it's there, lurking about in the nooks and crannies, growing like the dust bunnies in my house. I need to deal with it, but I'd much rather put it off...perhaps if I ignore it, it will just go away? I know this is not true...just a lie I like to tell myself. But today, just as the sun poured through the windows of my home, the Lord shined His Light into those dark areas of my heart and brought my sin, screaming and kicking, into the plain sight of my conscience. Conviction that leads to repentance is painful, yet necessary if we are to move forward in our relationship with Jesus. And oh how sweet is the love and forgiveness that awaits us when we come to Him, broken and undone, baring all that we have hidden in our hearts! The dinginess caused by the burden of sin is replaced by the bright, unencumbered love and joy of our Savior.
Today, as I begin to face the dust bunnies in my home, I will begin to face the sin in my heart. Just as the deep cleaning of my home will not get done in one day, niether will my sanctification...I am "a work in progress". Yet, as I eagerly await the reward of a fresh coat of paint for the upstairs of my home, I am already reaping the reward of the joy from the spiritual cleansing of my heart!

Lord, I am so very thankful to You for shining Your Light through the windows of my soul, revealing the hidden sin that has clouded my heart...


"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."  ~Luke 8:17

a bitter taste...

I have had a bitter taste in my mouth all morning long. I have tried brushing my teeth, drinking coffee, drinking water, eating a cookie but to no avail. This is a persistent taste and is causing everything I eat or drink to taste bitter as well. Try as I might, I just cannot cover it up.

Unrepentent sin is like that...it leaves a bitter taste upon our soul. It's bitterness affects every aspect of our lives and, try as we might, we cannot cover it up. The Bible tells us,"Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"? ~Proverbs 20:9   We are unable to cleanse the bitter taste of unrepentent sin from our hearts...it is always there. It may sit quietly for a time, but it WILL come out...and when it does, it's bitterness will be heaped upon others in our lives.

How do we overcome this bitterness? Jesus. He is the answer to everything. The Bible says: "If we confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~1 John 1:9 

He is waiting to replace the bitterness in your heart with the sweet taste of forgiveness and love...what are YOU waiting for?

Go out and preach....

(Written this afternoon on my Facebook notes)

"But you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." --Acts 1:8

"Jesus commands us to go and then preach, not to preach and then leave. We are not to shout the gospel from a safe and respectable distance, and remain detached. We must open our lives enough to let people see that we, too, laugh, hurt and cry..." ~Rebecca Pippert

I read this on my devotional calendar this morning and it really caused me to take pause. I have been dealing with so many issues lately, that I have allowed them to consume me and I have not been effective for the Lord. Okay, let me be really honest here...the one issue that is glaring at me as I type this very "note", is this very forum (Facebook). I have been "preaching" from my chair and in front of a computer, yet I have not been going out and meeting people face to face. I have been hiding in a world of social networking and have allowed it to take the place of "going out". Now, don't get me wrong...I think the Lord can totally use the cyber world for His glory, but I have been using it to replace connecting face to face. Sometimes a cyber-hug just doesn't cut it, you know? I love reconnecting with friends and family from afar and this is a perfect forum for doing so, but I have no self control and spend more hours than I care to admit checking everyone's profiles, etc. How did I ever let this become an obsession with me? I have rationalized and hemmed and hawed when I KNEW the Holy Spirit was convicting me about this very issue, but I resisted.

Lord, You are so gracious, loving and merciful. You never bullied me into submission...You just patiently waited for me to come to the end of myself and, for whatever reason, today is that day... Help me to be productive for You and daily submit to You and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. All I can say is, here I am, Lord...send me...

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." --Isaiah 6:8

Raining Cats and Dogs...

"It's raining cats and dogs", as my grandmother would say. I can hear her "humphing" around the house as she shuffled across the floor in her slippers. She was a short, stout woman and, as she grew older, she rarely picked her feet off the ground and she made a "humph" noise when she moved. As a child, I never attributed this to anything but her being Grandma.  But today, as I am sitting in pain with my legs going numb and awaiting the results of the MRI done Saturday morning, I was reminded of those times when Grandma was "humphing" and I am now quite sure it was due to pain. Try as I might, I cannot recall a time when I heard her complain or mention she was in pain...(of course this was during my selfish, "it's all about me", part of my childhood). I just never gave it a second thought until today.  And now I am sitting with tears streaming down my face as I recall all the times she just kept going for my sister, brothers and me.  I don't think I ever thanked her for all she did for me as a child and young adult. I am still just as selfish as I was back then in so many ways and I am so, so sorry...

Today, Lord, You chose the pouring, relentless rain, coupled with my pain, to show me a side of my Grandma that I so wish I emulated... And as I am typing these words, the rain stopped, the sun peeked out for just a moment and a rainbow appeared to remind me of Your grace, love and mercy...and the cloud over my heart was lifted.

"It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud"
~Genesis 9:14 NKJV~

Reflection...

It is another new year, 2010,and a time when many are making resolutions about what they will or will not do in the year to come. Not me. Today is a day of reflection on the year that just ended and it has me doing some soul seaching. Lord, how would I have gotten through this past year without You? So many changes...so many heart-aches...so many joys. Through each and every minute of the year, You have been with me...rejoicing, comforting, correcting...always gracious. Always merciful. Always loving. If there is one thing I have learned in this past year, it has been that You, Lord, are constant. However, in stark contrast, I am constantly flitting about like a butterfly from blossom to blossom. Flying in a jagged, hap-hazard pattern rather than walking a straight line on this journey called life. Why is it that I veer off course so often...and so easily? I tend to get distracted  and caught up in life's daily ups and downs, and ins and outs, and when I finally reach my wit's end and cry out to You, You are right there...eager to comfort me; wiping away my tears and my fears and You gently take hold of my hand and my heart and say, "This is the way...follow Me....".

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the House of the LORD forever. Amen.  ~Psalm 23  NKJV