A Clean Heart

 The following guest post is shared by Trisha. Visit her business here. Or her ministry here.


Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10


A question that I seem to ask myself on a daily basis is this: Why can’t a clean house stay clean? I agonize over this question. It can consume me. After literally spending hours (sometimes days) scrubbing and mopping floors, washing dishes, dusting furniture, vacuuming carpets, cleaning bathrooms and de-cluttering the kids’ play areas in my house, is it too much to ask that the house remain clutter free for awhile? It seems that as soon as one room is clean and I move on to the next room, the tornadoes that are my children seem to follow me and undo all that was just made right. It’s truly frustrating to see a mess that was just cleaned up become an even bigger mess just moments later.

Hmmm…I would think that God must say that same line over and over and over in reference to us. How many times has He cleaned up a mess in my life only to have me go back and completely mess it up again? How many times have I been given an abundance of grace and mercy and forgiveness, only to sin in the very next instant? What a blessing that God’s thoughts are so much different than my own and instead of focusing on the fact that I have once again broken what He just fixed, He chooses to forgive me of my sin and completely forget about it.

How many times a day do I think about what needs to be done at home compared to how many times a day I think about what needs to be done in my heart to honor and glorify God? I need to put more emphasis on keeping my heart clean and less emphasis on keeping my house clean. Why do I sometimes feel that it’s easier to put on my rubber gloves and take my mop and broom and get to work than it is to be filled with the Spirit and strive to honor God and serve others and keep my heart clean?

Luke 10:38-42 tells us the story of Mary & Martha. Jesus came to their house and Mary sat at His feet to listen and learn while Martha busied herself cleaning and serving and seeing to her guests needs. We all know the end of the story…Martha was rewarded for her hard work…right? No! Jesus said that Mary had chosen to do what was needed…to glean from His words and to apply them to her heart. What good does a clean house do if your heart is filthy?

How’s your heart right now? Is it clean or is it harboring sin? Have you been agonizing over a clean house more than a pure heart? Take a moment to examine your life and to ask God to cleanse you from sin. Then go a step further and ask God to show you how He wants to use your life to glorify Him.

Our favorites: A (boys) homeschool read-aloud list

Across Five Aprils...... By: Irene Hunt
Around the World in Eighty Days...... By: Jules Verne
By The Great Horn Spoon...... By: Sid Fleischman
Door in the Wall, The...... By: Marguerite de Angeli
Freedom Train...... By: Dorothy Sterling
Johnny Tremain...... By: Esther Forbes
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The...... By: Howard Pyle
Missionary Stories With the Millers...... By: Mildred A. Martin
Mocassin Trail...... By: Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Old Yeller...... By: Fred Gipson
Om-kas-toe...... By: Kenneth Thomasma
Paddle to the Sea...... By: Holling Clancy Holling
Red Sails to Capri...... By: Ann Weil
Robinson Crusoe...... By: Daniel DeFoe
Secret of the Andes...... By: Ann Nolan Clark
Sign of the Beaver, The...... By: Elizabeth George Speare
Story of King Arthur and His Knights, The...... By: Howard Pyle
Treasure Island...... By: Robert L. Stevenson
Twenty-one Balloons, The...... By: William Pene du Bois
Wind in the Willows, The...... By: Kenneth Grahame

More of Our Favorites: A (younger boy's) homeschool read-aloud list

Aesop For Children, The...... By: Aesop
Along Came a Dog,,,,,, By: Meindert DeJong
Child's Garden of Verses, A...... By: Robert L. Stevenson
Cricket in Times Square, The...... By: George Selden
House At Pooh Corner, The ...... By: A.A. Milne
McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm...... By: Sid Fleischman
Mice of the Seven Seas...... By: Tim Davis
Mouse and the Motorcycle, The...... By: Beverly Cleary
Mr. Poppers Penguins...... By: Atwater
Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims...... By: Clyde Robert Bulla
Where the Sidewalk Ends...... By: Shel Silverstein

God is Bigger Than Cancer

My mind is wrapped up right now in wondering and thinking... Where does such strength come from? Only our Lord! Would I be able to go through such an experience with that much faith? Only by the grace of God!

My boys are enjoying a weekend with a good friend, who we are watching while his family is at Oakland Children's Hospital. I only wish it were under different circumstances. His 13 year old sister is reaching the end of one year in her fight against cancer. Another round of chemo today. I was visiting her Caring Bridge website today and those words stayed in my heart... God is Bigger Than Cancer.

