Some consider January 1st as the beginning of the new year. Frankly speaking, what are they thinking?!! Sure our calender points us in that direction, but I would have to give a motherly disagreement as to when the real year begins. Because, every circular filled with school supplies and last minute vacation get away packages would let anyone in on the real truth. In fact, I live in a college town, and just this week at least 30,000 returning and new students (and their families) have flooded our fair city just screaming that the real new year is about to begin. It is of course the start of school. Don't you just love the smell of new markers and erasers in August? Ah yes, the start of school is the mark of the new year around the Bryan home.
Just like any mother, I want my children to do well in school. That means we have to ready our home so their at home learning environment is at top notch capacity to supplement their education. So, in a calm and cool manner (much like at the airport) I pronounce three weeks before school starts that we have upgraded from a code orange to a code red. I repeat... CODE RED PEOPLE! We have strange new experiences headed our way, and forget about leaving your backpack unattended, just try to find it from three months ago and see if you left anything in it that makes it smell funny. Getting four children ready for their schools has been hard enough in the past, but this year has its own special challenge. This year all four children go to different schools. I have a High School student, a Jr. High student, an Elementary kiddo, and a Preschooler (hooray M.D.O.). Four kids at four different schools. What is past a code red?!! Yes! We must get organized. Where did I put my list of what to do?!!
Now, Professor Livingston had his jungle, and Amelia Earhart had her southern pacific ocean, but I have the largest challenge of all... my home! I am a saver. All the non-savers just moaned. They know. What do they know? They know that you might have spent 3.00 on that yarn, but if you haven't used it in three months it now sits by the extra box of paper clips you also haven't used that sits next to the coat that you are just sure will fit your third child this winter (that you held onto two winters ago). Please don't think my home is messy. It is usually clean (disclaimer: closets and half of the garage does not apply... saving may cause irritable belly aching from other family members). However, even the best clean savers must purge at some point. You simple run out of room to save the new stuff that you are just sure you will need. So, the real start of the new year, the beginning of school, always seems like the best time to me to purge and begin fresh.
Of course the sun shown through the windows and my teenagers hugged me and said, "Mother, we are ever so excited about helping you clean our rooms this year." Oh yes, then I woke up from my dream and into the nightmare that cleaning brings. How is it that teenagers can move three things around and look at you with a straight face and say they are finished cleaning? Finished? What about the stuff under the bed, the clothes that don't fit, and the stuff you don't use? Oh no! We aren't even close! Many time parents like to use the phrase, "it was like pulling teeth" to describe getting their children focused. This experience was more like pulling all the teeth while being tag teamed in a verbal wrestling match from the amazing Bryan Teenolas! On day three we finished both rooms just in time for school to begin. They will no doubt make straight A's... that is if they can find their stuff under the new piles they started today.
It was important for me to get their rooms ready. Maybe (when a mom says maybe that is code for IT IS the reason) it's because I just know in my heart that if they start strong they can end strong. I feel like if the outside is looking good it will give them an inner drive to be better inside.
You know that doesn't always work. There was a show a few years ago called The Swan. In this show they took mainly women who were not physically attractive by the world's standards, and did everything from weight loss to plastic surgery to teeth implants and turned them from "an ugly duckling" to "a swan." While most everyone loved their results, many of them still struggled with what they perceived themselves to be. Years of teasing and self loathing had made it hard to appreciate that God loved them as -is . I'm not here to really debate whether it was a good show or not. I do think it is interesting to note that without loving themselves, they still thought people saw "that ugly girl." More importantly, they still struggled with being "the ugly girl."
Sometimes we work hard at an outward appearance. We are productive on the outside so many perceive us to be together on the inside. At least we think that is what everyone else is thinking. Perhaps that is what the town thought of the Pharisees. All but Christ. Christ called them white washed tombs. They looked good on the outside but their inside was dead. Christ also told them that you must first wash the inside of the cup and not just the outside in order for it to be clean. Have you ever been there spiritually? You are on fumes still ministering, or should I say MINI- steering. The outside must go on, but you are in a low place just praying your long lost cousin has made a fortune and will share it with you... can I get an A-Men? You might be super busy for God. Others would say look how spiritual he/she is, but the truth is you are asking God if he would just stand over there. You are busy "serving" Him and simply don't have time for a quiet time with your Father.
While we, the teens and I, were cleaning their rooms, it became glaringly clear that the person who wanted their rooms clean did not even live in those rooms. Was I right to have them clean? Yes, because sometimes persevering makes way for easier cooperation next time as well as a hope and a sense of accomplishment. It's just that I can not fool myself into thinking that - that one act alone will bring straight A's and a new desire to be organized. That comes from the heart. I can pour into their hearts, but ultimately it is they, through Christ, that must make the heart choices. Which leads me to ask a question to you. What heart changes do you need to make to have a great life inside and outside?
We simply... I simply... you simply can't have a new beginning at anytime of the year if we are cluttered by our past. What does that look like for you? Do you have an old friend that did you wrong? Did you do them wrong? Did something happen to you? Did something not happen to you? You see, whatever it is or was, it is ourselves at this point holding up the new beginning. Until you let go of what is in your past it will forever shape your future. We, you and I have to clean out the inside of our hearts to make room for what God really wants us to hold dear. We can no longer save old habits and heartaches that bind us. New beginnings are not the end result. They are a cleansing of sort. A cleansing that starts by working through the filth in order to find the jewel that lies inside through Christ Jesus. I would like to urge you to take sometime today and do a little cleaning. Frankly, what have you been waiting for? Do you think it will get easier? Most likely it won't. Those three days with my teens were tough. Neither of them called their friends and said, "Oh goody! My mommy is helping me make my room super shiny!" But was it worth it? Well, what would happen if we did not? Stuff from my son's 6th grade would still be in his room as a freshman in high school.It would be an atmosphere of bondage of sort; bound by past clothes and clutter. You deserve so much more than past hurts and excuses. Start your new beginning today.
