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What’s the Temperature of Your Home?

September 11, 2010 in Home with 0 Comments

Stop by our house any time during the winter and you’ll see my wife walking around in shorts, while I’m wrapped in a blanket and sporting an Elmer Fudd. Our house stays cold – very cold.

While the physical temperature of our house may keep the state of Alaska in check, I’ve found that the spiritual temperature of our home is often indicative of how grace is being lived out in our individual lives.

  • When grace is being practiced over issues like laundry or homework, we feel free-er to discuss areas where we are struggling
  • When scripture is opened in the early mornings, we tend to gather and talk more at night
  • When the kids are being blessed at night, they have an inner confidence when facing struggles during the day
  • When I’m short with Kathi or the kids, they become short with themselves.
  • When I’m being social with my gadgets at home, everyone else takes my lead and does the same
  • When I’m writing and using my imagination more, my kids are normally doing the same
  • When the gathering place of our home is the kitchen bar rather than the TV, our discussions are more about books we are reading, worship on Sunday, and sins we are struggling with

What’s the temperature of your home? What drives it to be cold vs warm and welcoming? How are you measuring it?

Cleaning is Dirty Business

September 11, 2010 in Desire, Home, Listening with 0 Comments

I was brushing my teeth this morning when I noticed a lot of old toothpaste splatter on the mirror. “Man, that really needs to get cleaned up.  I need to mention this to the kids or Kathi,” I told myself in a glub sort-of-way.

As I made my way downstairs to the recliner, I suddenly had an amazing thought: I could clean the mirror. Better yet, I could clean the WHOLE bathroom. As proud as I am of that moment, the really sad thing is I had to ask someone where the cleaning supplies were. Shouldn’t I know that?

With bleach in one hand and a scrub brush in the other, I began to knock away at the grime and scum. At war within me, though, was my old sinful heart: don’t worry about that nasty junk in the corner, Kathi can get that. Oh, see that disgusting stuff under the toilet ring, don’t even touch that – nobody knows it is there anyway. Just a good once over is plenty, but for goodness sakes, be sure to really clean your side of the mirror. Don’t forget, the Seminoles are playing in a few minutes, you don’t want to miss that.

Yeah, that was a really great moment. However, recognizing what was really happening within my heart, the Holy Spirit broke through and I began to listen: as hard as it will be, how about trying to do a better job than Kathi would – not to one-up her, but to show her you really love her. See that grime underneath the faucet  handle – get that.  You know that rust stain in the corner of the shower you look at every morning, spend an extra 10 minutes and get rid of it. You know that toilet you sit on everyday, wipe that sucker down.

Yeah, there was a real battle going on, but the Holy Spirit won and I began to clean like mad man.  Rather than doing something half-baked, my desire switched to doing something based in love and a desire to serve. I desired to give excellence and that was nothing but God at work.

Cultivating a servant’s heart begins with looking in the mirror and recognizing the dirtiness for what it really is: sin. Thankfully, it is pure grace that we have the Holy Spirit to it point it out to us and begin the cleaning process. We just need to listen.

To Foster the Growth of

August 23, 2010 in Desire, Home, Listening, Prayer, Reading, Technology with 0 Comments

Merriam-Webster defines cultivate as:

1) to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops; also : to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants)
2) a : to foster the growth of; b: to improve by labor, care, or study : refine
courtesy of RedWelly: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redwelly/89928491/
I especially like 2a: to foster the growth of. It implies that there is something that needs growing, something that is worth growing, and it requires some help in order to grow. In light of that definition, here are some questions I want to wrestle with over the coming months and years:
  1. What does it mean to foster the growth of our desires? How does that look and who’s the beneficiary? What’s the motivation?
  2. How do we nurture the culture and temperature of our home; and why would we want to?
  3. Does our use of technology or gadgets negatively impact our interaction with people? How do we cultivate our use of technology?
  4. What is quietness and how do we cultivate it to impact how we listen to people with our eyes, ears and heart?
  5. Why is it uncomfortable to be alone while reading or praying, and how do we cultivate that time so that we learn to listen while reading and praying?

photo courtesy of RedWelly