Clean Up. Clean Out. Clean In.

It was Thanksgiving morning and my family were all coming in for our annual festivities. I was in the kitchen and getting my turkey ready for the oven. I walked over to my dining room table and the sun was coming in like a force-field. And, what to my wandering eyes would appear -- under my table, was a whole lotta dust and specs that I obviously missed on my recent floor cleaning. I quickly swept it all out.

A dear friend came in and spent the night at my home. When we walked into my living area the next morning, the sun was beaming in through my windows that face East. When we looked out -- oh, my -- we could see every spec of dirt and mire on those windows. It’s amazing what the sunshine will reveal on windows AND what the Son-shine will reveal in our lives.

About this time of year, many of us start to think about “Spring Cleaning”. We accumulate so much clutter (you know those little corners where we stack up mail, flyers and magazines), that we start getting weary from just walking by that corner. We need to CLEAN-UP! Then there’s the closets full of winter wear – boots, coats, gloves, hats – squeezed in so tight we couldn’t get another item in it. We need to CLEAN-OUT! Then there’s the attic that bears our seasonal decorations, unused furniture, hunting equipment, years and years of tax records and more building materials than you could shake a stick at! Okay, I just described our attic just after my Sweetheart graduated to heaven. When I climbed those stairs and looked in the attic, I hollered “RONALD WUERCH, how could you leave without cleaning out this mess?” LOL!

And, CLEAN-IN – this season of Lent (the 40-days that start on Wednesday, February 26th and lead to Resurrection Sunday). This time is more about “cleaning in” than cleaning out. Self-examination about the funk and junk that could be hindering a squeaky, clean heart that is a pure and honorable vessel for the Holy Spirit’s habitation. Our utmost desire should be to become so “clean” that the Galatians 5 “roto-rooter” cleans ours hearts out of the hatred, anger, fighting, jealousy, gossiping, criticizing, complaining, selfishness, etc. Bottom line…..it’s clean up, clean out and clean in time for those of us who sincerely desire that our hearts abound in “the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22).

You know how a fresh, clean house feels? Shouldn't we desire that fresh, clean house feel, inside AND out in our lives? It comes by asking the Master Cleaner (Holy Spirit) to come more than once a month to clean. We want Him to show up every day to remind us: "Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has CLEAN hands and a pure heart.” (Psalm 24:3,4)

“Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

It's Clean-Up, Clean-Out, Clean-In Time!

This may be TMI (too much information) on my personal life, but I had a major clean-out (literally, blow-out) two days ago when I went through a colonoscopy prep for the next day’s colonoscopy. I had put it off longer than I should have. It seemed like such a big deal to me, but when I had my annual check-up with my doctor this year, she was adamant about the prevention of colon cancer and how this procedure can detect and take care of any future issues. Besides – a good CLEAN-OUT is good anyhow because we know that having colon cancer screening is supposed to begin at age 50. I slightly missed that year. 😉Honestly the whole process from the prep day to the end of the procedure the next day was far less of a horror story than I thought it would be. To those of you who will be undergoing this procedure for the first time, take heart! The dread is ten times worse than the prep or the procedure will be.

CLEAN is my word of the day: washed, scrubbed, cleansed, pure, clear, fresh, virtuous, good, upright, honest, sober

About this time of year, many of us start to think about “Spring Cleaning”. We accumulate so much clutter (you know those little corners where we stack up mail, flyers and magazines), that we start getting weary from just walking by that corner. We need to CLEAN-UP! Then there’s the closets full of winter wear – boots, coats, gloves, hats – squeezed in so tight you couldn’t get another item in it. We need to CLEAN-OUT! Then there’s the attic that bears our seasonal decorations, old furniture, hunting equipment, years and years of boxes of tax records and more building materials than you could shake a stick at! Okay, I just described our attic just after my Sweetheart graduated to heaven. When I climbed those stairs and looked in the attic, I hollered “RONALD WUERCH, how could you leave without CLEANING OUT this mess?” LOL!

