This is my life...a series of dreams come true on a daily basis. Join me as I run down my dream - maybe you will find your dream in the process.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Thirty-One Days to Clean - a Challenge

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading through a friend's Facebook page.  She had read that a new eBook about house-cleaning was about to be published called, Thirty-One Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way, by Sarah Rae.  The premise of the book intrigued me.  You can check it out here.

It bring to my mind the story of Martha and her sister Mary from the Bible in Luke 10:38-42.  Jesus and his disciples were traveling among several towns when they came to the village of Martha and Mary.    I can just imagine how the story would read in modern times: Martha invites Jesus into her and Mary's home.  It is a mess!  How could she let Jesus see her home in such disarray?  She immediately sets to work cleaning, fluffing pillows, picking up Mary's shoes (she always just seemed to walk out of them the minute she came through the door - was it too much to ask for her to put them away?).  Meanwhile, Mary is sitting in the living room listening to Jesus teach.

When Martha complains to Jesus about Mary sitting there while she did all the work, Jesus replies: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary.  Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42)

This gets me thinking.  Why I am so anxious about my house being clean and neat, or more aptly, not being clean and neat?  Was I going about this all the wrong way?  Why do I snap at my family when they mess things up or don't help out as much as I think they should? Moreover, why is it so important to me that I keep our house neat and clean?

I feel like I put a lot of undue pressure on myself when it comes to home and family.  I cannot seem to balance these as well as I would like.  I started searching out others who seemed to have found that balance.  In my search, I found Christin's blog, Joyful Mothering.  She is farther along in her journey to find that balance.  Her blog is inspiring, uplifting and, most of all, hopeful.  I highly recommend it.

It was on Joyful Mothering that I discovered Christin's 31 Day Challenge using Sarah Rae's book.  You can read about Christin's challenge on her blog.  I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking the challenge.  A good friend from church is taking the challenge as well, although she won't be blogging about it.

The challenges are relatively simple.  Perhaps the most difficult challenge is the very first one: deciding why it is important to me to keep a clean and neat home;  I thought a lot about it, and came to this conclusion:

I need order around me so that I have a sense of calm.  If my surroundings are chaotic, messy and disorganized, I am anxious and unable to focus. 

My friend that I mentioned above, Debbie, did her "Mission Statement" so to speak. I liked it so much, that I asked if I could include it in this post. 



Debbie's Mission Statement
I have begun my mission.  May those of you embarking on similar missions have success!

2 comments:

MamaOfTwo said...

I'm intrigued. I can't wait to read more as you walk through the process.

I love how you're finding perspective in these areas of your life, and taking charge of them in a positive way. It inspires me to do so in my life, too. Go Laura!!!

Michelle

Danica said...

I am also doing the challenge and just wanted to say real quick that I just LOVE that little mission statement! It makes me want to scrapbook mine. :D Best of luck to you.