Y’all, the 1st day of Spring was this week. And we have seen glorious sunshine for several days. Let me tell you, that does a number on your winter blues. It’s hard to be too gloomy when you have some bright sun beating down on your face. Don’t get me wrong. I am not mad at winter. Bless his heart. But he brought with him a lot of cold and rain. This needs to stop. I would like to say to winter, as my sweet Mama Boyce would say to a nosy neighborhood dog getting in her flower beds,
“Git out of here! Don’t make me take a switch to you!”
But that might be weird, because winter doesn’t really have ears to hear. Oh well, good idea, though.
When I think of spring, one of the things that comes to mind is spring cleaning. Spring cleaning may consist of washing windows, cleaning out closets, clearing out cabinets, dusting ceiling fans, pressure washing the outside vinyl, knocking down all the cobwebs (I get tired just thinking about it!). But you know something to consider, too, is cleaning out our God given house. Spiritual Spring Cleaning is a purging of the dirt in your heart & life. It helps to cleanse your soul of the trash, that may have accumulated. What’s a better time than spring to get rid of the mess? What kind of messes am I talking about?
Consider these-
- Complaining
- Gossiping
- Envying
- Comparing
- Consuming
- Doubting
- Fearing
- Hating
These things we should avoid doing and even hanging around places where these things are commonly practiced. They do not lift us up in any form or fashion.
Here are 5 things to help spring clean your spiritual life:
1. Take a good inventory of your heart. What are the things that need bagged up and trashed first? Start by thinking or “studying” about what changes you need to make. It’s always a good idea to think things through. The apostle Paul suggested this to Timothy in I Timothy 4:15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. (NKJV)
2. Make a plan. I have always heard it is wise to plan your work & work your plan. We need to plan ahead on how we are going to react when someone starts gossiping to us or about us. We should decide, ahead of time, to not let the little things irritate us. Plan on how you will decide to handle hard situations, before they happen. Plan on how you will handle a know it all. This way, you will have thoughtfully made an effort to change how you view and react to things in advance.
3. Take action. One way I love to take action is by making lists. Nothing is better than crossing something off my list. My list might look something like this:
- Count my blessings
- Give sincere compliments
- Study the Bible
- Thank someone
- Share with someone how the Lord is working in my life.
- Sit in the sun
- Love
- Be humble and kind
- Remember if you can’t change it, let it go.
4. Pray about it. This goes without saying. We should pray always, about everything.
5. Practice it daily. Y’all, let’s do our best to have a clean heart. I believe it will not only be a blessing to us, but to everyone around us. It will encourage others & help them to see Jesus through us. God is always working for our good. I love the quote:
Practice makes perfect, so watch what you practice!
Let’s make sure we are practicing things that encourage and not tear down.
I sure hope everyone is ready for the weekend! I know we are. It’s been a long week. My dad had surgery on Wednesday. Then, we’ve had others in our family not feeling so very good. Prayers are appreciated. On a good note, I got to see my big brother this week. It’s always a fun time when we are together. Until next time I should be going because I should be washing clothes.
If you are still wanting more ideas on a Spiritual Spring Cleaning- just click here for another article I wrote.
I should be washing clothes......... 