A Weekend Of Clearing Things Out

On a 33-acre property that is mostly woods, you'll find deep piles of leaves on the trails. Different trees drop their leaves at different times, so there is a constant layer of brown, dead leaves everywhere.

I'm praising God today that I don't have to rake them all!

Sometimes you can barely see the paths because of the ground cover. I know where they are, mostly because we've walked them so many times, but they're hidden right now by millions of crunchy leaves.

I know the path is under there somewhere, I just can't see it very well.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

When our hearts get cluttered with the junk of the world, it's very difficult to see God's path for our lives. We know it's under there somewhere and we vaguely remember which way it was going, but it's hard to find it for all of the worry, anxiety, fear and pride that come from just living these lives every day.

That's why David asked God to create a clean heart within him. His sin had taken him far from God's presence, and he couldn't see the path because it was so covered with ugly, dead stuff. He needed the Lord to forgive him of that sin, cleanse his heart and clear off the path that had become so cluttered.

Make this a weekend of clearing things out, beginning with whatever has covered the path God has you on. It's much easier to walk down a trail when you're not waist-high in dead leaves - and it's much better to walk through this journey called life when there's no sin clogging your way. Pray that God will cleanse you, renew your heart and clear out all the obstacles that stand in your way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more