A Bunch of CRAP (Renovation #5)

There's something about moving that makes you realize just how much crap you have.  There's a "weight" to it that goes far beyond the pounds in the boxes. 

And there's something about living with only life's bare necessities for 6 months that makes you question just how much of it you really need. 

Alot of it really is necessary. 
And some of it is treasure.
But a good portion of it is just a bunch of crap.

Doesn't it feel so good to let go of all that stuff??
Isn't it freeing to open your closets and cupboards and actually have SPACE??
You wouldn't think that things could add stress to your life, but I'm convinced they can. 

There's a song that makes me smile called "Suitcases" by Dara McClean.  It's come to mind often as I stare at the mound of boxes before me.  Here's a link if you'd like to listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdWO88ZVurU

Stuff.

We all got it.

Some necessary.  Some treasure.  Some just plain crap. 

Come with me into this visual of gathering all the crap that weighs you down... that clutters the very mind of your heart.  Box it up.  Seal it with yet another roll of packaging tape (insert here the oh-so-familiar-sound of the tape gun). 

Now let's go for a walk.  To the cross.

Some of you may be skipping along, lightly tossing your box up and down in one hand as you go.  Others may be down on all fours pushing, shoving, grunting, groaning, in an all-out sweat by the weight of what's in your box.

Either way, boxes of crap are welcome at the foot of the cross.  There's always room.  Just leave them there... turn and walk away.  Done deal.  Handled.  Forgotten.

Next time you open a closet and you find yourself sighing at the sight of too much stuff,  consider taking just a couple minutes to clean it out.  Keep the treasure.  Share the good stuff with others.  Get rid of the crap.  While you're doing so, whisper for the Holy Spirit to prompt you on what needs to be cleaned out on the inside of YOU. 

Christ wants YOU to be FREE of it.

OH GIVE ME A HOME.... (Renovation #4)

I am tired.

Not just tired.

T-I-R-E-D.

I’m tired of messes.

I’m tired of boxes.

Tired of packing and unpacking.

Tired of dirt.

I’m tired of being a vagabond.

Even though I'm thankful for a roof over my head, 

I'm tired of having no real home.

I have moved 4 times in the last 6 months.

I have slept on the floor on a blow up mattress for 4 of those months.

90% of the jewelry I own can be picked up in one large knot.

I may have forgotten how to cook.

And my car looks like I live out of IT.

If you inventoried what’s in my front seat alone, you would find empty egg cartons,
wine glasses, old sheets (clean or dirty?? don't remember), a bag of rotting tomatoes, 

a Christmas present for my son, towels, a lone earring, and some artificial stick things I regret buying.  And that’s just what I can see without moving anything. 

What I long for is a HOME. 

And don’t we all???

I’ll be moving into my new home soon.  
Yes, it’s pretty cool.  
And yes, I’m SO thankful for it.  
But over the past 6 months,
I’ve come to realize it’s just one more case of “temporary housing”.  

My real home after all… the one I truly long for deep in my soul… isn’t in Holland.  

Not in Michigan either.  

Not even in our beloved US of A.

It’s back in Eden. 

And it’s what I was created for.

 

(More later).

Keep Pedaling

The Tour de France has been on for the past several weeks and I will admit to finding it quite fascinating… in a boring sort of way.   Yet what other sport has a single competition that lasts for 3 weeks!!  Truly it is a physical feat to be respected even though it doesn’t hold the popularity of the NFL, NBA or even yes…. Nascar. 

Both of my boys have taken up biking in the past couple of years and more recently, my husband and daughter-in-law.  Through their stories, I have become somewhat familiar with what’s involved.   While watching one of the final legs of the tour this week, there was a spectacular finish (or at least as spectacular as biking gets).   The leader had broken away and was “going it” on his own for some time.   He looked good and really strong for quite a while, but as the finish approached another biker was creeping up on him.  Again, a solo.  They were neck-in-neck… bikes and bodies thrashing… giving it their all…  when out of nowhere came a rider that literally just FLEW right past them.  Blew them away.  “Slingshot” was the official term the media used.  He crossed the finish line, hands in the air in victory. 

