Lessons learned (or a reminder) from a dirty, old fan...

It was such a gorgeous day out this past Saturday that I decided to try to get some spring cleaning done at my house while Kyleigh was taking a nap. A couple of things you should know about Kyleigh if you don't already - she is an incredibly light sleeper and she has super sonic ears. This translates into the house needing to stay quiet while she naps. Fortunately, our house has three floors. So while Kyleigh is asleep on the top floor I can make as much noise in the basement.

I decided to start in what I find to be one of the dirtiest corners of our den - the corner by the door out to our backyard. It was incredibly dusty and dirty in that little corner so I began to dust and go through the little cupboard we have over there - trying to throw out things we really don't need. Once I threw out what we didn't need and organized what we decided to keep I had quite a bit of extra space in the little cupboard.

Now I'm one of those people that loves to "hide" things in cupboards or drawers as much as possible. So, I was trying to decide what to put in the cupboard while still having it close by to grab if I needed it. I decided that the majority if not all of the dog toys could go in the cupboard - my two dogs rarely play with any toys they are too fascinated with Kyleigh now. Then I found a dirty fan that was sitting by the cupboard for when it gets super warm (which until this week it hadn't been!).

Since I'd just taken the time to clean out the cupboard and had wiped everything down there was no way I wanted to put that dusty, dirty fan in my clean cupboard. I mentioned to Jon that I wondered if it could be opened up and cleaned out and a few short minutes later he had the fan opened up as much as it could be.

After getting a rag and water and trying to clean it in my den while getting dirt over everything, I decided to move it into the bathroom over the sink. After a few minutes of brushing the dirt off with an old toothbrush and using the rag to get everything off, my fan looked pretty good!

So the lessons learned...I'm getting there! While I was finishing up the last of the fan cleaning, I looked into the area with the motor and saw how dirty it still looked (not that I could do anything about that). Outwardly, my fan looked/still looks so pretty and clean. But inwardly, my fan was so ugly and dirty. I think by now you probably get where I'm going with this.

It made me stop and think about how so many times in our lives we clean up so well - whether it is to go to church, or just to talk with friends, colleagues, you name it. While the inside of us is still so dirty. We haven't taken the time that we need to have God clean out our bad thoughts, our meanness, our selfishness - the list could go on and on. Unlike my fan that still has a dirty inside, we don't have to remain dirty on the inside! God wants us to be clean all the time, by constantly confessing our sin. He wants us to live lives that our free from the guilt and the sin that we get caught up in so much of the time.

I know it is so much easier to have the facade that everything is clean on the inside - we know how to talk the talk and walk the walk - at least on the outside but God knows what is in our hearts. And can I go a step further and say that especially if you are a parent, your little ones are learning from you and they probably unwittingly see a lot more of what is inside your heart than what you think. It is so easy to put a show on for others when you just see them every once in awhile, but it is so much harder to put a show on all of the time around your family - which is why it is so important to have your heart clean daily so that you don't have to put a show on!

I also know we are humans and even when we are constantly seeking God and His will and trying to live a godly life that we are going to slip up - it happens! Fortunately, we can start the process all over and ask for forgiveness and keep on trying to live our lives for God.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. So, what turned into a simple spring cleaning - which by the way was all I got done that day, turned into a valuable reminder to me on how we need to constantly keep our hearts clean and seek God daily!

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke

 

Have you been looking for a book that you have trouble tearing yourself away from? Or have you been looking for a book that is a work of fiction, but ties together the fiction story with true life events? What about a book that you will feel like you are right there with the characters - sharing in their joys and their sorrows? Or maybe you've been looking for a book that will show you just how much God loved us and that His Son sacrified everything for us so that we could have eternal life? If any of these reasons resonates with you, then be sure to read this wonderfully written book by Cathy Gohlke.

I've always been fascinated with historical fiction. Some of my favorite events and time periods to read about are the Civil War, the sinking of the Titanic, World War I and World War II. This book doesn't touch on the Civil War or World War II, but it encaptures what life would have been like for the survivors of the Titanic all the way through World War I.

This book begins with Michael Dunnagan - a young boy, who has been badly mistreated - trying to escape from his current life situation. He boards the Titanic before it is even taking passengers and stows away until it ports in Southhampton where its journey is to begin. Once in Southhampton, he meets Owen Allen who is preparing to sail to America onboard the Titanic so that he can hopefully find a better place for him and his little sister Annie with relatives in New Jersey. Owen takes poor Michael under his wing and for the week he has remaining in Southhampton feeds him and gives him work. Annie remains in England until Owen has enough money to pay for her to come over to New Jersey.

Michael decides to once again flee his current situation and stows aboard the Titanic for a second time. Also for a second time he finds himself being rescued by Owen Allen. The two become like brothers in a short time and Owen feels the prompting of God to teach Michael everything he knows about plants and gardening which is what he was going over to America to help with. Since we all know the story of the Titanic, I'm sure you can imagine that this story isn't going to end well.

Owen sacrifices his life so that Michael can start his life over with Owen's family. Here we see the beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us! Owen makes Michael promise that he will save money and bring Annie over as soon as possible.

Without giving the whole book away - Michael works to bring Annie over, but many years pass before he is able to do so. This book shares the story of Michael learning to get over "survivors guilt" and Annie to stop blaming Michael for her beloved brother's death. They start to write to each other and it continues throughout World War I.

So much of this book really tugged at my heartstrings. It was just so beautifully written detailing the feelings that must have been going on for those that survived the sinking of the Titanic to the details of what it must have been like to live in Europe during World War I. I really felt like I was right there! I have not read a book that I enjoyed this much in a very long time! If you ever have the chance to read this book, I highly recommend that you grab a copy and read it. You will not be disappointed!

I'd never read any works by Cathy Gohlke, so you can imagine my surprise that this book was such a great read! I'm looking forward to reading more books from her. If you'd like to learn more about the author and other books that she has written or is planning on writing, you can visit her website here.

In closing, I did want to mention that I received this book for free for an honest review through Tyndale House Publishers, you can find out more information about them by clicking on this link. I was under no obligation to give a positive review, though I did absolutely love this book!

If you would like to read the first chapter of this book for yourself, you can click here.