Spring Cleaning By Cortney Donelson

Source: Unknown

Matthew 8:2 (NIV)

“…Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Martha Stewart offers a comprehensive checklist for those who want to tackle spring cleaning room by room. I wish I was joking. Apparently, I would fail her spring cleaning 101 course. Not once have I turned off my circuit breaker and dusted the coils underneath my refrigerator. Oops! I have never successfully machine-washed my pillows either. The last time I tried doing that my washing machine looked like a swan had taken a nosedive into the spin cycle ... oh well.

However, as I looked at this comprehensive (yes … I am going to repeat this word here) list, a thought occurred to me: While I may not have a Martha Stewart-certified clean home, do I have a Jesus-certified clean heart? If I go room by room, will I find certain areas of clutter, dirt, and stains in my life? I say we go ahead and take a look. Let’s see if there is any spring cleaning that needs to be accomplished before we get into those lazy, crazy days of summer…

Organize the Family Room:

Family comes right after God on my list of priorities. Am I treating them as such? Do I graciously serve them when and where they need serving? Do I secretly want something in return? Do I love them through not just their successful days, but their difficult days as well? Have I shown them patience when they push my buttons? Have I been able to put their needs ahead of my own – every time? If so, what do I hope to gain from the sacrifice? In essence, have I organized my priorities to reflect God first and family second?

Declutter the Living Room:

Our family has a list of core values around which our lives are focused. These words define how we want to live and what attributes are most important to us as a family. In our house, these words are God-centered and are aligned towards peace, respect, health/safety, and fun. As an individual, I have latched on to one more – joy. Do our decisions reflect our family values? Do our activities, behaviors, and attitudes demonstrate them? Are we parenting with these core values in mind – not only teaching them, but modeling them for our children? Have we decluttered our lives and focused solely on God, peace, joy, respect, health, and fun rather than trying to do everything and introducing chaos?

Restock the Kitchen:

We all need food. It’s the fuel that keeps us going – not to mention the sustenance that keeps us alive. Water is even more critical to our survival. Spiritually, our fuel is the living, breathing Word of God. Our water came in the form of our Savior, Jesus. Am I spending time in His Word and following His Son? Do I walk with purpose, and am I running toward the goal that He has paved for me? Or, am I feeling weary and worn-out? Have I restocked what’s empty? Do I need to look inside my heart’s kitchen and drink from my living water so that I am thirsty no more? (John 4:13-14) “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Scrub the Home Office:

Some people work to live – others live to work. I don’t care much about either one. The question I want to ask is, “Am I working for the Lord?” No matter what I am doing, can I say I have done it with integrity? Is my work ethic strong? Have I done my best – every day – knowing my best may change day to day? Do I take responsibility for my mistakes? Am I a team player? Have I said thank you to those who have helped me with my work – no matter what it is that I am doing? Have I scrubbed the ugly pride and success-driven behavior out? And, have I replaced them with humility and grace?

Deep Clean the Bedroom:

Before you all panic and think I need to assign this devotional an “R-rating,” relax. My heart’s bedroom is intimacy … and authenticity. You can’t have one without the other. Does the inside me match the outside me? Am I communicating with those I love in a way that speaks from my heart? Am I sharing feelings or instead stuffing emotions down deep where they can create a messy disaster – an ugly stain? Am I being real … authentic? Are there secrets I need to share – even if it’s just with God? Have I taken the opportunity to remove all the stains by handing them over to God and asking for forgiveness? Intimacy stems from authenticity – both in our relationships with those around us and in our relationship with God.

As the dog days of summer creep near, a time when no one is quite in the mood to do any heavy cleaning and prioritizing, I hope we all take the time right now to do some spring cleaning – not just in our homes, but also within our hearts.

Let’s throw out what we don’t need – envy, gossip, comparisons, and anger – and fill our hearts back up with what we do need – truth, righteousness, grace, and love.

There’s nothing better than a clean house with its fresh smell, shiny furniture, and crystal-clear windows.

Oh, except maybe a clean heart, fresh perspective, shiny outlook, and crystal-clear conscience.

Prayer – “…Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) I am willing to be cleansed, Lord. Move my selfish ways aside, and do good work within me. Make my heart clean. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Mountaintop Gifts By Cortney Donelson

Source: Uknown

Mark 9:2-3 (NIV)

“…Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”

We stood just behind the long black curtains trying to peek through the opening. We wanted a glimpse of the people in the seats. We were way too anxious to stay in the “Green Room” where we were supposed to be waiting. Our hearts were pounding. What (in this world) are we doing?

I’ll tell you exactly what my husband and I were doing – following God. We followed Him right out onto that stage where upwards of 70 high school students and their volunteer leaders sat in the audience. We were about to experience an amazing mountaintop gift, designed by our Master Thrill Provider. It would be one we would not soon forget.

Mountaintop experiences are rampant throughout the Bible. There was Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, Moses bringing down the Ten Commandments, the Holy Spirit filling Elizabeth while she was pregnant with John (the Baptist), and Peter’s miraculous walk on water – to name a few. They are marked throughout our lives as well. These experiences are defined by moments where we know we are living out God’s purpose for our lives and, because of that, we experience God on such an intimate level that we are left feeling nothing but fully alive. It is more than a roller coaster ride. It’s a life-is-filled-and-overflowing ride. It is a gift from Him – the One from Whom all blessings flow.

