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!

Recently I was talking with someone and they shared the terror of seeing their child choking on a small piece of candy that had lodged in their throat. It brought back my own memory of when as a teenager and had a similar experience. I was hanging my coat on a hook on the back of my bedroom door. I had a sour ball in my mouth, and when I tipped my head back to hang up the coat, the candy dropped into my windpipe. I ran into the kitchen where my mother was, pointing to my throat and gasping for air. As she realized what was happening she began to try to dislodge the candy by beating me on the back – all to no avail. It seemed to me like all this was happening in slow motion. I could picture the ambulance having to come, and the thought of death was very real. Finally my mom encouraged me to stick my hand down my throat and see if I could remove the sour ball that way. I did, and the offending candy went flying across the room. Air! Breath! How wonderful!

As I recently contemplated on that incident I thought, “The Lord could have taken me home right then, but He didn’t.” Even after all these years that situation made me realize again that God has a plan for my life and desires to use me. Each day that He gives me is a gift from His hand so that I can fulfill His purposes in my life.

It’s the same for you, Friend. God has preserved you for this day. He’s protected you perhaps in ways you don’t even realize. Or perhaps you’ve had some close encounters and are truly aware of just how He has kept you alive. It can give you a better perspective on today. Why are you and I here? For starters we could consider:

• To bring glory to God (I Corinthians 10:31)
• To live for Him (Romans 12:1)
• To tell others about salvation through Christ (Matthew 28:19,20

If we can take a breath today there’s a God-ordained purpose – to be a channel that God can use. http://www.playlist.com/playlist/15196177163

Have you ever noticed that whenever something bad is happening people seem to love to see it? Let’s just think of the realm of someone doing something wrong. If there’s a student in class messing up, the rest of the students are very interested in seeing the teacher correct him. If a police officer has pulled someone over brake lights will light up so the passersby can get a peek at the offender. If a child in church throws a fit and the parents take him out of the service, all eyes are on little Jr. Why are the court shows on television so popular? Because people like to see when someone gets caught doing something they shouldn’t have done.

Last night in church we were encouraged to take a hard look at our own lives to see if there is unforgiveness there. As we looked at many passages of Scripture we saw how Christ was treated because of our sin and also how He responds to us even though we are sinners. One verse especially caught my attention; it was Micah 7:18 – “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?…” Since I’ve been saved and have confessed my sins, God chooses to pass by my transgression. He doesn’t stop and stare at my sin, then look at me, like I would be prone to do. He passes by! What a wonderful truth! My nature is to look at a wrong someone has done and gawk, but not God. He has removed my sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Indeed, who is a God like thee? No one. He forgives and then chooses not to look!

Being a mother is a roller coaster event. Some days your children are sweet and obedient. Things go smoothly at home. They appreciate your efforts, express their love and respond with gratefulness to your sacrifices. The next day, however, doesn’t go as such. The children whine instead of obey. Nothing goes as it was supposed to – you run out of milk and the kids us Kool-Aid in its place (and half of it ends up on the floor). Supper burns because your attention was turned to children that were scrambling in a heap in the living room. When your husband comes home from work you’re frazzled and ready to turn in your Mommy badge!