Spring Cleaning

There are 5 gigantic totes out on the porch waiting for me to go through. They are filled with clothes ... both summer and winter. The plan was to only have summer clothes in storage and winter clothes in the closet. Then in the spring, the winter clothes go into storage and the summer clothes go into the closet. Some where along the line, I accumulated more winter clothes than will fit in the closet ... I tell Tall Cool One that I'll rotate the stock and wear the ones in storage the next year. For some reason it just hasn't seemed to work out that way. So my project at hand is to get rid of the clothes I don't wear. I mean seriously, I bet I have 35 pairs of jeans ... okay so some are two sizes too small (I keep telling myself I am going to wear them again), some are two sizes too big (Lord, please don't let me need those again), some I just don't like how they fit (but they're nice jeans to wear out ... you know we go out so often). And here I am writing instead of sorting.



Which brings me to my thoughts. Boy, am I easily side tracked! An understatement at least! I was reading one of Ray Comfort's Gospel tracts about "Depraved Indifference". Depraved indifference focuses on the risk created by the defendant’s conduct, not the injuries actually resulting. Meaning, me, as a Christian will be punished for not sharing what I know about heaven and hell. It is my responsibility to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations ... to share what I know. Depraved Indifference has nothing to do with the fact that if you choose to continue to live in your sin and do not accept Jesus Christ into your life that you will spend eternity in hell. You have heard about hell, yes? Hell is an endless lake of fire, with billions of people screaming because of the horrendous pain they are suffering. It is where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and there is no rest day or night.



Whew, see what I mean about getting side tracked. Wow, hell sure isn't a place I want to visit. Life is short, eternity isn't. I don't even want to get close to it ... so listen to me when I tell you. Choose Jesus over sin!



Back to my original thought on spring cleaning. Just like cleaning our closets, bureaus, drawers, cupboards, etc., sometimes our minds need a cleansing too. I've been thinking about people I used to be close too and how the relationships became strained or distant or plain old non-existent. I kept thinking that part of what God's Word says wasn't meant for me. I kept telling myself my relationships with people would be different. It isn't. Time to spring clean my mind ... out with the old in with the new. God cannot lie, not any part of His Word is untrue. We can't just pick and choose the parts that we like ... it is all or nothing. I have decided to let go of the relationships I have struggled with to keep going. It's not in my hands anymore. Sometimes we have to let go of the things we are closest to, be it a cool pair of jeans or an old friend.

Everyday Things

I have been working on a blog all week. It's pretty intense and my "WOM" teacher suggested that perhaps I am a "rabbit chaser". Unfortunately, I have to agree. I have a really hard time staying focused. Anyways, I decided to take a break from that project and write this.

Everyday things....

• Everyday my mother calls and tells me about how buried she is at work and how she is never going to get caught up. I remind her that her in-box will never be empty and she should look at it as job security. I am thankful that my mom is still around to call me up and complain about her job.

• Everyday I sign on line via dial up and complain to my dog about how slow it is and "it's taking forever". Then I realize how lucky I am to have a computer and dial up. Kind of hard to write a blog without it.

• Everyday my sister doesn't respond to my emails, phone calls or letters I think about how old she is getting by holding a grudge (it takes more out of an angry person than it does a happy person). As much as I don't want to sometimes, I keep the line of communication open by continuing to email and write letters, and pray that one day she will talk to me again (in a nice way).

• Everyday I miss my kids and imagine how things would be if they lived closer. Then I realize if they lived closer I probably wouldn't miss them as much and am satisfied with being able to talk to them on the phone and email them.

• Everyday I write a note of encouragement for Tall Cool One's lunch box and sometimes I can't think of anything to write. Then I realize how special he is because God created him for me and me for him and a simple "I love you" means everything. We should never take our soul mate for granted, ever. When God puts two people together, we should never miss an opportunity to let that person know how thankful we are for them.

• Everyday I wake up to the crowing of our rooster and some mornings I want to drive his crowing neck into a bail of hay and make him shut up. Then I think, he is so happy to have another morning. It might not sound good to me at 4AM, but to God, it is one of His creation's song of praise. I can't sing, but I try to when we have worship time Sunday morning and Wednesday evening because God wants to hear us praise Him whether we can sing or not (perhaps He will tell me different when I get to heaven).

• Everyday I read my Bible and some days I don't understand what I'm reading, but then later something will happen, and what I read will be revealed to me. God's word will never return void. It's amazing.

• Everyday there will always be something that you can look at in a negative way. It only takes a second to turn that perspective around. Ultimately the good will triumph over evil in the end.