I have added a link to her Caring Bridge Website under "A Site Seeing Journey". Please visit her site if you feel led, and leave her some words of encouragement. She's an amazing young girl and I know our Lord has great plans for her!! Please pray He will use this difficult experience in gigantic, amazing ways!!

The Sweet Side

For those who think boys are ALL rambunctious catastrophes in the works.... there are a multitude of sweet stories to share... such as the time my boys made me dinner for the first time. It was a day I walked into the kitchen exhausted and not wanting to cook. I was trying to create some kind of smorgasbord of leftovers... but my boys decided they would cook dinner for me. So sweet! They sat me on the couch with a book and went to work. My eyes, of course, were not on the book, but peeking toward the kitchen anticipating some kind of disaster. Instead when they called me in to the dining room they had dinner on the table with candles lit and soft music playing. That night we ate grilled cheese by candle light and it was the best grilled cheese I've ever had! They still pitch in with dinner here and there, learning many new menus. And Oh, there are so many more stories ... especially as they grow up into young men. Perhaps I'll add more memories in future blogs. There's something special about being the only lady in the family. Today for example... as I sit here on the computer, sipping my coffee in the warmth... my three men have shoveled the drive of snow for me so I can get to an appointment this afternoon. I feel really blessed!

Legos and Lizards

This is a common scene in my living room. Legos scattered everywhere, while various buildings and contraptions are erected. After vacuuming a few too many legos that were missed in the pick up process, we finally utilized the fabulous idea of laying down a white blanket first. There still ends up being a few stragglers lost in the pattern of my rug, but far fewer than before. I must confess though... I actually love that sound of a missed lego rattling it's way into my vacuum. It makes me smile because it is a reminder of the joys of little boys. I never thought I'd ever want a cage with lizards to decorate my living room..... but there they sit, right next to the love seat. My breakable keepsakes are long packed away, for fear of a flying football or swinging homemade weapon of some kind. Yep, weapons of all kinds are found here and there... created from sticks, duct tape, rubber bands and a multitude of other odds and ends. Even origami ninja stars. While some moms fill their mommy days with dolls and tea parties and dress up... I now know more about slimy concoctions, medieval weaponry, pulleys and levers, reptiles, and 'Star Wars' battle stations and spaceships than I ever thought I'd want to know. So you ask me (as I'm trying to get the paper airplane down that got stuck on my curtain rod) if I'm ready for two more little boys........... ABSOLUTELY!! Legos and lizards are now officially my favorite decorations!!, and I wouldn't swap them for the world!!

Postponed

Well, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Prov.16:9) and the Lord has decided to slow down our steps a bit. We were hoping for a successful court hearing today for our adoption, but some recent events caused a postponement of our court date. Though initially we are disappointed, we are trusting that God's timing is perfect and His insight is far greater than ours. Please be praying for our boys, as the reason for the postponement is that their biological father died very recently. He originally gave them to be adopted because he was unable to provide and care for them, and they were in need of medical attention and food. (Their mother died one year prior.) Only the love of a father could put their child's life and well being ahead of his own feelings. (Just as Christ did for us!) I can't imagine being in his position. When a parent is still living and has given them to be adopted, they are required to appear at the court hearing and give their consent. Because of his recent death, he was unable to be there. In his absence, there must be documentation to prove his death. In Ethiopia this is difficult and time consuming as they do not issue death certificates. It is left to our agency to locate those who can testify to his death and sign the required documents. There just wasn't sufficient time to get that done before our court hearing today, and so the postponement gives them until our new hearing... March 11th. Please continue to pray for all of the adoption details to come together smoothly for all involved. But please pray especially that the Lord would comfort the hearts of our boys as they try to process all that is going on in their young lives.

A few weeks ago we put together a photo album for our boys, filled with pictures of their new family. God is so good and He perfectly orchestrated the timing of the arrival of that photo album. The ladies at the orphanage were able to comfort them on the very day that they were told of their fathers death, with picures of their new family waiting for them in America. Knowing how much I had wanted to send those albums sooner, but struggled to get them completed sooner, and seeing God's perfect timing unfold in something as simple as the arrival of photos.... I also know that His perfect timing will unfold in the arrival of our boys to be home with us.