Is Your Soul Cluttered?

I don’t like living in a cluttered home. In fact, I have a reputation for getting rid of things…sometimes without the other person’s permission. While keeping an uncluttered home can alleviate stress, the same is true for our souls.

Do you have a cluttered soul? When I think of clutter, I think of those closed spaces that we hide things in. On the surface our home may appear to be neat. However, a few feet away there may be a closet that if you opened it, a number of items would spill out.

What has the potential to spill out of your soul? Anger? Jealousy? Greed? Discontentment? Hurt?

When I first came into a relationship with the Lord, my soul was so cluttered that you wouldn’t even be able to fit a finger inside. There was absolutely no room for nothing else, including Jesus.

But as soon as I made that decision to follow Him, items began to get immediately cleared out. However I had so much junk stocked up, that it was a process to get down to where I am.

Is my closet completely void of clutter? Not quite. I think to some degree we will always have clutter to deal with. After all, how else would we come to depend on the Lord’s help?

Think about the state of your soul and begin to ask the Lord to help you de-clutter. Get rid of the things that are holding you back from truly enjoying life and living it to the fullest.

God Will Fight the Battle

Many times throughout the Old Testament we are told to not be afraid. God knows the way fear can play on our emotions. He understands the powerful impact it can have.

One of the first times we hear God’s declaration to not be afraid is when the Israelites, after being in slavery for 430 years, are finally set free from the oppression of the Egyptians.

After God sends 10 plagues on the Egyptians, Pharaoh finally agrees to let the Israelites go. They have been given a death blow; all of their firstborns lose their lives. It is too much and now he can’t get them out of his sight quick enough.

The Israelites are celebrating as they finally break away from the chains of bondage and slavery. Life is looking good. But then…

Pharaoh changes his mind. What was he thinking, letting the people go? He decides to go after them and at the first sight of the Egyptians, panic sets in for the Israelites.

Think about how life can do this. We are sailing along, feeling pretty good about how things are going. But then we see something coming against us and our first instinct isn’t faith, it isn’t trust in God but it is a declaration that we would be better off back in the land of slavery.

What land of slavery have you come from? What has God delivered you out of? What have you been set free from? At the first sign of trouble, do you really want to go back?

For whatever reason the Israelites suddenly thought that they would have been better off as slaves. But Moses says, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do His work of salvation for you today…” (Exodus 14:13, Message). He also goes on to say, “God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!” (Exodus 14:14, Message).

Sometimes all we need to do is stand firm, watch God take care of the problem, allow Him to fight the battle and then we just need to keep our mouths shut.

Photo by el7bara in Flickr

The Empty Spots in Your Life

Leaves have already begun to swirl around. It is always so hard for me to believe when a new season comes along. It seems I hardly had a chance to really the enjoy last one.

This is becoming truer as I get older and as my children get older. Just this morning I was updating pictures in these cool picture frames my stepmother bought a few years ago.

They are the kind where you put in a small picture starting with kindergarten and they go all around the frame until you finally reach the middle, where the senior picture goes. I have finally completed a frame. I could hardly believe that I put in the last school picture for my oldest son, now a senior.

I glanced over at my daughter’s frame, the glaring reminder that she only has three empty spots left. So it was almost a relief to then look at my youngest son’s frame and count five empty spots.

There are two ways I can look at this. I can mourn the fact that there are no empty spots on my oldest son’s picture frame or the fact that there is only three left on my daughter’s. I can focus just on that, the emptiness I see. OR…I can instead look at what has filled those spots. I can look at what God has done.

When I take the time to really look at each picture that has been filled…kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and so on…I see God’s hand. So it challenges me to consider where I am going to put my focus.

Are you focusing so much on what appears to be emptiness in your life? Perhaps it is emptiness you feel inside or a loved one you are missing, a relationship that seems impossible to mend, the loss of a job, no money…whatever your “empty spot” is, decide that instead of focusing on that, you are going to put your focus on the spots in your life that God has filled. Sometimes it’s really all about perspective.

Now I can take a step back and not feel sad that my son’s picture frame is complete. I can feel thankful that God has blessed us so much with his life and I can instead; look forward to what God is going to do in the future.

Keep your eyes on what God has already completed, and not on the empty spots in your life!

What's In a Name?

I was just reading this morning in Genesis 5 the account of Adam’s family line, a portion of scripture that I usually gloss over. But this time it was different. I read it line by line, name by name. I took a moment to reflect on each name.

In biblical times the selection of a child’s name was a serious decision. You didn’t just choose whatever sounded good. Today we hear of celebrities coming up with some crazy names. In fact, I found the “top 10” list of the craziest names in Hollywood.

Here they are:

• Bronx Mowgli Wentz
• Pilot Inspektor
• Kal-El Cage
• Moon Unit Zappa
• Jermajesty Jackson
• Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette
• Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale
• Rocket Rodriguez
• Brooklyn Beckham (actually, this isn’t so crazy to me)
• Apple Martin

How would you like to go around with one of these names?

The thing about a name is that it sets you apart. You are a unique individual who has value. I think that’s the most important thing we can learn about a name.

While it is easy to gloss over the family lines we find throughout the Bible, we have to remember that this was a person whose life had value to it. They weren’t just a blip on the screen of life.

Sometimes we get offended when someone doesn’t remember our name. It can feel like a personal affront, as if we don’t really matter. It can also feel good when you are at the grocery store or the bank and the person behind the counter actually acknowledges your name.

