Spring Cleaning

Hello! Greetings on this beautiful sunny spring day! Alas, I haven't had the gumption to write in awhile, but I have been attacked by something I must admit has never bitten me before - the spring cleaning bug. I've meant to post about Brynn's birthday (now over 2 weeks ago), several running endeavors, and/or many funny kid phrases, but I just can't seem to sit down. You see, we began a new chapter at the Conrad household, one that includes a "chores" wheel. It's been inspiring, it's been challenging, it's been bonding, and even more - our home is clean!

Rather than go into details of how we're tackling the dust, dirt, and grim, I believe the Lord has a purpose in writing about the imperfections, flaws, failures, and funny mishaps that have happened along the way. In regards to above picture... one box from a new-bed-for-our-4-year-old + imagination = a fun memory and 1 BIG MESS! I just know we'll be finding small bits of styrofoam in our "clean" house for weeks. Another incident happened yesterday when I decided to wash my haven't-been-washed-since-we-moved-in-4-years-ago RED curtains, with another kitchen curtain that was and white. You guessed it, the shrunken curtain now resembles more of a red and pink type of combination. Almost as a reminder of how the Lord has covered us with something else red :), for that reason, the curtain stays.

In thinking more about this "washing" concept, the Lord gave me a question as I was driving yesterday, "zoning" as is my norm in the car... "Heather, have you allowing me to come in and clean house lately?" Hmmmm, good question. As He's allowed the opportunity for me to think about and talk about my gratitude for all that he has provided as we've dusted from room to room, have I allowed that same investigation and rolling-up-my-sleeves, to tackle the cobwebs and unmoved areas of the rooms of my life? Priorities. If I say the Lord is first, yet don't follow that beleive with the room and time in my day to invest in that relationship... and one day leads to another and another... the room in my heart gets dusty. I start on the road to self-sufficiency, independence, and ultimately selfish, self-driven priorities that usually ring true in the how I'm talking with those around me.

Dear Lord, I hear you, I see you. As we've sung "Fill Me Up" and "Treasure of You", compliments of the children's choir musical, my heart is yet again open to the message you so simply display in the hearts of my children. As I remember singing in our Lutheran upbringing, "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me," may that be the cry of my heart. Lord, more importantly than having a clean and spotless house, if my heart within that home is filthy, your light will be dulled. As spring is here and summer is around the corner, may I enter this season dusting off the cobwebs of spiritual neglect and invest in my realtionship with you. May my windows be transparent so as to allow your light through instead of being diffused from my spots and my own fingersprints. I thank you for this beautiful day. Looking forward to our time together...