I was on a CLEAN-OUT binge years ago when I realized there were some TV shows that I recorded that weren't so optimistic and peace-building, so I removed them -- those shows that contained immorality, violence, crude language, etc. I'm so glad I did. I even removed those political talk shows that just went on and on in negativity. Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." I sure didn't want to be thinking those thoughts.

Most importantly in this CLEANING mission, is my utmost desire to CLEAN-IN. In Galatians 5, St. Paul reminds us of those things that need to be cleaned out of our hearts: hatred, anger, fighting, jealousy, gossiping, complaining, criticizing, selfishness, etc.

Bottom line…..it’s clean up, clean out and clean in time for those of us who sincerely desire that the bandwagon we are on is the one that brings immeasurable blessings, peace and joy.

You know how a fresh, clean house feels? Shouldn't we desire that fresh, clean house feel, inside AND out? It comes by asking the Master House Cleaner (Holy Spirit) to come more than once a month to clean. We want Him to show up every day to remind us ....Psalm 24:3,4 "Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has CLEAN hands and a pure heart"

It's Clean-Up, Clean-Out, Clean-In Time!

About this time of year, many of us start to think about “Spring Cleaning”. We accumulate so much clutter (you know those little corners where we stack up mail, flyers and magazines), that we start getting weary from just walking by that corner. We need to CLEAN-UP! Then there’s the closets full of winter wear – boots, coats, gloves, hats – squeezed in so tight you couldn’t get another item in it. We need to CLEAN-OUT! Then there’s the attic that bears our seasonal decorations, old furniture, hunting equipment, years and years of boxes of tax records and more building materials than you could shake a stick at! Okay, I just described our attic just after my Sweetheart graduated to heaven. When I climbed those stairs and looked in the attic, I hollered “RONALD WUERCH, how could you leave without CLEANING OUT this mess?” LOL!

Yesterday, I began another type of “clean-out” mission. With all the negativity in the media, it seems many of my nearly 3,500 Facebook friends have gravitated to join them. I'm not referring to the occasional words of disappointment because their guy didn’t make the White House cut, but there are those who have become outright obscene and indecent with their language and with the images they post. While I won’t de-friend them (I want my light to shine brightly just in case they pass my way), I’m cleaning out by “unfollowing” them. You know the saying “Garbage in – garbage out”? In order to protect my peace (which is my most treasured possession), garbage has to go out!

Last year I turned a new leaf in my cleaning out processes. I realized how much time I was spending going through my emails each day. Valuable time being consumed by ads and even, in my effort to consume as much "Good News" as possible each day, I had devotions and motivations "overload" coming in daily. It wasn't just the emails that consumed precious time, but often the ads were so enticing, it made me want to go to that store for their sale or go shopping on their website. So, more precious time was given to "wants" not "needs" in my life. So, I purged and cleaned out.

I was on a CLEAN-OUT binge when I realized there were even some TV shows that I recorded that weren't so optimistic and peace-building, so I removed them -- those shows that contained immorality, violence, crude language, etc. I'm so glad I did. I even removed those political talk shows that just went on and on in negativity. Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." I sure didn't want to be thinking those thoughts.

I know this may sound like my goal in life is to be in the next "Miss Goody 2 Shoes" Contest. That is so not my intent. My intent is to be a fully devoted follower of Christ and in order to do and be that, it means my choices must align with His desires and best wishes for me. "What Would Jesus Do?" provides the benchmark for me. You may be thinking “That is way too far to the extreme!” I am simply telling you my “measure of rule”.

Most importantly in this CLEANING MISSION, is my utmost desire to CLEAN-IN. I am doing a house cleaning on the inside, too. In Galatians 5, St. Paul reminds us of those things that need to be cleaned out of our hearts: hatred, fighting, jealousy, anger, gossiping, complaining, criticizing, idolatry, selfishness, etc.

Bottom line…..it’s clean up, clean out and clean in time for those of us who sincerely desire that the bandwagon we are on is the one that brings immeasurable blessings, peace and joy. You know how a fresh, clean house feels? Don’t you want that fresh, clean house feel, inside AND out? It comes by starting Spring Cleaning and requiring that the House Cleaner (Holy Spirit) comes more than once a week to clean. We want Him to show up every day to remind us ....Psalm 24:3,4 "Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart....."