World's Best Cleaning Recipe

Science tells us there are twelve basic types of soil. Mothers tell us that most children find a way to be covered by them all at one point or the other. I know my mother would.  



I grew up in the country with a lot of open space to play outdoors. Whether from freshly turned black Louisiana garden top-soil, murky water puddles in the unpaved driveway, or thick gooey mud from the road-side ditch, dirt was a mainstay of childhood. My bare-feet were perpetually discolored in the summer.

But there was a dirt foreign to me until we visited my father while he worked in Arizona. With limited room in the main house, my sister and I were assigned to sleep in the travel trailer. We cleaned it, locked it up tightly and then left for a tour with the family. While we were away, a trespasser entered.

The door and windows were still locked tight when we returned to discover a layer of fine, red dirt on everything. A desert dust storm had sprung up while we were away and infiltrated our camper. There was not a single surface untouched; we were shocked. How could dirt enter through a secured space?

In the end it really didn't matter how the dirt got in; the result was the same. We had to re-clean the trailer.

Not one of us can walk through life without getting dirty. No degree of security can prevent it from clinging to us. We can try to avoid it by attending church, helping those in need, or just "being good”, but the dirt of sin will always find us.

Some types are easier to see- caked on mud shows more clearly than a fine layer of dust- yet it must still be cleaned. What we can manage on our own is to smear it around or push it to the corners where it’s less obvious. The underlying filth remains.  Alone we can never wash it away.

Message for the Journey:
 
If we look outward at others it’s easy to be deceived into believing our sins are less tainted than theirs. But when we look upward at Him we see the truth. Her dirt may be different than yours, and your dirt may be different than mine but, whether the dirt is a fine, red dust or thick muddy clay, in God's eyes we're all just as dirty. It’s only by being washed in the blood of Christ that we’re made clean. Not of our own doing, but through His.


All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isa. 64:6)

The Art of Gift Giving



From birthdays, to Christmas, to just because gifts, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't get at least a little pleasure from unwrapping a package to see what's inside. While we may all enjoy receiving gifts, we're not always good at giving them.

Gift-givers come in different types. There are thoughtful gift-givers, those who invest time and energy in finding the perfect gift. There are obligatory gift-givers, those that are less concerned with the perfect gift than with the equal-value gift. There are others who are confused gift-givers, w ho haven't a clue so buy last minute gifts at the convenience store or gifts that end up in a closet somewhere. And finally there are perspective givers, those who give gifts that may not be fully appreciated in the moment but have much value later. None of these are set roles; we may find we fall into different categories depending upon the circumstance. 

At my office baby-shower, each type of giver made an appearance and I appreciated everyone who thought of us no matter the gift. But of all the gifts we received, the one that stands out in retrospect is the gift I didn't fully appreciate in the moment. It was a wicker basket filled with baby food, cereal and related items. In the midst of newborn diapers, cute onsies and frilly dresses, it seemed an odd gift at the time. But months later when the moment suddenly came that our little one needed more than milk to satisfy, we had everything on hand. We had nearly forgotten about it, having just placed it in the back of the pantry, but it was a godsend. A mother of many, the giver had a longer perspective than I, a first time mom, did. She knew how quickly the time would arrive and provided exactly what was needed.  

Have you ever received a gift that you didn't fully understand?

God is a habitual gift giver. He doesn't give us simply what we want, nor, thankfully, does He give us what we deserve. But He does always give us perfect gifts that are exactly what we need. Yet, that perfect gift may come as one we don't fully understand and may even be unrecognizable as a gift at the time. It may be disguised as a trial, difficulty or even loss. What may be beyond our ability to comprehend is not beyond God’s ability to accomplish.


Message for the Journey:

Rest assured that whatever it is that God has given you today, though it may be difficult to appreciate in the moment, it is a gift designed with your best interest at heart. Trust not because of your circumstances, but because of your God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him , who have been called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28