Day 24: Declutter
/
Welcome back to the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge! It's Day 24.
Along the same lines as cleaning something, another great way to lift your spirits is to declutter. But I've purposely left that a little open-ended. Yes, decluttering surfaces, such as your counters or the kitchen table, can go a long way toward helping your day run more smoothly and giving you a sense of peace in your surroundings. (If clutter has built up since Day 15's action step, go ahead and declutter your surfaces.)
Today, I want to look at two other areas that might need decluttering.
When was the last time you decluttered your heart?
The above link is to an excellent article written by blogger Sarah Koontz. She asks some great questions about heart clutter, and it's well worth the time to stop over and read. When our hearts are too laiden with unnecessary burdens that the Lord never intended us to carry, it becomes almost impossible to praise Him no matter how hard we try. If our hearts are bogged down with guilt, grief, or unforgiveness, we need to lay these things at His feet.
When was the last time you decluttered your schedule?
I've personally found that I feel much more frantic and much less willing to praise the Lord when my schedule is overly full. Maybe you thrive on a busy schedule, but even so, have you sought the Lord's guidance about what you should and shouldn't have on your plate right now? Maybe your schedule needs an overhaul so that you can better serve your family. Maybe there is another ministry you need to consider adding, and until you make room for it, you won't be able to take it on.
Today's action steps: Examine your heart closely. Are you hanging on to anything that you really need to let go? If so, pray and ask for the Lord's help to declutter it from your heart. Then, take a good look at your schedule. Is everything that's on it necessary? Are there things you could declutter that would free up time to better serve your family and the Body of Christ? Pray over your decluttering process. The more we free up our hearts and our lives to better serve the Lord, the easier it will be to praise Him through waiting and hardship.
