A week of deep cleaning!

Today I we cleaned and cleaned some more and still have quite a list to cover. I pray alot when I clean and today was no exception. Sometimes I complain too! ;) I really cannot believe how much dirt and grime can build up! My kitchen is the one place where I try to keep exceptionally clean. So I thought! Until today! My children are all assigned specific jobs in the kitchen and deep cleaning, I guess is one I have left out. Today my 10 year old and myself tackled that! Now it is too clean to cook in! ;) Anyway, as I have been thinking constantly about my list of things I want to accomplish this week, (our school is titled, "The Ups and Downs of Cleaning") Meaning we get our house clean from the ceiling to the floors! That is one of the benefits of homeschooling right? Being creative and being able to do what needs to get done! AS my list keeps growing, I can lose sight of why it is so important to teach my children to keep a clean house. (Not obsessively, just orderly and neat.) It is about working together and realizing we are all in this together. I had to have a moment to change some attitudes at first and it really frustrated me. I wanted them to be excited with their work clothes on begging me to show them what needs to be done next with anticipation in their eyes! Yeah, right! Them, not so much, at first! As the last 2 days have continued, things have changed. They have done a good job and end up laughing about something as they are buried in cleaning. We have actually begun to enjoy the week and look forward to our list tomorrow.

As I have been praying, I have been thinking of my relationship with God and how I like to do all the fun things that come with being a child of God, but watch out when the "yuck" stuff appears! The cleaning out of my heart. The stuff I have let build up and just decided it was not a problem until the conviction comes in full force! I have to then have a little attitude adjustment from Him. Some time alone with the Word of God and prayer deep cleans my heart and unlike my kitchen, where I feel it is too clean to want to use it, this cleansing of my heart encourages me to want to be used for Him! I can then laugh and enjoy His presence again. How fun! Amazing how God speaks to us when we are doing everyday things and we decide to take the time to listen! I guess, now I need to go make dinner in my clean kitchen! ;)