Declutter Your Mind
The New Year is upon us and we have begun another journey. Last year we spoke about "decluttering" our homes. I don't know about you, but I remained faithful to the task and I hope all of you did the same. Now the latest rave in the decluttering topic is a Netflix show called "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo". She is a Japanese expert who specializes in helping people get rid of items that "do not bring joy" in their lives. Millions of Americans have watched all the episodes and started making changes based on her process. Marie Kondo's process is to release items in 5 categories of the home:
Clothing
Books
Paper
Kitchen, bathroom, miscellaneous
Sentimental items
After one releases items from the above, Marie will assist in organizing and demonstrating how to display and store things we need. She focuses more on creating an environment that is filled with all the things that make us happy.
I am going to watch the program and see if I learn anything new, BUT I think that this year, we are going to try to focus more on tidying up on our spiritual life.
So I ask the question...is it time to declutter our hearts and minds?
Women have the tendency to SAVE everything. Such as cards, letters, recipes, and sometimes baby's first lost tooth. But we also hold onto hurts, anger, resentments, and bad experiences. We also remember our past mistakes and sometimes mistakes of others. We do not forget and crowd our hearts with junk that needs to be cleaned out of our hears.
What clutters our Spirits?
Pride
Resentment
Past Mistakes
Finances
Self Image
Family Problems
Employer
The clutter in our spiritual lives stops others from seeing Jesus in us and that should never happen. So what do we need to do about cleaning our spiritual life?
1. Make a list of each area in your life that feels chaotic and in need of a deep cleaning. For example:
Our relationship with the Lord
Marriage
Parenting
Church
Personal Relationships
Job
Finances
Health
2. Take inventory of what stays, what goes, what needs to be overhauled.
What activities, relationships, commitments in each area is preventing you from praising and glorifying God? Is there sin to confess? Old habits to get rid of? Ask yourself "Is Christ the Lord is in the center of it?" "Does It bring glory to God?" "Is it helping me draw closer to God?"
There is common sins we might need to include such as pride, anger, resentment, idolatry, gossip, addictions, fear, shame, self-righteousness.
3. Clean, Clean, and Clean Again
Now clean up your act. You are a child of GOD...now act like it. Put everything in the right and proper place and get rid of the baggage that is weighing down your spiritual life.
Attend church FAITHFULLY. Just don't be a Sunday morning person that gets in 1 hour of church. Be hungry for God!
Attend Sunday School and Bible Study. Small group sessions are a great way to reconnect.
Get involved with the things of the Lord instead of things of the world.
Make a living for the Lord a passion not a burden.
