The Stink Has Left the Building.....

Yesterday, I began to notice an unpleasant scent in our home. At first, it was simply a whiff I would catch here and there, but it slowly grew to be more of an issue. I put on my "detective cap" and began to search and see what might be emitting such a foul odor. Unfortunately, in our home there are several areas where I can look for a distasteful scent..... I mean, it's no secret that I have 3 sons and that boys are not always the best when it comes to...um....cleanliness. Plus, I have a one year old that still uses diapers, but I could not find the culprit. First, I took out the trash, but the scent was still there. Then, I discovered an overly aged block of cheddar cheese in the refrigerator- which I had finally narrowed the trail down to. So, I disposed of the cheese but that wasn't it either! Ugh!! Then, I opened a container of some previously yummy, cooked pinto beans..... but, however, they were no longer yummy.... honestly, they were downright offensive!

You are probably wondering why I would share this with you all..... I mean, what kind of person shares that kind of refrigerator secrets?

Crazy as this may sound, the Lord really used that experience today to show me something about my own life. See, right now my life is full of hecticness.... (is that a word???) I am constantly working on something for the house, cleaning the house, working on church stuff, preparing home school materials, or preparing for the class I teach at our home school co-op. The problem is that sometimes this life of busy-ness starts to get a little "stinky". It's just that when we get so busy with life and all of its issues, we often struggle with finding the time to stop and be still before our Lord. Our schedule gets so full that we can't hardly find where the stink is coming from and what it is that we need to get rid of...... just like my stinky refrigerator today. I looked and had to figure out what needed to go..... it's not that the cheese or the beans started bad- on the contrary they were both good and satisfying at first. However, over time, they became less appealing and satisfying- actually, they became downright disgusting.

I realized that it may be time for me to do some scent checking in my own life and really determine what needs to stay and what needs to go in my world. I have come to see that, too often, my self value is often equated by how busy and productive I am..... this is WRONG!!! My value does not lie in what I accomplish each day on my "to do" list..... it is in CHRIST and Him alone. Did I spend time with Him today? Did I learn more of Him today? I actually think the evil one uses our busy-ness to keep us from being all that we can be in Christ....

So, is there an odor in your house today?