Thursday

Thursday afternoon I returned home at exactly 2:45. Kim was taking the “big kids” to the library for some sort of children’s science program that started at 3:00 and had asked me to come home early. I came in, she loaded the kids up in the mini-van and mentioned that Korah was still taking her nap. What am I to do but head for my “home office” to take care of some business.

After putting in a good 30 minutes of “hard work” I flushed! The water began to turn, it continued to turn, and then it began to raise. Closer and closer it came to the brim as I scrambled for the closet where we – usually – keep the plunger. No plunger! I tear through the house, running first to our bathroom. No plunger! Running to the other end of the house I scramble into the girls’ bathroom. No plunger.

Forgetting all other options I run into the main bathroom – where the poo water is now flowing over the brim of the toilet and I throw three towels around the base of the commode. Then, buckling my pants, I sprint out the front door and head toward the church. Juggling to find the right key I enter the church and head straight to the men’s restroom, steal the plunger, and sprint – now out of breath – back to the house.

As I enter the house and turn toward the bathroom – water still pouring out of the commode – two questions occur to me; (1) “Why didn’t I turn the the water off at the toilet?” and (2) “Why is Lucy (our dog) drinking the poo water?”. Without hesitation I yell, “Lucy” at which point she rolls over to slather her fur in the river of solid waste flowing through the bathroom.

One plunge and the flow was done.

Relieved but still overwhelmed, I turn and scoop up Lucy - still laying on the floor like a submissive puppy - and I head for the back door. I throw Lucy outside and made my way toward the garage to find the shop vac.

Side note: In the midst of the running through the house, doors slamming, and me yelling “where’s the plunger” and “Lucy”, Korah had woken from her nap.

Now in the garage, I grab the shop vac – determined to stop the river of poo before it reaches the hallway – and I head back inside. Just as I turn the corner I see the only thing worse than our dog drinking my watered-down poo, my three-year old daughter laying in it! She woke up, and came looking for “mommy” but instead was greeted by dad’s feces.

Scooping Korah up off the floor – dripping wet I might add – I grab four more towels and lay them at the baseboard around the room.

The next hour included; 

1. a bath for Korah  
2. vacuum the bathroom
3. throw all bathroom “elements” outside
4. wash hands
5. call Kim and the kids and tell them to “take their time”
6. bleach the bathroom floor, toilet, walls, etc.
7. wash hands
8. a bath for Lucy
9. do laundry
10. wash hands

Days later I’m still dealing with “repercussions” as we found out that the poo water had crept into the girls closet and the living room and drenching the carpet and bringing a very interesting smell with it.

Happy flushing folks!

     

Clean Bath Tub

I cleaned the bathtub today. I typically clean the bathroom once a week and wipe the tub out every other week. But today, I deep cleaned the bathtub to get all the soap scum and hard water deposits off. 

I knew that this task was overdue and that it was something that needed to be done after several months. However, I did not realize until I started just how dirty the bathtub was. With every swipe of the Magic Eraser I was taking off layers of soap scum. 

I was not looking for any praise for this completed chore, however, after my wife saw the tub, she thanked me for cleaning it and told me just how nice it looked. 

Then it struck me, the cleanness of the tub was obvious, she did not need a before and after picture. I thought, "we don't realize the filth that we're sitting in until after we see it all stripped away".

And isn't this true of our lives as well? Most of us sit for years in our own "filth" - whether that be an addiction, abuse, depression, worry, or many other things. And, for most, we do not realize the extent of our filth until it has all be striped away. Month after month - year after year - we allow the feelings of sorrow, hatred, worry, or doubt to accumulate. Every month that we sit in our " filth" makes cleaning it up more difficult. And, for some, they never see the beauty of a clean, healthy life. 

The great news for us is that we do not have to clean up our "filth" ", we simply have to turn our lives - our past, present, and future - over to God. He filters our "filth" through the sacrifice of Chrst and sees our beauty, cleaning out "filth" up and helping us see the beauty around us and allowing us to live a clean life in Him. 

Perfection on your Knees

I enjoy cleaning! I am not entirely sure why this is. Perhaps it has to do with the fulfillment of knowing that the job is complete, once a room has been cleaned you can move on and know that it has been done! Perhaps it has to do with the gratification of looking at a clean room and knowing that it is, in fact clean. But, for whatever reason, I like to clean!

The other day my my wife, Kim, asked me if I would sweep the kitchen floor. So I swept the kitchen floor. I picked up the rugs, I pulled the trash can out, I pulled the refrigerator out, I pulled the kitchen table and chairs out, and I swept the kitchen floor. Then I grabbed a mop and I mopped the kitchen floor. It looked perfect! It was done! So, I moved on to the bathroom...

The next afternoon, however, I walked into the kitchen and noticed some crumbs under my feet. How could this have happened? This floor was perfectly clean yesterday! Soon I found myself on my knees picking up the most minuscule crumbs off the floor. I know this sound ridiculous, and believe me it is, but I wanted this floor to stay perfectly clean for at least twenty-four hours. So, I stayed on my knees until the crumbs were picked up and the floor was perfectly clean once again.

That is when the thought occurred to me. If we want to keep certain things perfect, we must get on our knees and take the time to labor, making things right until everything is perfect once again. This applies to a clean kitchen floor and to our life as believers in Jesus Christ.

At church these last few weeks we have been focusing on holiness and Christian perfection. And, in order for Christian perfection to be a reality for us we must get down on our knees, lifting our praise, our needs, our concerns, our trials, and our burdens to Jesus. And, this must happen daily.

If we want to keep our Christian lives perfect we must get on our knees and take the time to labor, communicate, and fellowship with our Lord, and we must make things right with Him until everything is perfect once again. Only Christ can bring a person to perfection. It is vitally important that we get on our knees with Him regularly.

"It is hard to stumble when you're on your knees."

First Impressions

 

In our home we have certain standards by which we keep. I hope that when guests enter our home they find themselves welcomed and find that it a comfortable and enjoyable place to be. We keep our home clean and organized for the most part. While some things have changed recently, here is what our living room looks like regularly. 

I say this not to brag, but only to say that this is the first impression guests have of our home when they walk in the door. Because of this, they may get the impression that our entire home is clean and organized, perhaps even clutter free.

Just a few weeks ago my wife, Kim, took a picture of the "play room" in the basement. This is a room that the kids can keep their toys in, play in, and, aside from general rules, create total chaos in while they explore their imaginations and have fun being kids. Here is what she captured:

These pictures are, by no means, the worst case scenario for the playroom or for the basement on a given day. Our kids have a lot of fun in this room and we would like nothing less. Yet as I thought about these pictures, the condition of our home, both in cleanliness and organization, it occurred to me that this is the way we often try to live our lives.

We strive to give certain impressions, perhaps first impressions to those we meet and interact with and we present the clean and organized portions to them. While, under the surface chaos reigns, things needing to be sorted out and perhaps even done away with.
Likewise, we often try to compartmentalize our lives, keeping the clean and organized for certain people or certain situations, while the messed up portions of our lives are open for others to see and experience. Some may think of the face/act we put forth at church versus that we show at work or home. I tend to put on one face for our friends, and acquaintances, while showing my true face to my family here at home.

We all need some chaos in our lives, areas that we can be free, free to say what we are feeling or thinking, areas that we are open, open to accountability and improvements, and areas where we can relax, relax from the pressures and stresses of this life. But, we also have areas in our lives that we have let go for far too long, areas that need to be cleaned up and cleaned out.