I was talking to my husband about what that was all about.   He said he was drafting with another member of his team.  Drafting is when you tuck in behind the person in front of you – your front wheel riding in very close proximity to their rear wheel.  So close, that two bikes virtually become one.  The result is a force that literally pulls you along, making your use of energy more efficient.  Giving you a chance to rest a bit, recoup, and get ready for a dash to the finish.  I’ve seen the benefits of this time and time again in both bike and car racing.

As our conversation ended, I got up from the sofa to get a glass of wine and asked my husband “And are you drafting Christ”???  He looked at me and smiled.  He had never thought of it that way.

In life we face many hills.

Some headwinds seem too strong to bear.

As we look into the horizon, some roads (while flat) simply seem endless. 

BUT, my friends, WE WERE NEVER MEANT to travel this road alone.

Tuck in behind Christ. 

He WANTS to carry you to the finish… to victory… through HIM.  

Aaawwww..... NUTS!!! (Renovation #3)

When we started this renovation project, we knew we were bound to run into unexpected “issues”.  The unseen.  But little did I know the unexpected would come in the form of… nuts!!  Acorns, to be exact.  Typically, I like squirrels and chipmunks.  The nervous nature of those cute, furry little creatures really cracks me up.  Lord knows I’ve watched enough of them during my years in my hunting blind.  Even named a few.  But when a carpenter cuts a chunk of drywall out of your ceiling and down comes an avalanche of nuts, well… NOT SO CUTE!!  And when the electrician finds an area of chewed up, exposed electrical wiring in a wall cavity along with (you guessed it) more acorns… NOT SO CUTE!!  They (the carpenters) chuckled at my moment of panic.  They told me that they rarely ever tear into an existing home without finding SOME sort of hidden “treasures”.  

Honestly??  I’m tired of the tear down phase.  I’m ready to rebuild.  I think mentally, I know that when they start hanging that drywall… they’ve found all they believe there is to find.  All the issues have been exposed.  All the issues have been addressed.  And the experts are comfortable with zipping the place back up.  It’s a turn from the negative (tear down)… to the positive (rebuild).  Like I said, I am READY.

We had decisions to make along the way on HOW these issues would be addressed.  Choices needed to be made.  Settle for the less expensive band-aid fix and hope for the best??  Or do the permanent solution that will take time… and many more dollars.  The end result would cosmetically look the same.  

If you’ve been following my blog, you know my life, as of late, has been a time of renovation.  A time of asking God to reveal any and all areas in me that need to be exposed, that need to be addressed, that need to be repaired.  I expected to come across some things, since as scripture says “we ALL fall short”.  But just like with the house, at times I’ve wanted to scream “enough already!!”  I’m tired. 

And just like with the house again, I’ve been faced with choices on how to repair what God exposed.  I can apply a quick fix to these areas of my life and hope for the best.  Be a better person, give more, attend church more regularly, DO more for Christ.  Outwardly, I’m sure it’d look just fine.  Or, I can take the painful route and ask the Holy Spirit to show me more.  Dig deeper.  Expose the root of the problem.  And then allow Him to HEAL… and rebuild. 

We re-wired the entire house. 

We re-did the flashing around the atrium.

We tore down more drywall and foamed the walls, permanently sealing off access for those cute, furry little creatures.

With anything that really mattered, we chose the permanent, more costly solution.  Why?? Because when we live in our house, we don’t want it to look all pretty on the outside, yet still question what’s lurking behind the walls.

I will do NO LESS with my life. 

p.s.  Drywall starts tomorrow.    

PILLOW TALK

I was up at 2 a.m. last night.  Couldn’t sleep again.  Read a couple chapters in my awesome book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan… and was starting to get drowsy.  As I rolled over in an effort to wrap my arms around my husband – a simple act of intimacy – something was in the way.  A pillow.  Not just a little one either… a king-size pillow that he had his standard tight grip on.   I could hardly see him under it.

I tried wrapping my arms around the pillow AND him, but you know what?? There is ZERO intimacy in that.  I tried wedging my arms between him and the pillow, but there really wasn’t room for me.    

I lay there and grinned as God nudged me on this.

How often is God longing for intimacy with ME… but I have a death grip on something I’m holding on to??  There’s a difference between simply knowing He’s there – and truly experiencing the intimacy of His presence.   For TRUE intimacy, we need to surrender all that we’re hanging on to.  Nothing can stand in the way between us and our God.  Nothing.