Jesus’ transfiguration high on that mountaintop with his disciples is described in three of the Gospels in the Bible. It is a thrilling moment – one where Moses and Elijah make appearances too. Mark 9:2-3 (NIV) says, “…Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” These three disciples were gifted the opportunity to experience Jesus in a Holy light. Then, Jesus asked them not to share the details of the experience with anyone until after His death – until a specified time. I imagine those three followers of Christ must have come down from that mountaintop with an amazing spiritual high. Surely, their relationship with Jesus was forever changed.

I imagine this because it is precisely how my husband and I felt after spending 90 minutes speaking to those teenagers at our church. God had pressed into our hearts a desire to do something good with something that had been horrific. God wanted to use our story to fill in the gaps of the ministry leader’s teachings. That is what our life stories will do if we allow God to use them – they fill in the gaps. Afterwards, teenagers and leaders alike shared how they were deeply touched. God’s message was received in part through our willingness to share our story. My husband and I have never felt so aligned with God’s will. We have never felt so alive. I can describe it as a rush of adrenaline mixed with a joy that cannot be contained. It lasted a long time. In fact, I still feel the rush of energy and joy if I reflect back on that night. I honestly believe I was transfigured (completely changed in form or appearance into a more spiritual state that glorifies) by God simply because we had obeyed His promptings to partner with the high school ministry at our church. My relationship with Jesus has not been the same since that evening.

What is one of your mountaintop experiences? Reflect on it. Remember it. Give thanks for the gift of that moment. And just as He did with Peter, James, and John, perhaps God will want you to share it with others – at just the right time. Better yet … perhaps God will ask you to turn that moment into your calling – one that has no end and that will transfigure you in service to Jesus.

Prayer – Father, I give thanks for being written into Your story. I pray I continue to be open and willing to follow You – no matter where it leads. And, when You fill me with these mountaintop experiences, and I experience Your joy, I will praise You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

© 2013 As A Clay Jar. All rights reserved.

Love Letters By Cortney Donelson

Micah 7:18 (ESV)

[God's Steadfast Love and Compassion] “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

I stood just behind and to the right of him so I could both read the piece of paper he held and watch his face – although I already knew what the letter said. My son was reading a short note my husband and I had written to him as part of a second grade “graduation assignment.” His (amazing) teacher had asked the parents of her class to write letters about how proud we are of our children who had entered her class as newly minted first grade graduates but were now leaving as fully capable third graders.

Source: www.freeloveletter.net

As I watched my son’s face, my heart was filled with emotion as I recalled the time I stood in a starkly vacant dormitory room as a new freshman in college reading a similar letter from my dad…

I waved to my parents from the 6^th floor tower room window as they drove away. I turned around to see my newly made-up bed alongside the two other bare loft beds, the three empty wooden desks, and my entire life packed into a couple pieces of luggage and some boxes. I was the first one to move in on the whole floor since I was there a few days early for tennis tryouts. As I started to unpack, I found the letter from my dad.

Without revealing the intimate details that would disarm the beauty and meaning of the letter, I will share this: My dad explained how proud he was of me, how much he loved me, and what a beautiful and intelligent woman I had become in his eyes. He officially released his role as decision-maker, consequence-giver, and hand-holder to me as a newly anointed grown adult in full confidence that I would consider who I was, what my goals were, and where I had come from as I moved forward in this journey called life. He shared his unfailing love for me. I had made some mistakes growing up, but they didn't change how he felt about me. I cried bucketfuls that day.

Many years later as I started my own family, memories of the contents of my dad’s letter returned. I vowed that with each significant milestone in my children’s lives, I would also share similar sentiments with them in letters they could keep forever … upon completing elementary school, as they enter high school, and, of course, as they go off to college – even if and when they get married.

So, as I watched my son read his first of many letters, tears of love crowded my eyes. When he finished, he couldn’t look at me. He kept staring at the letter and in a very soft voice said, “I like it.” He carefully folded it up and put it in his pocket. Then, in true 8-year-old fashion, he ran off to jump in the mud with some friends.

Love letters.

We all treasure them. Our Heavenly Father has written some amazing love letters to us as well. In fact, there are 66 of them, and they are presented to us as the books that make up the Bible. Have you opened all of them to soak in His good words yet?

Source: Unknown

There are letters that encourage us, inspire us, coach us, convict us, motivate us, and teach us. God shares with us, His beloved children, all that makes Him who He is as a loving creator and all the ways He treasures us. No matter what we have done, His love never ends. It will be forever described in those 66 books. No act, no thought, no transgression, no mistake, and no wayward choice can keep us from His love. “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

Just as my dad wrote me that love letter, and years later, I wrote my son a love letter, God has written us love letters. They remind us who we are (treasured children of God), what our goals are (to love others and spread His messages to all the nations), and where we came from (created from dust and made in His image, blind but now able to see). We should value them as we do our earthly ones: Keep them safe, consider them sacred, and read them often. Let’s reflect on the love they communicate and be obedient to the advice they provide. After all, they were written by our Father.

Then later – when we reach our eternal home – instead of coaching, teaching, and loving us through another letter, God can instead look us in the eyes and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. I am so proud of you.”

Prayer – Father, thank You for Your never-ending love and grace. Thank You for the words of encouragement and wisdom You provided for us in the Bible. Help me treasure each promise and each message as they were meant to be treasured. You are the ultimate love letter writer, and I am thankful to be called Your child. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

© 2013 As A Clay Jar. All rights reserved.