Thursday, January 21, 2016

Cleaning house and heart...



When we moved four months ago, I thought that I had relentlessly given away a ridiculous amount of stuff.  We made trip after trip after trip to the Goodwill, dropping off a car full of things I used to treasure each time.  Yet, when we finally closed on the purchase of our new to us house and I began to unpack, I surprisingly found more stuff to get rid of.  A shelving unit that used to fit in the entry of our former home didn't look right in this house. Old nightstands were no longer needed in our new bedroom.  And what was I thinking keeping sweaters that I haven't worn in years?  Did I really want to keep those stilettos? They may still be cute and fashionable, but gosh, they sure aren't comfortable.

On a recent trip to Costo, I picked up Marie Kondo's book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I still haven't read all of it, but in leafing through it, I saw that one of her criteria for keeping something is, "does it still give you joy?".  After reading that sentence, I realized that I was keeping some things that, in actuality, brought me pain. While some of the objects were lovely things that I liked, they were gifts from someone who is no longer in my life, someone who left my life in a painful way.  So, I made my way to the thrift store one more time, and this time I let go of a lot more than just some physical junk.

What Marie Kondo's book is to tidying up your home, Priscilla Shirer's book, Fervent, has been to the cleaning up of my heart.  I'm not just leafing through this one.  I'm reading, underlining, praying, then going back and rereading and praying some more.  Yesterday, my whole prayer time was spent praying through the chapter on "Your Hurts-Turning Bitterness to Forgiveness".  In our church,  I do a whole lot of ministry in the area of counseling and inner healing. I've got a lot of experience helping others work through forgiving and letting go of bitterness.  In my housekeeping, I do a deep cleaning and purge before the holidays and again in the spring. Similarly, I'm pretty good at doing regular soul maintenance. Yet, our move revealed that in spite of my bi-annual cleanings, I still had too much junk.  Then, Marie Kondo's book revealed a whole new layer of things I needed to get rid of.  Likewise, this move into 2016, the year God gave me the word LISTEN as my word for the year, He has been speaking to me and showing me that there's still stuff in my heart to get rid of, a whole new layer of junk. Both Marie's book on physical house cleaning and the spiritual house cleaning Priscilla mentions in her book, indicate that you have to be willing to be ruthless and relentless in getting rid of the junk.  I'm willing and ready to do just that, both in my home and in my heart. 

still following,

  


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15 comments:

  1. I re-read Marie Kondo's the first week of the year and it's been the kick in the pants I needed. Sadly, I haven't had much time to really go through and figure out what truly sparks joy, but I can tell you that the majority of stuff I have sparks stress....I'd like to replace that feeling of stress with a little more freedom and joy in 2016!!

    Putting the book Fervent on my list.

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  2. It's such a good, practical book on prayer. It's things I've known, but obviously needed to be reminded of.

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  3. I need Priscilla's book. Oh, boy do I need it. My house is clean but my heart needs a Spring Cleaning.
    Much appreciated the book recommendation.

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    1. Christine, please let me know how you like it when you read it.

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  4. How interesting that I am wanting to do these very things this year in my life. I need to get Pricilla's book. My heart is in need of a deep clean. I haven't yet shared my word for the year, I feel it is "trust". I am trusting in the Lord to help me work on the cleansing of my heart, soul & mind this year!

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    1. Priscilla's book, Fervent, is such good practical help. You'll love it!

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  5. It sounds like a double cleaning to me which I have to admit I need both. The comment to 'keep only what you love' really hit me and I need to make a pile for Goodwill again and it seems God is always working on my heart. Forgiveness seems to be a lifelong job...Thanks so much for dropping by today. I value very much finding a fellow sister in Christ....

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    1. Yes, God really is always working on my heart, too. And, of course, home is also in constant need of upkeep. The two are really so similar!

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  6. I have Marie Kondo's book and started using it back in October and then had to stop with all the interruptions happening in my life. I'm hoping to get back to it soon and finally get rid of all the stuff that's just taking up space but not bringing joy. :) Blessings to you! I'm visiting from #ThoughtProvokingThursday.

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  7. Gayl, I'm just thankful that I just moved and got rid of so much stuff then, or I'm sure I'd be even more overwhelmed than I am now!

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  8. Oh! Fervent sounds like something I need to read. We recently downsized and gave away or did away with what felt like a ton of stuff. Haven't missed any of it. In fact, we could probably shed ourselves of more and still feel no lack. :-) Visiting from the UNITE Link-Up.

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  9. Again!!! just where I am!!! How do you do that??!!...love it!!!
    I am in the process of purging and it is difficult. I grew up being told to use it, use it again and then wear it out. We didn't have much growing up and now I feel overloaded. I have given quite a bit to Savers, they welcome me by name!!! (true!) Each load I take I do feel better...but it still is hard.
    I would love to buy those books you mentioned but it would be 2 more things!!!! haha. Thank you so much for this VERY timely post!!!
    God Bless, Addie

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  10. Love the idea of tidying up. I used to teach classes at a pregnancy resource center and we used Priscilla's teaching material. Incredible.

    xoxoxo and keep warm, Elizabeth--we have snow in GA!

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  11. Thank heavens I found out about pace cleaning my home. Life just feels better when I don't need to spend throughout the day doing errands. cleaning house london

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  12. As a matter of first importance, you ought to know that not all tile and grout cleaning administrations are made equivalent. The familiar maxim "You get what you pay for" remains constant here similarly as though you were contrasting the buy of another auto, printer or camera. eco-dumpster

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