What is God showing you?
1 Corinthians 11:28 "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup."
Just like any mother, I want my children to do well in school. That means we have to ready our home so their at home learning environment is at top notch capacity to supplement their education. So, in a calm and cool manner (much like at the airport) I pronounce three weeks before school starts that we have upgraded from a code orange to a code red. I repeat... CODE RED PEOPLE! We have strange new experiences headed our way, and forget about leaving your backpack unattended, just try to find it from three months ago and see if you left anything in it that makes it smell funny. Getting four children ready for their schools has been hard enough in the past, but this year has its own special challenge. This year all four children go to different schools. I have a High School student, a Jr. High student, an Elementary kiddo, and a Preschooler (hooray M.D.O.). Four kids at four different schools. What is past a code red?!! Yes! We must get organized. Where did I put my list of what to do?!!
Now, Professor Livingston had his jungle, and Amelia Earhart had her southern pacific ocean, but I have the largest challenge of all... my home! I am a saver. All the non-savers just moaned. They know. What do they know? They know that you might have spent 3.00 on that yarn, but if you haven't used it in three months it now sits by the extra box of paper clips you also haven't used that sits next to the coat that you are just sure will fit your third child this winter (that you held onto two winters ago). Please don't think my home is messy. It is usually clean (disclaimer: closets and half of the garage does not apply... saving may cause irritable belly aching from other family members). However, even the best clean savers must purge at some point. You simple run out of room to save the new stuff that you are just sure you will need. So, the real start of the new year, the beginning of school, always seems like the best time to me to purge and begin fresh.
Of course the sun shown through the windows and my teenagers hugged me and said, "Mother, we are ever so excited about helping you clean our rooms this year." Oh yes, then I woke up from my dream and into the nightmare that cleaning brings. How is it that teenagers can move three things around and look at you with a straight face and say they are finished cleaning? Finished? What about the stuff under the bed, the clothes that don't fit, and the stuff you don't use? Oh no! We aren't even close! Many time parents like to use the phrase, "it was like pulling teeth" to describe getting their children focused. This experience was more like pulling all the teeth while being tag teamed in a verbal wrestling match from the amazing Bryan Teenolas! On day three we finished both rooms just in time for school to begin. They will no doubt make straight A's... that is if they can find their stuff under the new piles they started today.
It was important for me to get their rooms ready. Maybe (when a mom says maybe that is code for IT IS the reason) it's because I just know in my heart that if they start strong they can end strong. I feel like if the outside is looking good it will give them an inner drive to be better inside.
You know that doesn't always work. There was a show a few years ago called The Swan. In this show they took mainly women who were not physically attractive by the world's standards, and did everything from weight loss to plastic surgery to teeth implants and turned them from "an ugly duckling" to "a swan." While most everyone loved their results, many of them still struggled with what they perceived themselves to be. Years of teasing and self loathing had made it hard to appreciate that God loved them as -is . I'm not here to really debate whether it was a good show or not. I do think it is interesting to note that without loving themselves, they still thought people saw "that ugly girl." More importantly, they still struggled with being "the ugly girl."
Sometimes we work hard at an outward appearance. We are productive on the outside so many perceive us to be together on the inside. At least we think that is what everyone else is thinking. Perhaps that is what the town thought of the Pharisees. All but Christ. Christ called them white washed tombs. They looked good on the outside but their inside was dead. Christ also told them that you must first wash the inside of the cup and not just the outside in order for it to be clean. Have you ever been there spiritually? You are on fumes still ministering, or should I say MINI- steering. The outside must go on, but you are in a low place just praying your long lost cousin has made a fortune and will share it with you... can I get an A-Men? You might be super busy for God. Others would say look how spiritual he/she is, but the truth is you are asking God if he would just stand over there. You are busy "serving" Him and simply don't have time for a quiet time with your Father.
While we, the teens and I, were cleaning their rooms, it became glaringly clear that the person who wanted their rooms clean did not even live in those rooms. Was I right to have them clean? Yes, because sometimes persevering makes way for easier cooperation next time as well as a hope and a sense of accomplishment. It's just that I can not fool myself into thinking that - that one act alone will bring straight A's and a new desire to be organized. That comes from the heart. I can pour into their hearts, but ultimately it is they, through Christ, that must make the heart choices. Which leads me to ask a question to you. What heart changes do you need to make to have a great life inside and outside?
We simply... I simply... you simply can't have a new beginning at anytime of the year if we are cluttered by our past. What does that look like for you? Do you have an old friend that did you wrong? Did you do them wrong? Did something happen to you? Did something not happen to you? You see, whatever it is or was, it is ourselves at this point holding up the new beginning. Until you let go of what is in your past it will forever shape your future. We, you and I have to clean out the inside of our hearts to make room for what God really wants us to hold dear. We can no longer save old habits and heartaches that bind us. New beginnings are not the end result. They are a cleansing of sort. A cleansing that starts by working through the filth in order to find the jewel that lies inside through Christ Jesus. I would like to urge you to take sometime today and do a little cleaning. Frankly, what have you been waiting for? Do you think it will get easier? Most likely it won't. Those three days with my teens were tough. Neither of them called their friends and said, "Oh goody! My mommy is helping me make my room super shiny!" But was it worth it? Well, what would happen if we did not? Stuff from my son's 6th grade would still be in his room as a freshman in high school.It would be an atmosphere of bondage of sort; bound by past clothes and clutter. You deserve so much more than past hurts and excuses. Start your new beginning today.
What is God showing you?
1 Corinthians 11:28 "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup."
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