Time for Spring Cleaning

This week, I woke up singing a song, that we sang at church this past Sunday. It is a fairly new one for us, but as I woke up to it ringing through my spirit, just the title spoke to my heart.

 Make Room...

(taken from What To Keep And What To Get Rid Of Stock Illustration - Download Image Now - Decluttering, Heap, Stack - iStock)

Over the past couple of weeks, I have felt that the Lord has pulled back, but not because of me, or something I did wrong, but for me to pursue Him.

The song lyrics speak...

    Lay down burdens

    Lay down lies and doubt

    Surrender, to His plans

These are all things I keep being reminded about... 

1 Peter 5:7 -"Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you."

When I used to read this, I usually thought of laying down things that I thought were bad, only. While the word "care" is defined as "anxiety" the word "care" itself, as a verb, means "to have a liking, interest, or taste." (definition taken from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care) That definition makes the verse take a whole new meaning! 

I care for my family, and friends. I care for my house and vehicle- as in I take care of them. I care for a lot, as well as I have "cares" that have weight, because they are the worries and stresses, that make me think on them more that others. I care for my family member or friend that is ill, not only in doing what I can to help, but the extra times they come to my mind, and the extra times I lift them up in prayer. 

The song lyrics go on to say, "I will make room for You, to do whatever You want to."

It hasn't been that long since we moved into the house we are now living in, but now that we're there, I have realized I want to rearrange a couple of larger items, because I want to add a couple of pieces of furniture/equipment in a room. In adding those, I need to decide which pieces are more functional for my needs, and which are more desired, in order to make room for the right pieces. 

In my heart, it is not much different. I need to consider what is taking away from time I could be spending with the Lord. I need to weigh the function of it, and what is working for my good, and what is not working for my good. What is a good use of my time and what isn't? 

This is not a new process. I've done this some previously, but just like in my house I will repeatedly need to go through closets, drawers, shelves, and even rooms to get rid of things; so it is in my heart. Some things are needed at during one stage of life, where they are not once that stage has passed. As I grow, the needs are different. 

I am reminded of the passage where John says, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30- NKJV) I have heard so many different messages, and explanations of this verse, and right now all I can think of, is that the part of me that is not who I am meant to be MUST decrease. This includes all the distractions that keep me from time to be all that I am called to be, and I need to allow the Lord and His influence in my heart, mind, and actions to increase, so that what I do has fruit and brings glory for the Lord.

(Taken from PROPHETIC ARTS/WORSHIP | Noiva de cristo, Mulher de deus, Casais cristãos)

Lord, I love that You love me. I love that You desire to be with me, and for me to be with you. Help me to make room for more of You and Your influence in my heart, life, and actions. Help me to lay down all of my cares, not just those that are worries, but even those that are "good", allowing You to care for them, which is better than anything I can do. Help me to press in past all the distractions to more of You, and more time with you. Thank you! 

Do I Disturb the Signal, by being a Signal Jammer?

     While I was recently out of town, my husband had to be available for a technician to come and check our cable service from the pole to the modem and router. The reason on the ticket that was left for us said that our outage was due to "ingress & egress". (I understood after all was repaired that the cable company thought something in our home or network was causing a problem for the neighbors, it was not just our service that had the problem.) So, sometime on Saturday the technician came and looked our equipment over, and ended up climbing the pole to get our service up and running again. There are less than 50 houses in our neighborhood, and they thought ours was the source of the disturbance. 

     But this did stir up some curiosity in me, so I looked up the definition of "ingress". 

    Ingress - "the act of entering; the power or liberty of entering, or access." (Taken from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingress#:~:text=noun-,in%C2%B7%E2%80%8Bgress%20%CB%88in%2D%CB%8Cgres,power%20or%20liberty%20of%20entering) 

  Egress - "the place or means of going out; the action or right of going or coming out." (taken from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egress) 

     Sometimes, where there are problems of ingress for access like cable/internet, it is said that there is "noise" that is causing the problem. 

My mind was kind of spinning a bit. The first thing that I thought of tonight, is the song from Sunday School, "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." I am responsible to be careful of what I watch, and listen to. 

Psalm 101:3a "I refuse to gaze on that which is vulgar." (TPT)

My eyes and ears are gates to my heart and mind, and I am the keeper of those gates, responsible for what I allow to enter. But, as a believer,  I am given authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth and over things that creep on the earth. (My version of Genesis 1: 26). I am not given charge over other people, but I am given it over the earth... that means much more than what I have grasped, so far, or what I have walked in. 

In me, what do I let in? 

  In my home, what do I let in? 

    In my neighborhood, do I make a difference? 

      In my county, do I make a difference? 

I am old enough to remember when video games were a system that was connected to the family television set. In the back of the set was a device used to change the "input" from the antenna to the game system. It looked a lot like this.

(Picture from Google)

But watching television meant you were either using your antenna, OR you had cable coming in. There were a couple of different styles of the antenna, too. One was directly attached to the set inside, the other was wired to it all the way from the roof, and some even had a motor that you could turn it to get better signal.

What signal am I tuned to, or what signal am I attracting? 

Then, I started asking myself this question... what am I blocking? 

The technician from the cable company mentioned both ingress and egress, and a gatekeeper doesn't just let things in, they keep things out. Now it is not as much using the switch to change between antenna signal and the game system; but it is the wireless signals coming in from everywhere, unless there is a signal jammer, of some kind. While "gatekeeper" sound somewhat "Lord of the Rings" or like a fairy tale,  they are usually dark images. Today, there are gated communities with a guard house and gates and/or guards to control the traffic in and out. 

(Photo from Google)

In my community, am I an effective gate keeper, and signal jammer? 

Do I pray for my neighbors? 

Do I bless my neighborhood?

Do I host, in person, and in my home, the presence of the Lord?

Do I speak the Lord's will to be done in and around it? 

I want to be the antenna for His presence, and host for His glory, and the signal jammer to keep the enemy/evil out of my neighborhood/community.

Father, thank you for the wonderful message from something as simple as  an internet outage. Thank you for showing the importance of what I allow into my eye and ear gates. 

Help me each day to be the antenna tuned to pick up what You are saying, or showing me, and help me to be a host of Your presence and glory, while being the signal jammer for what is not in your plan for me, my family, my neighborhood, my city. 

Help me to be the gatekeeper here, where you have placed me. Help me to  bloom where I am planted, and to keep the weeds from the garden. All for Your Kingdom, and for Your glory. Amen.