The memory is from many years ago, but it was one of those moments that has lodged itself into my mind and pops up frequently. My mom was visiting in our home and was helping with supper preparations. She opened the silverware drawer to get a needed utensil and then I heard her say in disgust, “Denise, there are crumbs in your silverware tray!” How embarrassing! I hadn’t noticed them, but it was obvious that they were there and that they were disturbing upon discovery.

How do crumbs get in the silverware tray? I mean you’re not eating when you open the drawer because you need the silverware in order to eat…so where do they come from? Clean silverware is placed here and it should be kept clean! The tray got emptied and cleaned out and is now checked on a regular basis. A lesson was learned – check the silverware tray often and especially before Mom visits!

The reason that finding crumbs in the drawer is disturbing is because they are not supposed to be there! As I think on this scene I am reminded of areas in my spiritual life where the Lord reveals to me things that are in my heart that should not be there – an attitude that displeases Him, a sharp tongue, a critical spirit or discontentment. As it is revealed to me my initial response is often, “Where did that come from? That’s not supposed to be there! What’s worse is that the things that are in my heart will eventually come out in my words. Luke 6:45 says “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart this mouth speaketh.” Yes, those attitudes that the Lord reveals to me have also made their way out my mouth! James tells us in chapter 3 verse 10 “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Do you know what he’s really saying? You have crumbs in your silverware tray! Your heart has clean and dirty things in it, and this is not supposed to be! Praise the Lord for the cleansing of I John 1:9 when I confess and God cleanses and forgives me. The “silverware tray” gets wiped out and I’m in fellowship with God again.

Have you opened the drawer lately and let the Lord show you what’s really there? Not a pretty sight, is it? There’s really no shame in the crumbs’ discovery, only the neglect of cleaning them out once you find them. It’s not your mom who is looking; it’s our loving God that sent His Son to die so we might have our sin forgiven. The wash water of His Word does wonders!

A little side note about the scene with my mom – she doesn’t even remember finding the crumbs, but it’s become a funny thing between us. If nothing else, it’s taught me to be more careful in my home and in my heart!

Now, go check your silverware tray – you know you’re curious! Please tell me you found crumbs there!

Today we are taking Allison on her second college trip. She is full of wondering what the future will hold and where the Lord will direct her in reference to her college years. She made the statement the other day that we’ve all probably thought at one time or another – “I wish the Lord would just write His will about this in the sky.”

At that moment we had one of those mother-daughter talks that I pray she’ll always remember – I know I will. I shared with her a truth that was taught at The Wilds a few years back. Here’s a summary of our conversation:

Knowing and doing God’s will seems like this huge undertaking, but in reality it is very simple. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” This verse is telling us to obey the moral will of God, His commands. So first you need to ask yourself

• “Am I walking with God at this moment?” Then ask yourself
• “Is there any sin in my life that I have not confessed?” Thirdly ask,
• “Would this thing I desire honor God?”

As long as you’re know you can answer the questions to the affirmative then Psalm 37:4 encourages us to then do what you want to do! Does that sound radical? It isn’t. It isn’t a free-for-all – go out there and do whatever you want and God won’t care situation. Remember you must be obeying God’s Word, walking with Him and making a choice that would please the Lord.

Some decisions are so obvious. If a woman was trying to decide if she should marry an unsaved man, the answer is clear because it goes against God’s Word (the third question). But how about making a decision about something more vague like buying a house? There are no verses in the Bible about this! You’ve found several you like, they would keep you close to a good Bible teaching church, and are the right size, but you want to know which one is God’s will. Again, ask yourself the three questions, and then do what you like! If one was over your budget and would cause you to go into debt with a possibility of not being able to keep up your payments, the Lord’s answer on that one is clear.

Now about these colleges, they’re good Christian schools that would keep you close to the Lord and would train you for His service. Ask yourself the three questions before making your decision, and then do what you like…He will give you the desires of your heart! It’s really that simple.

God doesn’t want His will to be hard to find; we’re the ones that complicate it. In its simplest form it is: Delight then Do!

The empty nest is approaching oh so quickly…I don’t think this will be as easy as finding God’s will. **Sigh**

My blog has been under construction. If you’ve checked this site recently you may have seen at least a couple different looks in the last couple of days. While I’ve been working on this there have been LOTS of different looks. This is all quite new to me and I’m learning as I go along. My teacher has been my twin sister, Dianne. She first introduced me to blogging and I’m taking baby steps with her help.

