jennyjennygenesis
homemaking, homeschooling, and striving for holiness
Weeding Out the Junk
Can you laugh at yourself? Can you really peel your mask off and get a good chuckle going…. about your own hang ups?
There is a line in a song by one of my favorite bands Lucius, “I’m hard-headed, but I’m completely soft inside! I’m your dolly, stuffed with extra baggage…” Well! The part about the extra baggage is most certainly true.
I am an amazing collector. This can be considered a gift, but it can also be a curse, because as someone really smart once said,
“If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
― Vicki Robin
Guys, I have so much stuff, I can’t even begin to tell you where it all is! I have more junk drawers than clothes drawers, and I have….too much….So, in an effort to create solutions and not keep pointing out problems, I have begun to turn a new leaf. Part of the new leaf is a schedule that helps me and the kids stay on task. I’m going to try it for the rest of the summer, see how it feels and make adjustments as necessary. DO you have a set schedule? For those of you who do, does it help you get accomplished what you want to get done?
We have a goal to get up by a certain time, and eat, do chores and get school work done, but usually after that our “plan” gets overtaken by a tired and cranky mom needing to rest, and excitable children who seem to never need to rest! So, hopefully, this will help.
I have been researching different things on the web, about how to get organized, keep the home clean, etc, and it’s a wide range of wonderful pointers that seem to overwhelm me right from the start. I do like Fly Lady, and I like this website too: http://www.somewhatsimple.com/speed-cleaning-101/
My goal for right now is to focus on taking the things that matter most, and letting go of everything else…I don’t need all that I have, I need to do some pruning and weeding, in all areas of my life, not just maintaining my space. I love this gospel: Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
I don’t know why this struck me so much today, I have read all the parables so many times, I feel like I know them by heart, but today I keep thinking 
man, we really are blessed to have a savior, and to know that one day he will gather us to Himself. I can’t tell you how excited I am about that day, and about the wonderful patience of our Lord. He is letting us all grow in our own time, and He won’t pick us out too soon, before we’ve had a chance to own our faith, bud and bloom, and learn to trust in Him for everything. I feel this parable is about HOPE. We can continue to have hope for our future, because God has given us the space and time to grow up to be more like Him….This is why we should never be dismayed if we have friends or relatives that aren’t believers. We are planting seeds! IT’S NOT OVER YET! He is working in us all the time, and even the late bloomers are going to get a chance to reach towards the light. Even the tiny thing that looks like a weed will be given a chance to finally seek and find the truth. It will all be made known one day.
So don’t stop trying to make it work, don’t stop trying to keep your home clean and sparkly, and don’t stop preaching the Good News to the people you meet and the ones you love. 
All the joy on your face, the continuing to try, the ability to laugh at your struggles instead of getting tied up in them…the trusting in Jesus… that’s what will inspire the people….to want to know more…..and if you have any pointers for me, self-declared unkempt house keeper, please……do tell!
jennyjennygenesis 
thank you love…… ain´t we all got some weeds inside….. i am inspired once again to go on schedule…. my rule still is to find a home for everything…. behind a closet door, or in a hidden box…. so you cannot see the junk and it at least looks presentable…. i heard another cool attitude….. spend 5 minutes in each room… with timer and all…. or tackle one drawer a day…. on schedule…. anyhow… it is more about love than about cleanlineas, cause your kids will rmember the time you spent with them more, than the time it was dirty… love you girlfriend
I love you too!! You are right, the greatest thing we can do is love- but I do feel part of the responsibility of raising all these daughters is at least ATTEMPTING to teach them how to keep an orderly (not perfect) but clean house!! Xoxo
I love your blog. I always read it and think what a gem you are with a gift for sharing that joy with the rest of us. I also have too much clutter but moving last year helped– and now a lot of the clutter is still packed in boxes because I haven’t yet figured out my new place and don’t unpack stuff until it has a place. Anyway, it’s all about being intentional and going one step at at time. Sometimes I feel like the to do (or to perfect) list is too long, but then I look back and see that progress is being made- no matter how slow- and that is something to celebrate.
Thank you, Maureen! I appreciate your kind words! I agree- we are all just trying to make progress, slow and steady and intentionally working towards a goal! Xo
Great mom! nice entry.