clutter

i think if you took all my scrapbook goodies away and only left me with white cardstock, a punch or two and some ink - be it fluid or not, i would be happy. hmmm, maybe a pen too. and some twine. and some...........oh, who am i kidding!! i like clutter! and i probably won't make it without most of my toys!! but, i have to say, i do have my favourites............i made this and gave it to my husband. it has no particular purpose. i just saw my folk heart punch in the drawer the other night and wondered what would happen if i punched a few hearts, spritzed them, faux stitched around them, added some words and then joined them with twine. it made me happy making this. so simple and uncomplicated.

how often we complicate everything in life. we complicate and clutter our own lives. i have been dealing alot with clutter the past few weeks. i am trying to figure out why i need more than 2 plates. and more than one pot. and so many cups and glasses and pillowcases and pencils and books and why i buy bulk matches at makro instead of one box and why i have a cupboard full of tupperware when i only have 3 favourites and why i need 4 rulers and a house with 3 bedrooms if we are only two people and why i need to have baked beans and tomato and onion mix as well as icing sugar in my grocery cupboard when i don't even like baked beans and i don't bake cakes. i wonder why i feel secure when i know that there is enough money in the bank to pay everything in advance and why i am so pathetic that i don't really, really in my deepest of deepest hearts, trust my Father in Heaven for my daily bread even though i ask it from Him every day and i know that He will provide JUST ENOUGH, as His only Son Jesus Christ tells me so in His word.

and then Sophie Brown from our church, who lives in a shack and has to raise her 3 or 4 grandkids because their parents just left them with her, praises God for a roof that leaks, because at least she does not have to find shelter under a bridge for her and her grandkids when it rains.

it makes me sick to my stomach to think that one day i will have to answer to God about why i did not just give a piece of bread to everyone who asked me for bread or at least say no to them in a humane way and not in that ugly, dismissive way our society has taught me and i just happily adopted the custom because it is the norm. i do that when i have food i don't even like in my house. my standards are so low. they are the world's standards. i need to adjust my standards. it is so hard to do. it is so hard to not conform to the world. i fail miserably, constantly, and consistently. but i choose to hold fast to the promise that is given by God, that He can be trusted to keep His promise, that through the blood of Jesus Christ, He will cleanse me of my sins.

but i am also spurred on by another promise, and that is that if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. and then there will be nothing to look forward to, but the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. Hebrews 10:26-27 ( that, i am sure, literally means that those who do not believe and turn from sin, will go to hell) this truth, is that the only way to eternal life, is by accepting Jesus Christ as the Crucified Son of God, and to acknowledge that He died for each and every one of us, so that no one would have to go to hell. leading a "good life" is not enough. the murderer next to Jesus on the cross lead a terrible life, but he accepted the truth and believed, and entered the Kingdom of Heaven with His Saviour. i choose life - eternal life. nowhere in the Bible does it say that i will have a "good" earthly life. as a matter of fact, Jesus promises that it will be really hard and tough for most of us. especially when we choose to follow Jesus.

so, back to the clutter in my life. my poor husband looked at me like i was crazy when i shared my issues about clutter with him. i am sure he thought i was going to start giving everything in our house away and he would come home one night, and the house would be empty. i have not started yet. but i have a feeling that if someone asks me for something they really need, i might just give it to them........ at least i hope i will. i do pray for discernment, that the Holy Spirit will guide me and give me wisdom to know when to give and when to say no..... (in a way that i would like to be told "no".) and i also pray that i will be set free from the deadly sin of "gluttony" - that wanting more and more and more ( of anything - and that includes scrapbooking items!!!!!) that our society so subtly conditions us into, without us even knowing. and then one day, maybe, just one day, i can stand before Almighty God with no shame - clutterfree.

it is my deepest prayer for everyone i know and love, to make sure that they know where they are going when they die. to make sure that they choose with eyes wide open, and accept responsibility for that choice. if you choose not to accept Christ as your Saviour - make sure you are 100% sure that you know where you will be when you close your eyes for the last time. there will be no turning back. if you would like to choose Christ, but you are not sure where to start, you can follow this link. it is never too late. xxxxx