Generation NeXt Parenting

God Loves Clean Floors

Robin is one of God's beloved, a wife, mother, and writer. She writes, fiction, nonfiction and marketing communication...which is either fiction or nonfiction depending on what day you ask! She is a passionate storyteller whose work has been described as comforting, "dripping with joy", and " Everything you write I say yes and unhuh and me too".

Yesterday my pastor preached a real barn-burner of a sermon. For those of you not raised in the South, barn-burner does not mean fire & brimstone, barn-burner means 'engaging, well-presented, relevant sermon that feels so just for you that are wondering if your pastor has been reading your mail'. He was talking about how we have a wall or dividing line in our lives separating the Spiritual and the Secular.

To illlustrate this, Ben ran a line of yellow caution tape through the pulpit and down through the congregation. One side was Spiritual and one side was Secular. He took a person through their day and how they were busy hopping from one side of the tape to the other. If you want to hear the sermon in toto, visit 10/22/06.

Here is the quote that was most meaningful for me:"The maid who sweeps the floor worships God while she does it. Not because she might sing a hymn while she swept, but because God loves clean floors." -Martin Luther

That principle 'God loves clean floors' means this to me:whatever we do in every detail of our lives, we can do it to honor God.

God loves clean floors.
We worship God when we bring order and beauty to our environment.

God loves good meals.
We worship God when we create something nourishing and delicious.

God loves passionate sex.
We worship God when we are alive to pleasure perceived through the senses.

God loves brisk walks.
We worship God when we care for our bodies through exercise while admiring the beauty of creation.

God loves honest accounting.
(Anyone who lives in Houston knows someone whose life was affected by Enron.)
We worship God when we do our job with excellence and integrity even if it seems like no one is watching.

God loves good workmanship.
We worship God when we use our skill and caring to create something well-made, whether it's a mother sewing an award patch on a Royal Ranger uniform or a builder carefully fitting hurricane joists in a house even though he will be long gone by the time any storm arrives.

God loves clean diapers.
We worship God when we care for the bodies and hearts of people who are too weak to care for themselves.

God loves clean skin.
We worship God when we take the time for good skin care, not out of legalistic shame but out of the same pride and joy that inspires a teenage boy to wax his first car.

God loves engaging true advertisements.
We worship God when we serve our clients by writing an ad that truthfully portrays their product's features in a way that engages the attention of their target audience.

It's not only saying prayers or singing worship songs that honors God. We honor God when we care for our selves, care for his people, care for his world.As Ben said, this removes so much unnecessary guilt from our daily lives. For the mother of young children who wipes noses, wipes bottoms, wipes countertops all day long and feels guilty that she hasn't had time to be spiritual and sit down and read a chapter of her Bible. She's been serving God all day long.

I think of people I know who are actively pursuing wholeness and goodness in so many areas of their lives:

the married couple who worships God by obeying the call on their hearts to leave the big secure firm and take the risk to go into private practice.

the married couple who answer God's call to pursue parenthood by hiring a fertillity specialist, taking medication and faithfully making love whenever the calendar says so.

the young mother who spends most of her day caring for her baby and diligently searching for the best way to treat her child's health issues.

the child who without whining or complaining shows his own brand of diligent conquering by falling down countless times until he can skate with his new pair of rollerblades.

the married couple who honors and cherishes their marriage bed by hiring a sex therapist and learning how to better give and receive joy in their sexual relationship.

the single adult who works with a spiritual director to delve into his past and shed toxic attitudes before he begins his post graduate ministry career.

the husband who is nearing retirement age who carefully monitors his meals and medication to treat heart disease, because he knows his wife and family love him and need him alive and healthy.

All these people are daily living a symphony of worship and praise--even if they never hum a single note.

Col 3:17---And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Contact Robin at http://blog.hope-giver.com/

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 7:52 AM