It's Time to Purge

Hello Everyone!

This past couple of weeks have had me busy to an extreme level. The balancing and juggling act has been almost too much to bear. In times such as these, I am so thankful for the unspeakable joy that I get from our God! He is amazing at providing just enough time and exactly what we need to get it all done. He makes a way where there seems to be no way. He extends us beyond our capacity. He fuels us, strengthens us and makes us HAPPY while we fulfill our endless list of obligations and duties!

So this past week God has had me going above and beyond the normal cleaning that I do. I remember when I first began my organization journey. I went through many different organization systems before I finally found something that suited my personality. I like things to be easy and simple, mainly because cleaning, laundry, doing the dishes are chores that I personally do not enjoy.  But I remember what drove me and motivated me at the beginning of my organization journey. It was the moment that I realized that as much as I disliked doing those tiresome chores, I disliked having a messy home even more. So, by the grace of God, He empowered me, enabled me and equipped me to get my home to where it is now "clean" more than it is messy. I am now more consistent in my cleaning habits: sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, etc.

But it all had to start with organizing. I had to organize my time more diligently. I had to make sure that everything had a place in our home, so that it would be easy to put away. I had to ensure that the location of things that were consistently showing up in piles on the floor or counters, had a nearby 'home' to make putting it away that much easier and quicker. All of this took time, filled with dedicated consistency and determination to finally achieve a satisfactory result. I know that I have made my husband very happy with this change. After many hours spent watching organization channels on YouTube and reading countless blogs on the internet, while feeling so awed and amazed at this supernatural talent that these individuals had, I discovered what was the number one thing that they all quoted time and time again: PURGE!

Purging is necessary in order to rid ourselves of all of the excess junk that we keep stubbing our toes on or stepping on, which causes us great pain!  It could be toys that your kids throw around and never really play with. Or it could be that your kitchen cabinets and drawers are filled with many fancy dishes, an obscene collection of pots and pans or a whole bunch of kitchen gadgets, but...how often are they being used? Are they being used at all?  How much clothes do your kids really need? How many home decor items do you have to hang on your walls? How many pairs of shoes do you actually need?  Okay, I may have gone too far with that one, but you get the point! For me, once the excess was gone, completely out of my house and straight to the Goodwill, I was finally able to breathe! I could actually put things away in 5 minutes or less! It was then--and ONLY then--that I could focus on the actual cleaning of my home. I could actually see sweep the floors. I could actually begin to wipe down the counters. I could dust without having to move a whole bunch of stuff around. Yes, organizing was one thing. Cleaning was something else. It was then that I began to somewhat enjoy cleaning and the satisfaction that came from seeing the results of my hard work! :)  As I mentioned, however, it all began with me having to purge every single room of my home.

The definition of purge is: to get rid of.  My interpretation of that is to 'let go' of.  You have to let go of everything that is weighing you down and keeping you from believing that God loves YOU! Yes, that's right. YOU! That person you see every time you look in the mirror. The one whose flaws are probably all that you see. The one who is looking at the lines around your eyes when everyone else notices your smile. That person you. Sometimes we make mistakes in our lives so big that even though we have asked God to forgive us, we have a hard time forgiving ourselves. Then we allow the enemy to continue to replay that mistake over and over in our heads. We begin to wallow and we allow that devil to lead us into isolation, which is exactly where he wants us. When we are away from people, just as when a zebra or sheep is away from the pack, it makes us easy prey and it leaves us in our most vulnerable state.

I looked up the definition of purge in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The very first definition is:

a :  to clear of guilt

Listen, if you are having a difficult time ridding yourself of any guilt or shame, I'm here to tell you that you are covered by the blood of Jesus! He already died to take away--to purge, to get rid of--your sin! Do NOT allow the enemy to rob you of that great gift!!!  Receive God's grace! Once you receive it, that same grace will empower you to live out the life which you were created to live! God is not finished with you yet!  He has many great things in store for you!  He IS the God of the IMPOSSIBLE!!  He IS the God of MIRACLES!! He IS the God of SECOND CHANCES!! He IS the God of GRACE!! He IS the God of MERCY!!  He IS the God who ALWAYS takes us back!!! Hallelujah!  Receive His gift, my beautiful friend! He loves you and He is waiting for you to call out to Him.

Allow me to pray for you:

Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for your perfect, unending love for us all! I thank you that you sent your only Son to die on a cross to take away our sin, so that we have this amazing opportunity to live out the life which you created us to live! I thank you that we do not need to rely on our own strength, nor on our own understanding. I thank you that by the resurrection of your son, you left us the power of the Holy Spirit in us!
Father, I pray for every person reading this today who may be having a difficult time accepting your forgiveness and grace. Allow this person to feel your love. Consume their hearts and fill them with your peace and with your love and with your unspeakable joy! I declare that you are working all things together for their good and for your honor and glory! I declare victory and triumph in their life as they begin to lean in to you! I pray that they would receive the promises in your Holy Word as true for them, personally. I pray that there is NO weapon formed against them that will prosper! I thank you that your arm is never too weak to save us, nor your ear deaf to hear our cries! We praise you! We honor you! We give you all of our thanks and praise! In the mighty and powerful name of Jesus, I pray. Amen