Why Cleaning Your Plate Isn't Enough

Pursue righteous, faith, love and peace, 

along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22

Clean your plate. It was my mother's 11th Commandment. Obedience to this order came with big rewards...and I'm not just referring to an expanded waistline.

Cleaning your plate meant you got to eat desert.


Cleaning your plate meant favored child status.


A clean plate was a happy plate and I delighted to make my parents pleased. Today when my plate gets full, my first reaction is to clean it. A clean plate is a happy plate. 


We chase joy as we whack activities from our schedule.


We dart after peace as we organize our desk or scrub our floors.


We hunt contentment as we slash responsibilities from our life.


As we clean our plates, we take the first step toward freedom from over commitment. In the elusive quest to get more out of life, cleaning our plates is not enough. An orderly life gives us a framework to honor God but it does not draw us closer to His heart. 


We need to step out of our busy schedules and into the presence of God.


When we pursue Him, joy chases us.


When we pursue Him, peace darts into our hearts.


When we pursue Him, contentment hunts us.


There is a bigger reward than cleaning your plate.


If you stepped out of your busy schedule and into His presence, what do you think you'd experience?

Declare Your Independence!

Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, 

making the most of every opportunity.

Ephesians 5:15-16

Before my foot touches the floor on the star-spangled holiday, stress can touch my heart. In a home where the to-dos outnumber the waking hours, home management could become my around the clock endeavor. But today is independence day.


It's a day when millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens declare their independence from local decrees by lighting their contraband.

It's a day when millions declare a cease fire on the battle of the bulge and binge.


Today I declare my independence from my home running me. 


Is it easier to recall your to do list than your kid's names?
Do holidays or a vacation seem like an inconvenience in your already jam-packed week?
Is your idea of patriotism a family who remembers to carry their dishes to the sink?


I answered yes to all three. If you're anything like me, we need to say "give me liberty" from  the tyranny of busyness. Here's some tips how we can:


1) Choose the Non-Negotiables - Every day, except travel days, I do laundry, dishes and straighten. These are my non-negotiables. They are the minimum duties I need to do to prevent the feelings of overwhelm. 


2) Make Your Steps Count - Whenever I leave a room, I find something that needs to go where I'm going and take it with me. It may be a pile of laundry, a bobby pin or a book but I don't leave the room I'm in until I've identified one traveling partner booked for the same destination.


3) Don't Go It Alone - I use chores as a way to spend time with my kids. Rather than assigning a long list of items to be completed in isolation, I invite at least one of my daughters to join me as I cook, clean or do laundry. We talk, sing, laugh and joke as we work. We knit our hearts as weave our hands.


4) Clean as You Cook - Most meals the vast majority of prep dishes, pans, bowls and utensils are already washed before we ever sit down to eat. Every night Clara sets the table and Carynne gets the drinks. I use those minutes or the ones on the cooking timer to wash, dry and put away my mess. This allows me to sit, relax and even linger over dinner.


Let's make today and every day our independence day. As we make the most of our moments, we'll live in freedom. Now that's a reason to shoot off fireworks!


How do you keep the clutter from conquering you? Share your ideas in a comment!

Transforming Prayer - Lord Direct Me

My husband and I are contemplating building or buying a new home. It’s not the lengthy process of packing and unpacking that boxes my heart in distress. It’s not the mound of decisions and details that pushes my emotions to the edge. It’s two words – show condition.

Show condition.

Has my house ever come close to this standard? I’ll give you a hint. My first name isn’t Susie and the bunny doesn’t just hop by our home on Easter. The six of us have occasional rabbit visitors of the dust variety.

The amazing thing is I’m okay with it.

I’m a natural goal setter and achiever. A paper with every item crossed off is beauty. Honestly, I’d rather get an “A” than a “10”.

For years I lived in a constant state of panic – too many tasks and too little time to complete them. I fretted over keeping my hampers empty and my pantry full. I stressed about holidays and ordinary days. My emotions and outlook rode the wave of my daily “to do” list. The more I accomplished, the better I felt.

With so much achievement my life had absolutely margin. There was no room for God to work in my home because I was too busy doing it all for Him. I decided to make a radical change.

I began to pray a simple daily prayer – Lord Direct Me.

I gave Him the pen to my notepad.

I offered Him my time to manage.

As I breathed this sentence throughout my day, He breathed peace into my home.

As I prayed Lord Direct Me, my home became less type A and more type Him.

Does your home need an extreme makeover? What would change if you breathed this prayer into the space of your home and heart?