Day 6 of the great clean up

I'm writing this before I take a break, a day off. As I work on the great clean up I've been thinking about the proverb cleanliness is next to Godliness. Some say that it came from the late 2nd century Rabbi Phinehas ben-Yair. For me, I know this proverb from John Wesley who said in a sermon in 1791 'Slovenliness is no part of religion.'Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness.' I wasn't aware of the first part until doing a little research. I'd always thought of cleanliness as Francis Bacon seems to have done, namely 'Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.' (Advancement of Learning AD 1605) but slovenliness gives a clue which is about being untidy or sloppy as well as unclean.

As I continue the great clean up I have to tackle the bathroom and the kitchen. I have hated washing dishes all my life, well as long as I can remember. I'll wash dishes for other people, I'll organize meals for over 70 people and there is a sense of accomplishment as I clear and put away the dishes. But when it comes to my own kitchen and keeping things in order it is trouble. I tried inspiration from Brother Lawrence who ran the monastery kitchens and whose insights are recorded in The Practice of the Presence of God. It took him 17 years to learn the discipline so I am comforted.

He's told us this quite plainly—he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern." The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. from Hebrew 12: 27-29 The Message

Day 5 of the great clean up

Things proceed and more of the floor is revealed and yet also more bits laid aside not dealt with in the past is opened up. Currently I'm about 2 days behind my schedule as the living room isn't completed yet. However I've cleared and dismantled my temporary desk which occupied the centre of the living room for 8-9 months. I also started setting up a drop leaf desk into one of my Ivar shelving units which is easier to control. Yesterday I got back into Christmas stuff again and had another find, a 15 dollar gift certificate. Not in the same scale as my May find but it still felt as grace.

Another gift yesterday was listening to Tim Keller of Church of the Redeemer NYC speaking about The Prodigal Sons. A new insight came as I moved more from the younger to the older and then my owner journey as the older brother. There are those who find birth order theories unhelpful yet according to their understanding "firstborns are more conscientious, more socially dominant, less agreeable, and less open to new ideas compared to laterborns." Put in other words they are stay at home, more obedient (outwardly at least), less likely to be wayward, and repress the natural rebelliousness that children and teenagers develop. The younger brother was lost but the older brother was lost too. Just a careful reading of the language and behaviour of the older brother towards his father is enough to see the similarities. The younger brother was separated from his father by his disobedience but the older brother by his obedience. However this obedience was a self-righteous obedience yet failure to adopt the values of his father. Otherwise he would have gone to search for his brother. Obedience and outward behaviour is not what the true spiritual life is about. It is not about moral high ground, nor about good doctrine nor really about judgement but being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Most of us in the faith are older siblings separated by our obedience rather than our waywardness. Staying at home, doing all that we think we should be doing. We need to rethink what is obedience or else we'll sound like the older brother.

'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' Luke 15:29-30

Never Giving Up

There's something voyeuristic about reading other's blogs but sometimes it's plain inspirational. Blogs are so public and open and yet so inspirational. I've been reading the blog called "Hope for Wennie Hong" It seems like a 19 year old has had life go to the edge and her friends and family have all been there for her. But what a journey. (recorded here)

I was also looking over a BBC news item where a baby was dying from kidney failure. She was so small that none of the standard technology was able to do anything. Her doctor, Malcolm Coulthard, designed and built her a dialysis machine from scratch in his garage. It worked and two years later she is still alive and kicking and the DIY machine is still used! Coulthard wasn't satisfied that there was nothing available to help.

There is something about life that requires that we never give up. Hope is required for life. Hope for Wennie Hong, a young woman, who has a long way to go for recovery. Hope that drove a doctor to build a machine in his garage (I suspect without the permission of the hospital administration!) A dear friend is very sick, not immediately terminal but the slightly longer term prognosis isn't good. Sometimes all we can have is hope. Hope in a God who loves and cares so much. Hope in a God who will intervene. Hope in doctors who won't give up, who might have made a misdiagnosis.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:18-22

Extreme Makeover

I don't whether you've watched episodes of Extreme Home Makeover. It seems even worse than winning the lottery because you have even less control over what happens afterwards. From two episodes last year I've guessed extensively the show is meant to be philanthropic helping families in trouble who need something good to happen to them. The problem is how over top things are giving swimming pools, vast amounts of technology etc. Website freemoneyfinance.com seems to be following a trail of disasters. Frequently the new homes are a white elephant or sacred cow. These idioms are so apt because they are so valuable and while you can admire them they consume and give nothing back. The trouble is bigger is better is not necessarily a good idea. In one case the utility bills are now 500-700 dollars a month! Not good if you're already economically struggling.

So often people, including, want the quick fix to situations. But quick fixes are frequently disasters. Bigger is not more beautiful nor more desirable. Monster homes in the suburbs are frequently not the solution. Around the Western economies there is a debt crisis and property values have dropped and mortgages are being defaulted upon. Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered by E. F. Schumacher is a collection of essays. It was written in 1973 during an energy crisis in Britain. As a new energy crisis grows globally, smaller and more economic must begin to become the norm. Even in my simplified lifestyle I'm finding things are still too complex. I'm more of a recycler and adapter but I also now realize I cannot be so much a hoarder and collector of things.

Day 3 of the great clear up, I look back and see Day 2 was not really successful as I headed into avoidance. I began to find it difficult to get rid of things perhaps the rain etc.

Day 2 of the great clean up

A difficult thing to do, and very few minds can do it. St. Paul gives us the shortest definition of concentration on record when he says, " This one thing I do," short, but tremendously significant. Another Bible definition is excellent: " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." author unknown How To Concentrate (here)

Well it's started and I'm already thinking about the you-can-see-the-floor party. I have quite some distance to go but it's started. I cleared about 12 square feet of floor, removing stuff and sorting. I reorganized a few shelves and sorted through 3 boxes. One had papers for 2004-2005!

"Concentration is the Most Important Intellectual Habit of Man." I was reading this from an article published in 1930. It's a great little item. One of my barriers to concentration has been the environment of my apartment. constantly stubbing my toes on things, walking and moving things around. The writer points to 4 aids to concentration periodic relaxation, mental freedom, proper environment, and a definite schedule. Much of this is linked to stress and tension and the time has come to clear up! So I have to get to it with all my might!