Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year. Time when spring cleaning happens in most homes. I love going through my stuff and throwing or giving away the stuff we no longer need! I love knowing that even my closets are clean. All this cleaning  got me thinking about another type of spring cleaning; a spiritual spring cleaning. How does one do a spiritual spring cleaning?

The best thing to do would be to take a day and go on a personal retreat. This doesn't have to include going far away. A day at a local park, ask for permission to use a room in your church for a day, or you could find a quiet corner in your house. Be creative and do what will work for you.

As with any cleaning job, you will need the proper tools to complete your spiritual spring cleaning. I suggest your Bible, a journal, your favorite worship music and Kleenex. Just as we all have our personal cleaning styles, I believe your spiritual cleaning will need to be your  own as well. But here are some ideas of things I have done.

 I evaluate my life. Just as when I clean I look for hidden cobwebs and dust bunnies, I must look for those in my own life as well. Am I harboring some attitude that is ugly, is there sin in my life. What am I hiding from God? (or think I am hiding from Him). Once I make a list I pray through each of these and leave them at the foot of the cross, I ask God for forgiveness and the ability to change my bad habits or attitudes.

I evaluate my personal Bible reading plan. Am I making time everyday to read my Bible? What am I reading daily? Am I just doing it to do it? Sometimes a change in translation for awhile or just to be deliberate about a reading plan helps. Personally, I set a goal to really study the Old Testament this year and I am using an online reading plan to help me achieve my goal.  http://mybibleplans.com/  That daily reminder really helps me.

Next I evaluate my prayer life. Am I spending time praying every day? Do I tell people I will pray for you and then do I follow through? Do I pray for more than just myself? Am I praying for my family, friends, church, pastor, persecuted church, the sick, those who are suffering? The list of who to pray for can be quite long, but I still need to pray!

After you've done those three things, just spend time with God and let him guide the rest of your day. Perhaps God will give you a new direction for you, a new ministry to dive into, maybe He will prompt you to seek forgiveness from someone you have offended, maybe He just wants you to spend the day worshiping and praising Him. The key is to do it, to clean out your spiritual closets, get rid of what doesn't fit you anymore and rearrange somethings. You won't regret it!