I stopped talking about my need to purge and actually began the process. I started in my closet and I kept thinking, “didn’t I just do some purging last season? Why is it that I have to purge again?!” But truth is, purging should never be looked at as a one-time event, naturally or spiritually. It is so easy to accumulate STUFF in the process of doing life, stuff that can weigh us down. Stuff that serve no real purpose, only creating clutter in our spirit. Purging always begins in the closet…that secret place, that place no one else sees. Anyone’s house can appear in order from the outside, but the closet, well that may be another story.
The first thing that I did to begin the decluttering process was to take inventory of what I had in my closet. Then I asked, “What is worth keeping?” Some of the things that we insist on holding on to are connected to when we were in slavery, the old us. These things though they are no good to us, provide an odd sense of comfort. Even if they are not useful, we insist on holding on. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to throw things away because it is time to make room for something new. You have to be willing to let go of the past.
Begin the decluttering process by answering the following questions.
Scripture for meditation
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Yesterday I turned 38 and I see God at work in my life in so many ways and the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see my reflection in the mirror and I know without a shadow of a doubt that chains have been broken and I am seeing a greater manifestation of what God has promised me. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see my husband who continues his tradition of taking the day off work to give me some time to myself. He humors me and satisfies my super sentimental side and decorates our kitchen in the same color scheme of our wedding almost 15 years ago. I see how much I am loved by him in the simplest ways. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see my six healthy children who are excited that it is my birthday. They know that by the end of the day, we will be sitting in somebodies restaurant celebrating. One plays happy birthday on the piano. I get a custom made card and hugs and kisses. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see all the numbers of my family and friends displayed on my phone. They called and texted with happy birthday messages. I was thought of and I am loved. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see the pieces of my life coming together. I see my story unfolding in the most beautiful inconvenient ways. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see my perspective on my past changing; no more wondering why for the parts that were painful. Because redemption is stamped all over me. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see that as I tell every part of my story, God masterfully uses it to bring freedom to others. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I see the words “You were born to fly,” painted on wood as I was strolling in the store ALL BY MYSELF and I smile because that is my testimony. And the cry of my heart is thank you Lord.
I don’t always do this mommy thing right. Some days leave me a frazzled mess and I just want to get under the covers and go back to bed. The call feels so much bigger than me and my inadequacies are on full display. I sometimes get away with looking as if I have it all together from the outside, but come through my front door and sit with me long enough and the truth will be revealed. My house is not always Pinterest clean, and my children are not always well behaved.
Being a parent is not for the faint of heart, there are so many twist and turns and unknowns. All six of my children have distinct personalities and right when I think I have it figured out, they say or do something that leaves me scratching my head. There are also days in which I honestly don’t know how to respond to them or respond in the wrong way. Days in which I yell when I should listen or hastily move them along to the next task instead of pausing to give a hug. Then when I get to the end of the day guilt sets in and I put more emphasis on what I did wrong, how I should know better.
I am learning that I can’t give up and cry woe is me if I have a less than perfect day in parenting world. If I put the emphasis on me always doing it right or knowing all the answers, I will always disappoint. God has used parenting to pull back the layers and show me how I have made an idol of my wisdom and my perceived strength. I have been guilty of taking my focus off of God and getting wrapped up in MY ABILITIES…great formula for failure. However I am learning to embrace His mercies that are new every morning and humbly admit that I just cannot do this journey on my own. I NEED GOD…DESPARATELY! I am more convinced more now than ever of my need to pray. But as always, when I seek Him from a humble and broken heart He answers, making for a more successful journey. How about you? What has your parenting journey been like? Has it been difficult for you to admit your need for God in the process? Do you accept His wisdom when He gives it? Leave a comment and let me know.
This is another post from my 2012 archives but still very relevant. Hope it blesses you!
We were sitting at the table having a lighthearted conversation over lunch when Joel asked me what I was like when I was younger. Before I could give him a long poetic answer as to how wonderful, special & loveable I was as a child, his sister blurts out, “SHE WAS A HEATHEN!” I was shocked and totally caught off guard by her response. I have had previous conversations with Naomi about my past and explained to her that I did not always serve Jesus, I did not acknowledge the one true God so this made me a heathen. I didn’t expect her to repeat this, at least not now. Not in in my moment to shine, not in my moment of bragging to my first born man child as to how special his mommy was.
Isn’t it so tempting and easy to look back at our past through rose colored glasses? If we are not careful, we allow the enemy to trick us into believing that it was better back then. This can grow seeds of discontentment leaving us longing for a yesterday that really wasn’t all that wonderful, especially if we didn’t know Christ. How often do we look at our present life and think it was so much better back then…but was it really? We need the truth of God’s word to remind us how much better things are TODAY because we know Him. Even if we don’t have the perfect spouse, perfect job, perfect children, perfect home, etc… things are absolutely positively better because we know JESUS!
In what areas of your life have you allowed discontentment to creep in, leaving you longing for yesterday? Do you feel like you look back at your past through distorted lens? What can you be thankful for TODAY? How is your life better today, have you thanked God for the change?
But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
Note: I first wrote this post in 2012 but thought it was worth reposting today.
