Dust Bunnies and Praise Music

I have friends that would tell you that my house is always clean (...and I would tell you that I pay those friends quite a bit of money to STAY my friends). There are those that would walk thru, loving my house but silently noticing the things I didn't do...like the dirt that is unreachable by the broom in the corner of the bathroom floor, hand prints on the walls, etc. Then I even have a few that will leave my home and comment to others on how gross it is that my kitchen floor hasn't been mopped in over 2 weeks. (When I hear about THAT, tho, I just send them a beautiful invitation with my daily schedule so they can pick the time they want to come back and mop for me...)

I am learning, little by little, to let what other people think of my home's cleanliness go. A people pleaser by nature, it can be hard to remember Who it is that I work for and who lives here. I realize that God gave us this home so we could open it to our loved ones for His sake...and I also acknowledge that I am not always on top of my game when it comes to giving it all the attention it needs...but I also know that the bottom line of every job that I do is how GOD & my hubby feel about what it is that I do or don't do. (And both are happy to let me know when they think the floors deserve some soap and water...believe you me!!)

That being said, there is a small fact that I realized long ago:
The state of my home is a direct reflection of the state of my heart.
~ "Haven't touched a think in days" messy home = cluttered, weighted down, heavy heart
~ "Hey, the surface is clean" home = am facing God, but not necessarily going the extra mile
~ "Busted my butt for hours" clean house = He and I are on a roll!!

After our Sunday School class yesterday, I felt a stirring my heart. As I woke up this morning, I had the thought run thru my brain What can I do to please my Lord today...just wanting something more for me and God. Then weight of things on my mind tried to push in and I sunk down under the covers...but thru the miracles of laptops, I came across Aaron Shust's blog entry from a week or so ago.

I so appreciate His using another's words to help me to remember: some mountains are God-sized and we need Him to carry us over...and some are self-made & can be crossed by simply trusting Him enough to get out of bed! I am up. I am dressed...and now my iPod and I are ready to move from room to room today, cleaning beyond the surface.

Looking up as always...
~Bina~