Mike and I are currently renovating our townhouse. We are working on adding some color (YAY COLOR!) with new paint, carpet, rugs, plants, and we are doing some deep cleaning as well. Last night we bought special cleaners and a special tool with a scrubber so we can dig down deep and clean the tile and grout.
The night before last, Mike went head to head with the hard water stains on the glass in our master shower. He got down on his knees and scrubbed the tile. He reached up high and scrubbed the top of the glass. And finally, (God bless his heart) He sat down and scrubbed the shower floor. It was quite a process. (Who knew WATER could set up like CONCRETE?!)
We were away from home for quite some time and when we returned, we kept seeing large ants (like really large…I am not a fan of bugs) all over our house. We kept wondering, “Where are all these ants coming from?" Well. We (and by we, I mean me) found (Dare I publicly admit this…in writing?!) an ant infestation in our jacuzzi tub! Who does that?! How did I discover this infestation one might ask?
Well.
While I was cleaning our tub (in order to enjoy a very-very-very long salt and oil bath…after not having a bathtub for almost a year. Selah!), I turned on the jets to clean out the jacuzzi tub and…HELLO ANT MONSTER ATTACK!! Thankfully, about 10,000 ants immediately got stuck in the filter but another about 10,000 tried to escape by crawling up the tile on the wall! Who knew ants were so fast?! I grabbed a candle holder, threw the candle out, and used the holder to throw water on the wall washing them down, sending them to their watery grave, HA! Take that ant army!
Needless to say, salt/oil bath mood…O-V-E-R.
I screamed! I jumped! I wanted Mike! Alas…he was at work. What was I to do?! The only thing I could do…kill ‘em all with my bleach/epsom salt/409 arsenal, while stomping and screaming), turn off the jets, and wait for Mike to come home!
After all, I didn’t want the ants to plug up my filter and burn it up! (Yes, there really was that many ants!) Plus, Mike is much better at these situations than I am.
(It’s ok. He’s use to it. I once trapped a mouse with a laundry basket and waited for Mike to come home to…shall we say, humanely (yeah thats a nice word) remove the varmint (not a fan of troublesome, wild animals a.k.a. varmints either). So nothing shocks him (Mike) anymore.)
It was quite a crime scene. Dead ants…all over the tub. Floating dead ants. Dead ants on the bottom of the tub. Dead ants still stuck in the filter. And I was suspicious there may have been even more dead ants still “in the system” of my tub. Those places I couldn’t see. I wasn’t motivated to investigate any further. I knew Mike would have the perfect plan.
When Mike got home from work, I showed him the crime scene and told him every detail of my horrific ant attack and I said, “What should I do?” He hugged me, patted my head and said, “You should go sit down and rest while I clean this mess up.”
And. Then. I heard the angels sing.
Last night, we went shopping for rugs and a coffee table. I found the perfect coffee table for me (delightful squeal)! It is like a trunk, the top has glass and the table has a drawer. In the drawer are sections (ORGANIZATION FIX!), where I can display my ocean finds!
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| I declare thee, the best coffee table...ever. That is all. |
Again.
And. Then. I heard the angels sing.
While placing our new rug (filled with beautiful colors) on our clean floor underneath our breakfast table, I (all the sudden and quite unexpectedly) noticed how dirty our chair seats were. The difference between the new and the dirty was a little shocking. The seats have been through five years of “breakfasts” and a passel full of kidlets. I’m going to have to reupholster the seats. (Whoop-whoop, more color!)
I stopped and thought for a second. The more new, clean items I added to our home…I saw something dirty that needed to be cleaned. Just when I thought I had cleaned everything that needed to be cleaned, I would see something else that had to be dealt with. Not in an overwhelming way but in a, “Wow, I wasn’t aware of that until now.” way.
In that moment…the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said,
“This is the process I gently walk my people through.” (Isaiah 43:19)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)
God...confirming His Word...for today, for now.
"changed from the inside out"
"changed from the inside out"
And. Then. Genice cried.
An extremely thankful cry.
Most gracious, loving, sweet hearted, precious and perfect Heavenly Father…thank You for loving me so much You gently walk me through every crack and crevice of my heart and lovingly and gently remove everything that does not align with Your Word! I pray for every reader and myself as well, may we joyfully and with great expectation look forward to these changes with You by our side! Our confidence is not in ourselves but all our trust is in You! Thank You for freedom and deliverance! Thank You for prompting us and convicting us by bringing to our attention, the issues we are to address, overcome, and walk in freedom from. Thank You for teaching us bring our thoughts into captivity and to meditate on whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue and praise! Thank You for renewing our inward man day by day through Your life giving Word! Thank You for setting us up for success in every area of our lives, every day of our lives! We shall hide Your Word in our hearts in order not to sin against You! You deserve all the glory, honor, and praise LORD! Thank You for forgiving us for all infractions, both known and unknown, in the name of Jesus!
Please take the time to read the following, out loud. His living, life giving, life changing Word will take root in your life and change you from the inside out!
Proverbs 3:5, 6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Revelation 3:19
I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
Philippians 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
2 Corinthians 4:16
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[a] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Psalms 119:1
Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD.
Romans 8:31-29
What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? God didn’t spare his own Son but handed him over to death for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him. Who will accuse those whom God has chosen? God has approved of them. Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ is in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. Christ also intercedes for us. What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love?
Acts 3:19
Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