First I started with the basic template that blogspot offers. It was fine. I tried to add a new entry every few days. Then I heard about a place that offers free backgrounds for your blog…ahhh, that’s better! I began adding an entry almost every weekday. Last weekend Dianne told me about Scrapblog; a place where you can scrapbook on-line, then transfer your page onto your background. There are many steps, and changing a small item like a flower means going all the way back to the first step. This whole thing is a work in progress. I now occasionally even add an entry on Saturday. Tomorrow you may see something totally different, so brace yourself!

Growing as a Christian is much like blogging. Someone told us about the Lord and our story began. Our life is what people read; it is our testimony – our blog, if you will. They watch and they see a living object lesson before them. The story is varied from person to person, of course.
Some Christians find a new discovery every day. One day they find a special verse in Scripture. Another day they have had an answer to prayer. An opportunity to tell someone else about salvation comes another day. They look for someone to help them learn and they’re discipled.

There are some people’s blog (life) that doesn’t change much after salvation. Oh, it might have gotten a new template at the beginning, but then they slow down and even fall back into a routine. They’re satisfied that they’re on-line (saved) but eventually they don’t make steps in progress forward or learn anything new; it’s too much effort. People may try to teach them but they resist. Pretty soon there’s nothing new to see. People don’t even bother to check in with them to see if there’s progress (not that that’s good). After a couple years of the same entry sitting on the Christian’s page some unsaved people begin to question if there’s really any difference between themselves and this saved person. All the while there’s a whole world exploding around them – Bible studies, revival meetings, church services, small groups, Sunday school, promises in God’s Word to claim, and unsaved people waiting to hear the truth, but it sits intact; unexplored.

What does your blog look like? Are you growing and changing all the time? Every day you’re either growing closer to the Lord or you’re retreating. Keep things fresh. Don’t let yourself get into a rut. People want something interesting to read as they watch your life. Don’t quit! Blog on!

Last year on our mission trip to Spain we had to go a couple days without a shower (hey, it was the mission field, and we were prepared for this!). We only had sinks in the bathrooms at the farmhouse where we stayed and only cold water spilled from the faucet. The routine each morning was to take water to the stove and warm enough for a basin-full. A sponge bath would do until we would take a trip to one of the missionary’s homes a couple times in the week and take our turns getting a hot shower. How wonderful that shower felt! The sponge bath made me feel only partly clean; after the shower it was wonderful to feel really clean.

I am reminded of that hot shower in my Bible reading this morning. As I read in Leviticus about the cleansing that was necessary for those that were defiled, the truth the Lord brought to my mind was that God loves cleanness. In Mark 7 I read where the Pharisees were upset at the disciples because they saw them eat with unwashed hands. It was their custom never to eat until they had thoroughly washed. Jesus told them that it wasn’t what they ate that would defile them; rather it was the things from within that would defile – things like pride, deceit, an evil eye. These were the things they should guard themselves against. The Pharisees were settling for a sponge bath when what they needed was a “hot shower” for total cleansing. God loves cleanness, but tHe dsires us to be cleansed from the inside. They concerned themselves with the outside and forgot that their motives and attitudes were defiling them.

It’s easy for me to be just like those Pharisees. I can be all cleaned up, doing the right things, looking just like I ought to look, when on the inside my heart is full of pride or impure motives. The Lord is more concerned with who I am than what I do. He wants my heart to be clean more than He wants me to be busy serving my family today with a wrong attitude.

It’s also easy for me as a mom to be more concerned with outside issues (dirty hands) of my daughter than the more weighty issues (what’s going on in her heart). Moms are programmed to train their kids to clean their room, do their school work, be polite, be kind to their siblings – all those outward things. While all those things are good and necessary, we need to remind ourselves not to focus on these issues while the most important needs go unchecked.

• Are they walking with God today?
• Do they desire to hear from him?
• Is their heart turned towards the Lord?
• Is there an attitude that needs to be addressed from God’s Word?
• Is there an area of their life that is bringing defilement from within?

We need the Lord’s wisdom to be able to discern spiritual needs, both our own and our children’s, but if we ask Him, He will reveal those things to us (James 1:5 – If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not).

God loves cleanness, but to be completely clean we need His cleansing from within. If we only focus on the outside we’re settling for a sponge bath instead of a hot shower that really cleanses.

I’ve got to tell you – the Internet blows my mind! My sister and I were talking on the phone this weekend while we were each at our computers. I sent her something, she got it immediately. How does that happen? It’s amazing to my little mind. I’m thankful there are smart people out there that have all these things figured out. My inventor spirit stops at the end of a glue stick! It’s amazing to me that I can put something on the Internet and my friends in Spain can see it and respond quicker than it used to take to make a long-distance phone call!