Think about your own relationship with God.  Do you feel Him at an intimate level?? Be honest with yourself here.  Does it feel like something’s in the way??  Something so big you can hardly see yourself behind it - or maybe a few small things you clumsily hang on to??  Ask His Holy Spirit to reveal it to you.  And when He does, release it – lay it down – and open your arms wide to freely embrace Him. 

Stop whatever you’re doing and just ponder this for one minute.  Ponder the fact that the God of this amazing universe wants INTIMACY with YOU!!!  He wants MORE than just you knowing He’s "there for you".  He wants MORE than just church on Sunday and quiet times during the week.  He wants more than random acts of kindness.  He wants INTIMACY… in the purest sense of the word. 

Do you really want to miss out on that??  On ANY part of what that means??

I don’t…

EXPOSED (Renovation #2)

It was demo week last week.  

Floors have been ripped up exposing what lies beneath. 

Drywall has been removed revealing wiring, ductwork, and piping. 

Supporting walls have been clearly identified. 

We now can see potential problems that will need to be addressed. 

A few things that looked good on the surface, proved to be handyman-fix-it-jobs underneath. 

As the layers were peeled back, our new home took on a new look.  It felt “exposed”.  Exposed down to its bare bones.  Exposed for both it’s strengths and weaknesses.   By doing this, however, we are able to get a more accurate quote as to what this renovation is truly going to cost.   Oh, we had a rough idea, of course… but we had to get down to the basic structure before we could find out if our dreams for this house would be worth it.  Worth the work.  Worth the cost.     

As expected, the demo was messy.  One could even argue whether it looks more like we gutted the place rather than a little renovation.  A stranger passing by, however, would never know.  The basic structure still looks the same.  Strong.  Solid.  The only giveaway at this point is the sign in the front yard identifying who the carpenter is.  

Not everyone will look at this house and see it’s beauty - it’s worth.  Eyeballs already have rolled.  Sure, it has its quirks.  Sure, it’s not the same as everyone else’s.  It even has an interesting history.   But we love it and feel it’s worth.  We believe it has potential.  Most of all, we feel God led us here.  

With demo finished this week, the rebuild begins.  It won’t be neat, clean and tidy either… but seeing our dreams and visions unfold for what this house could be has us filled with anticipation.  Even in its current state, we love sitting still behind this house – our new home – listening to the birds, dreaming of what could be, and taking time to just BE.

The Holy Spirit has been doing the same in my life.  I’ve asked Him to expose my problem areas, help me make sense of how I’m wired, show me where my strengths are… and reveal my weak points.  There are days when I feel like His work in me is more like gutting than renovating, but I’m filled with anticipation at what His dreams are for me.  What His vision is.  I know my basic structure is solid because I AM a child of God.  I know I am unique and beautiful in his eyes.  I am worthwhile to Him.  Worth His life.  

So how about you?? Are your walls down?? Have you spent time sitting STILL with the Holy Spirit, listening for HIS movement - HIS song - HIS guidance - HIS plan for you??  Have you asked Him to show you which areas in your life He wants to renovate??  Are you open to the possibility that some areas may need to be gutted??  Depending how much work needs to be done, demo may leave you feeling downright exposed.  Be ready for that.  But oh, my friends, what beauty awaits… your dreams come true… when left to the master carpenter.  

And He is that, isn't He.  

     

It's Friday, BUT....

Yes, I'm well aware that it's Saturday.  But I heard a reference to this on the radio yesterday, looked it up this morning and feel it's worth sharing.

Easter has always been such a reason for celebration.  It's the foundation of our faith:  Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and rose again from the dead to defeat the grave and offer us eternal LIFE with Him.  Hallelujah!!!  Rejoice with me!!!  I am SO thankful; so humbled.  But hearing these 5 simple words on the radio yesterday impacted me.

5 simple words of Easter.  

5 simple words of Easter for our every day lives.  

5 simple words of Easter that offer hope.  Endurance.  Promise.  

5 simple words of Easter that meet you where you are.  

5 simple words of Easter that will carry you through the valley's of life.

5 simple words:

It's Friday....

BUT SUNDAY'S COMIN'

I hope you'll take 3-1/2 minutes to watch this clip.  Maybe there's a message in it for your life too.  

http://www.rpmministries.org/2011/04/its-friday-but-sundays-coming/

Happy Easter.