This whole thing with a name is something I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks now. Over the course of the past two months, God has been prompting me to help a homeless man that frequently sits outside the Pick n Save I shop at. Whenever I see him, I make sure to come out with a bottle of water.

But on one occasion the Lord was speaking to my heart, “He has a name.” It was easy to dismiss that…well of course he has a name. But what God was trying to say to me is that he has a name and I need to ask what it is. I need to see him as someone valuable and I can’t really do that until I know his name.

A good three weeks passed in between the time I heard God speaking to me about this and when I finally saw him again. I was walking up to the front doors of Pick n Save with my daughter and there he was on his bench.

I sat down next to him and said, “Hi.” I gave him a monetary gift that God had put upon my heart to give and then I asked him what his name was. Never have I seen that man smile. Even when I have handed him the bottled water, not even a crack. But he smiled and said, “Dan.” I shook his hand and told him my name and then I pointed to my daughter and told him her name. He reached out to shake her hand.

The conversation didn’t go much further. I said my, “God loves you” thing and we moved on.

Names are valuable because the person behind it is valuable. Whose name do you need to learn today?

(Photo by Kevin Walsh in Flickr)

Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Ephesians 5:16…making the most of every opportunity…

Every single day is a new opportunity. Each moment in each day offers us the chance to…

do right or do wrong

make a difference or waste time

help or hurt

impact a life or ruin a relationship

give or take

build up or tear down

love or hate

be right or choose peace.

Funny how there are so many choices before us but yet…so few moments in life. May we each make the most of every opportunity we are given.

Replacing Your Sin

Ephesians 4:28 (The Message): Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Even if stealing has not been something you struggled with, there is a lot we can learn from this verse. It is the idea of replacement…replacing what you once did with something new.

Sometimes it’s not enough to stop what you once did before you became a believer. Replacing a bad habit or a sin with something else can be beneficial. It takes what you once did, who you once were and turns it around into something good.

The concept of this is something I saw played out in a book I just finished reading called “The Cause Within You: Finding the One Great Thing You Were Created to Do in This World” by Matthew Barnett. Former prostitutes teaching Bible studies. Former drug addicts providing meals to the homeless. All are giving back. They didn’t just stop their sin. They replaced it with something else.

But it goes even a little deeper than this. Reread the verse above and you will see four important steps. The first step is simply to stop what you once did. “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer…”

The second step is to do something else. “…but must work…” So now instead of stealing, you are working.

The third step is to replace your sin. “…doing something useful with their own hands...” The hands that used to steal are now going to find something useful to do instead.

The fourth step is to share your replacement with others. “…that they may have something to share with those in need.”

You see, living a life that is pleasing to God is not just about stopping those bad behaviors or habits. It is really about positively impacting the lives of others. No matter what your past is, you have something to give back.

Stop your sin, replace it with something good and then use it to impact the life of those around you.


Photo by Studio Cl Art on Photl.com

Your Life Is Not Your Own

Yesterday my husband and I met a man from church, who will be heading up a missions trip to Haiti in just a couple of weeks, at our bank. We had to have a couple of forms notarized. One was an authorization form for our minor child to leave the country on this trip and the other was to sign over temporary guardianship to the team leader.

It felt strange to sign over temporary guardianship of my child. What it says is that for this particular period of time, I am relinquishing my rights over my child to someone else. The responsibility of his life for those six days will rest with someone else.

Mothers have a very strong attachment to their children. There is almost a sense of ownership. But the reality is that no matter who has “guardianship” over my child, he does not belong to me. He belongs to God.

As I was reflecting on these things, God reminded me of something else…my life is not my own.

…You are not your own; you were bought at a price… (I Corinthians 6:19b-20a)

How many times at church do I sing songs of surrender? “Lord, I surrender all…I surrender all…all to you my precious Savior, I surrender all.” Yet the truth is I am still holding onto things.

True surrender is a recognition that we are not our own. There was a price paid for our salvation, our new life in Christ. It was a heavy, blood-bought price. How could I expect such a price to be paid for me, yet still attempt to direct my own life?

I came to understand that for me personally, what God was trying to say is that there are some things I am still holding onto…as if I “own” them. At the top of that list are my children.

But for all of us, we have some area in our life (maybe more) that we grasp onto, too afraid to let go. We let fear and doubt prevent us from truly surrendering.

What if things don’t go the way we expected? What if something bad happens? What if it backfires? What if it doesn’t work out? We go into the idea of surrender with only “What if” thoughts. That isn’t true surrender.

The past couple of weeks this has been a real battle for me, as I saw my daughter off to her first year of high school…as the decision was made in our home about allowing our son to take this missions trip to Haiti.

I feel like my children are just growing up too fast and I want to press the pause button. But the reality is that it’s because I don’t want to relinquish them. Yet that is exactly what God is asking of us. He wants us to release EVERYTHING in our life because our life is not our own.

He paid a price for your life and soul that can never be measured. We really can’t even wrap our minds around the reality of this. It’s too divine…it’s too unbelievable.

So with that, I leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, “Unthinkable”:

That God would give His Son for me
I find it hard to believe
That a gift so great could ever be repaid
But the blood that’s flowing from His veins
Has washed away my guilty stains
Death was lost and life was gained for me

It’s unthinkable
But I still believe
It’s unthinkable
But I still believe

I’ve found forgiveness for a life of sin
You bring me healing in my brokenness
You give me purpose for a life unlived
It’s all in your blood, it’s all in your blood

Photo by mmagallan in stock.xchng