At the Well
Monday, October 20, 2008
Hostess: Natalie
Blog:I Am (not)
Topic:Our home is an extension of who we are.
How does your home reflect who you are?
I have to admit.....when I read the topic for this week's post, I CRINGED!
Gosh....here go all my insecurities, the things that I don't like right now.
My HOUSE is NOT where I want it to be-
Sure, it looks great if you are just a visitor seeing what I am allowing you to see. It looks clean. The decorations are out. And, most days if you visit, there will be a candle burning.
BUT, my walk-in closet needs to be organized- it's a MESS.
I am behind on laundry- there are piles of it in all of our bedrooms.
There is dust in the corners.
The floors need to be scrubed.
The kitchen counter has accumulated junk.
I try to be organized.
I want our house to be a HOME. So, my longing is that it IS tidy, organized, clean, decorated, bread baking in the oven and a beautiful candle burning.
I visited a friend's home last week and was reminded again, I need to spend time on my own getting it back to where I want it to be- for me and for my family.
So, when I read the topic, I thought, "Oh great. My home is a refection of me- unorganized, dusty in the corners, nice on the "outside", but don't look deeper....
And then it hit me.
My home IS a reflection of me.
It isn't perfect.
It needs some attention.
AND, most of all, it needs GRACE.
I need GRACE.
When I was pondering this week's topic yesterday, I looked at my Proverbs flip chart.
Oct. 19's was Proverbs 15:6.
It read, "In the house of the righteous there is much treasure."
How true! I am righteous becaue of Jesus. Inside ME is much treasure because of what He has done. There is love. There is joy. There is peace. There is patience. There is kindness. There is goodness. There is faithfulness. There is gentleness. There is self-control.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
MY WASHING MACHINE IS BROKEN AND MY COMPUTER IS NOT WORKING. (I AM USING BRIAN'S LAPTOP). PLEASE PRAY THEY BOTH BEGIN WORKING TODAY!!!!!
10 thoughts shared....:
Tracy, thanks for sharing with us over AT THE WELL today. What a great comparision that just as our homes are not perfect neither are we, that we as well as our homes need Grace. Wow - thats great - I am going to use that when I am having a frazzled day and remind myself its all about Grace! -blessings, Laurie
I love the Grace part, AMEN sister!
Oh thank you! I have heard this said before and think my heart must be in terrible shape. Yes, I need to take better care of my house. But, it is a work in process, like I am. Have a great Monday!
Oh Tracy, I love the honesty in this post! Yes, it is so true that we need to be disciplined for order in our homes, but it always, always starts in the heart, and there, you got it goin on, girl! I struggle with the exact same thing.
Lord, I pray for Tracy's washing machine and computer. I pray that You would lead her to the right people and the best cost of getting them repaired and that YOu would give her peace and calm throughout these inconveniences. Thank you for Tracy's heart, her beautiful, transparent heart, and may YOu continue to shine through it. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sister Tracy,
Yes, we all indeed need much grace! God's amazing grace! And I for one am BEYOND thankful for it as I know what a poor wretch I am, but our LORD God is compassionate and poured out His mercy and grace that we may truly be jars of clay with the most incredible Treasure inside...Jesus Christ!!
I love the Scripture you shared today (Proverbs 15:6). I'm gonna have to go highlight THAT one! :-)
Bless you sister for sharing your home and heart today with us At the Well!!! And I'll be praying for your computer and washing machine! :-)
Thanks for being honest! Grace!!! I love that. I need loads of grace in my life!
I love that the fruits of the Spirit dwell in your home. It's beautiful from the inside out! Will be praying regarding the washer and the computer. Bless your heart! When it rains...
Hi, Tracy,
Oh dear ... a Monday morning without your washing machine OR your computer!!
As I read your post just now, my heart was led to a conversation that I had with someone just this past week about housecleaning ... of the spiritual kind.
I shared with her that about three years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to give my home a thorough spiritual cleaning. There was nothing overtly "evil" in our home, but I suddenly had a heightened awareness of things that needed to be purged, such as secular books, movies, music, etc... We hadn't even touched some of that stuff in years; in fact, some of it had been left behind over the years by houseguests, but I still felt an urgency to just get it out of the house.
Again, there nothing was bad on the surface, but, my criteria was that if it didn't honor, glorify, or please the Lord, into the trash can it went! (I pondered selling it all on e-Bay for about half a second but was quickly convicted that it all just needed to be trashed!)
Since then, I try to be so very conscious of everything that we allow into our home. And, hey, less stuff means less clutter in the corners and less to store and dust, right?! :-)
I do pray that all of your electrical appliances and tools will be restored quickly with a minimum of frustration! (Maybe you're supposed to witness to the repair guy ...) :-)
Love in Him,
Your Similarly Thirstin' Friend
Tracy, I just loved what you wrote, "My home IS a reflection of me. It isn't perfect. It needs some attention. AND, most of all, it needs GRACE." Isn't that true of all of us....Great, great thoughts.
Hi! I found this blog and enjoy it very much. I wanted to send other ladies to my most recent post. It is about something that has truly changed the way our ladies at our church think of one another. The blog is www.blessings-fromourhometoyours.blogspot.com. I am hoping to get lots of other ideas from ladies wanting to serve one another. Thanks!
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