I love a clean house, but I hate cleaning. I'm one of those people who says, "No, you can't come over. My house is a mess!" and truly means it. I'm so embarrassed when people "stop by." I have friends and family members who claim to have messy houses, but I can never even find a speck of dust or a single pet hair. Nothing is EVER out of place. The sad part is that these people have kids, and I don't (although I do have two indoor dogs who act like kids). I've often wondered how they keep their homes so immaculate. ("They" meaning my friends, not my dogs.) Every once in a while, I'll get a little energy burst and attempt to clean my house to the point where there is nothing out of place, nothing stacked up, nothing swept under the rug, etc. After a few days, I give it up and remind myself that God has given me many talents, but cleaning simply isn't one of them.

Now, before everyone gets the wrong idea, let me explain. I don't have food rotting in the corners of my kitchen or anything like that. But, there are dishes in my sink right now. There is dust on my furniture. There is dog hair on my floor. And no, I didn't make my bed this morning. (Some of the "neat freaks" just keeled over!) Again, I love a clean house, but unless there's a way for me to have it cleaned without having to do it myself. . .well, let's just say you won't want to come over to my house uninvited. (Sorry, Mom and Dad! I know you raised me better!)

I said all of that to introduce a new series we will be doing this week. No, it's not on housecleaning. It's on an even-more important form of cleaning. For the next several days, we'll be talking about spiritual housecleaning.

What is housecleaning? For the most part, it is setting right things that are wrong and throwing out things that are no longer needed, wanted, or useful. It is important to clean our homes, but it is imperative that we do regular cleanings on our spiritual houses. It is amazing how much clutter can pack up when we're not paying attention. Things like pride, discontentment, and worry can slip in unnoticed, but oh, what a mess they can make.

For those of you who love to clean, you'll probably relate very well to these lessons. For the rest of us, we would do well to heed these lessons. We can get by with our homes in slight disarray, but not with our spirits. I hope you will all enjoy the upcoming posts, and don't forget to share them with your friends!