Fear

Yesterday, I wrote about my struggle to maintain a clean house.  Today's blog is about an even bigger issue with which I struggle:  fear.  I think that I just might be afraid of everything.  I am afraid of dying, afraid of living, afraid of pleasing the wrong people, afraid of displeasing the right people.........I could go on all day.  I am beginning to understand that many of my fears revolve around my desire to control the world in which I live.  I know that God does not want me to be afraid.  II Timothy 1:7 says "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."  I want God to live through me, and, clearly, living in fear is not going to accomplish that.  Today, I will do things that scare me, relying on the power and the spirit of God to shine in my life.  May others see Him.

Cleaning

I struggle with keeping my house clean BIG TIME!!  I never really learned good cleaning/organizing skills, so I am playing catch up!  Here are my favorite cleaning links.

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2010/09/08/speed-cleaning/

http://www.myfrienddebbie.com/article_master.php?id=278

What's that smell?!

Some people take out the trash on a schedule:  "It's 7:30 AM on Monday--time to take out the garbage".  I take out the garbage when it begins to smell.  Even if the trash bin in less than half-full, I will find anything that I can possible throw away to fill it so that I can get it out of the house. 

I need to work on doing this mentally as often as I do it physically.  I have a lot of "junk thoughts" in my head, and I do not like to take the time to do anything about them.  As a result, they continue to recycle in my mind and cause trouble.  Doubts, fears and lies continuously churn until they grow so big that they affect my energy, emotions and choices.  I need to discipline myself to write a minimum of five minutes each day.  As much as I try to ignore or run from my thoughts, they never go away.  They just continue to grow and permeate, like garbage.