Want To...

Your eye is the lamp of your body. 

When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. 

But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 

Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, 

it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.

Luke 11:34-36 (NIV)

So I was cleaning house yesterday morning. A bit overdue. It's something I don't love, but necessary. Not my favorite thing... but something, that surprisingly, calms me. Maybe the repetitiveness, maybe the accomplishment, maybe the act of being busy for a purpose.

Somewhere in the middle of running the vacuum cleaner through my daughter's room, I had an epiphany. Cleaning is a have to, not a want to. What would happen if I could turn it into a want to?

It would take a change in attitude - a change in thinking. But, I thought, as I vacuumed along, but wouldn't that be powerful?  In every aspect of life?

And then I thought about every aspect of life. I thought how being a Christian is embedded in every aspect of life. Or, rather, how the teaching of Jesus is embedded in every aspect of life. The more Scripture I study, the more awed I am at how timely it is, how practical, how applicable.

See, I believe it's the little things, the details, the baby steps that lead us. Because many times they are so small, we don't even realize they exist.

Step by tiny step, we are lead to darkness...  Perhaps the tiny step of putting a marginally inappropriate want to in front of a have to?

• When did finding wholesome shows and movies on TV become so difficult? Shows that don't have nudity, violence, profanity. That don't flippantly disrespect teachers and parents in order to get a laugh. That don't belittle, that don't entitle, that don't pump up the drama.
• When did clothing become so revealing - especially girls' clothing?
• When did "What's in it for me?" overcome "How can I help?"
• When did "All lives matter" become "Black lives matter", or "Unborn lives matter", or "Police lives matter". When did we begin to separate instead of unify?
• When did it become ok for children to raise their parents? For the immature to lead the mature? For babies to dictate to adults?

Step by tiny step, we can be lead to light. (From 1 Thessalonians 5)

• Live in peace with one another.
• Encourage the disheartened.
• Do not pay back wrong with wrong.
• Do what is good for each other.
• Help the weak.
• Be patient with everyone.
• Be grateful in everything.
• Rejoice always.
• Pray without ceasing.
• Do not quench the Spirit.
• Do not treat prophecies with contempt.
• Hold onto what is good.
• Reject every kind of evil.

These are attitude changing, aren't they? Baby steps - changing have to's to want to's. 

So back to cleaning house. I can certainly be grateful in the fact that I have a house to clean, in the fact that I CAN push a vacuum cleaner, in the fact that I'm healthy and able, in the fact that I really will love the sparkle when I'm done, in the satisfaction of completing a task, in the luxury of time spent thinking and processing. I can use the time praying. I can know that what I do is a good thing, a necessary thing. Baby steps.

It's a start.

Linking with EverydayJesus, Thought-Provoking Thursday, Reflect Linkup

Everything Fits

For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, 

and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Luke 10:24

Sometimes, things just fit.  The way they're supposed to.  Perfectly.  And I'm not talking about clothes, here.  I think everyone has this built-in meter that tells them 'this is right', 'this is all wrong', 'this needs a little tweaking'.  About a lot of different things.

The meter that says 'I love this photograph - no cropping needed.' And the meter that says 'oh! That harmony is perfect.'  The meter that says 'those words, put together in that way, are wonderful.'  The meter of silent applause at a job well done.  That meter.

Those things that fit - recognizing them when they happen - fill me with joy.

Like when I took a picture of the full moon - over the trees and out of the clouds - early, early in the morning.  In Virginia.  And another blogger, probably the same day, took a picture of the full moon in her backyard - over the trees and out of the clouds.  In Washington state.  The other side of the country - hours away.  We shared the moon.  I like the happenstance that just fit.

Like sounding out new music on the piano, and hearing the perfect transition chord from one key to the next.  And then playing the progression over just to hear it again.  Then finding out that my mother, halfway across the country, had been doing the same thing at her piano.  I like the way that fit, too.

Like seeing my daughter's face at a community choral concert that she picked out - captivated by the blend of voices and the music.  Classical music.  In German.  Sitting in her coral, lace covered dress, reaching across me to put her finger to her lips - and then pointing at the choir.  Captivated and in control.  My daughter's pure enjoyment fit.

Like reading Scripture this morning - and yet another passage that said 'don't worry - don't fear - don't be anxious'.  I needed that reminder this morning.  It was just right.  A perfect fit.

I wonder if my attitude, my outlook affects the way I see connections and relationships.  Maybe my meter would always be applauding something - I just don't always have it switched on.  I wonder, sometimes, if more things would fit with more awareness.

Like when you learn a new word.  And all of the sudden that word is everywhere, in everything.
Like when you master a new skill.  And all of the sudden you need to use that skill on a regular basis.

My family used to drive down from Flagstaff to Phoenix on the Black Canyon Highway.  We played a game, coming off of the Sunset Point plateau, as we headed into and through Black Canyon City.  Spot the first saguaro.  See, those sentinel cacti are very picky about altitude.  And soil.  First, the only visible cactus is the ubiquitous prickly pear.  But suddenly, there's one and then a hundred of the stately saguaro.  Once you see them, they are there.  Awareness.

Jesus understood awareness.  He understood attitude.  He understood outlook.  He tried, in every possible way, to show his purpose, his truth, and his love.   Parables, miracles and healing, teaching, chastising, praying...even dying.  In his life, everything fit.

Through Him, everything fits.

Heavenly Father, open my eyes; open my ears; open my mind; open my heart. To You.

Linking with Monday's Musings

Hear It On Sunday