I was on a mission to clean my house the day before my 34thbirthday. I thought this was an appropriate birthday gift for myself. Forget the flowers and candy, I just wanted to sit on my birthday and look at a clean house with everything in order. While I was on my mission, my tenacious two year old had his own agenda. He was looking for some candy. He knew that I often kept gum in my room, out of their reach. As I was cleaning, he was searching. I stepped out of my room for a few minutes and when I returned, Elijah had moved the ottoman from the front of my bed in hopes that he would find gum there. Instead of finding his treasure, he found a mess of clothing and random things that had fallen on the ground and had been covered by the ottoman. When I walked in the room, I looked at the mess, and did what any sleep deprived, mission oriented, I just want my house to “look” clean if only for a day mother of five would do. .. I pushed the ottoman back in its proper position and hid the mess again. PERFECT. As I pushed the ottoman back in its ‘proper’ place, I muttered to myself, “I just don’t want to deal with this today.” My focus was to clean the surface…only what could be seen.
How often have we taken this approach with our walk with Christ? We come to the Lord and we cry out, “Lord clean me, wash me, mold me.” All the things that sound good, the things we think God wants to hear. But as He begins to clean (purify) us, He pulls away the spiritual ottoman if you will that have been covering our mess. God uses different methods to expose our mess and to keep us accountable. He uses His word (written and spoken), our spiritual leaders, brothers and sisters in Christ, and by directly speaking to us. Of course this is not an exhaustive list. Sadly we often do what I did the day before my birthday. We push the ottoman back to cover the mess. Too much work to be purified. We want to remain on the surface. Lord don’t start shifting stuff and showing me how “dirty” I am, my imperfections. It is more comfortable to appear “clean” as opposed to allowing the Lord to go beneath the surface with us.
But consider this, I would have had to be the one to clean up the exposed mess in my room that day. However, it is not the same when God shows us our mess. He doesn’t expect us to clean ourselves, He does the job for us! He just wants us to humble ourselves and surrender to the process. We don’t have to get it right on our own! Isn’t this awesome news?! Are you resisting the deep cleaning that the Lord wants to do in you? Allow Him to do it, you won’t regret it!
Psalm 51:7
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Now what? Those were the words I wrote in my journal the day after coming back from the Women’s Advance where I experienced a mighty move of God. God confirmed His purpose for my life and I gave birth to something new, the gifts He placed in me where activated at a greater level. I was overwhelmed by his presence, by His love for me. I was on a high. I was not the only one. We were rebuked, and encouraged to let our flesh die so that we may walk in what God has called us to, so that we may produce. We were cleansed, we were warned, we received prophetic words, and we praised. The weekend is over, now what? How do we walk in the revelations we received so that God gives us more? How do we continue to put our flesh to death? How do we continue to allow the Lord to prune us? The answer is actually quite simple. We have to make an active decision EVERYDAY to stay in God’s presence. We have to make bible study and prayer a daily priority. We have to continue to abide so that we may produce. Below is a study guide for John 15: 1-8 to encourage us to continue to abide in Jesus. I am fully aware that not everyone reading this post attended the Advance this weekend but perhaps you have received some major breakthrough and you are wondering how to continue to walk in victory and submit to the pruning process. I pray that this brief study blesses you as well.
Read John 15:1-8 and answer the questions below
Note: Do not attempt to answer all the questions in one sitting. It is recommended that you answer a few a day to ensure that you are really “studying” the scriptures. If you would like, make a phone date with another sister to review your answers.
Photo credit: http://www.drastudio.com/past/2006/02/25/he-is-the-vine/
1. Who is the vine? (vs.1)
2. Who is the gardener? (vs. 1)
3. What does Jesus mean when He says the gardener will cut off every branch that does not produce fruit? (vs.2)
4. What does it mean to prune?
5. What is the purpose of pruning? (vs. 2)
6. Have you ever been pruned before? How has God used being a wife and a mother to prune you? Be specific.
7. Does being pruned feel good? Why or why not?
8. What dead things is He trying to remove from your life?
9. Are you allowing Him to prune you, or are you resisting?
10. What kind of fruit does God want us to produce? (Hint: Galatians 5:22-23). Take some time to define what each fruit means (this does not have to be done in one sitting, can take a few days to do this). Write down ways that you are producing each fruit as 1. A wife 2. A mother.
11. What greater fruitfulness is God trying to produce in you? (vs. 3) If you don’t know, spend some time in prayer and ask Him, be still long enough to hear Him answer. Grab a pen and paper to write down His response.
12. What does remaining in God look like? (vs. 4) If you are having difficulty answering this question visit the site address listed below to help. Write the answer in your own words.
http://www.gotquestions.org/abide-in-Christ.html
13. Do you believe that you cannot do anything apart from Christ (vs. 5)? Does your actions support this? In other words, are you constantly trying to control situations, your life, thinking you can do it all by yourself or do you rely on Christ? Give examples to support your answer.
14. What does vs. 6 really mean? How do the following scriptures support your answer? (Mathew 3:10, Revelations 20:15, Revelations 21:8)
15. What is verse 7 saying, write its meaning in your own words? How does believing this change the way you pray?
16. Are you a true disciple of Jesus, how do your actions support your answer? (vs. 8)
17. What is the purpose of Jesus’ disciple producing fruit, is it for ourselves? (vs .8)
Be blessed!
Anika