Make my Heart a Sanctuary

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

   “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 Luke 10:38-42

I can be such a Martha."Distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Yep, that's me, to a T. And what do I miss out on? The better things. Listening to Jesus. 
I read this passage earlier in the week as I read through Luke, and it instantly struck me. I've thought about it a lot this past week and realized how much I have become like Martha. It's not like I don't spend time in the Word and in prayer. I do, every day. It's my heart attitude that bothers me. I get so busy with preparations. I become so concerned about making my home a Sanctuary, taking care of my body, taking care of my family, keeping my hands busy, and just preparing for the future, that I lose sight of the big picture. My mind isn't constantly centered on Jesus Messiah and listening to Him. I don't have a heart attitude of listening to Christ.
So as the third in this series on making my life a Sanctuary, I'm sharing with you that the most important part of being a Sanctuary is to not be distracted by the process. Don't let the preparations you must make for your home or your life get in the way of letting your heart and soul listen to Jesus, because that is the best thing, and it will not be taken away from you.

Make My Home a Sanctuary: Shine Your Sink!

These posts are going to be in no order whatsoever. So don't think that I think making your home a sanctuary is more important than making your heart a sanctuary. It's not, it's just easier. =)
 And single gals (Like me!!=), this is most assuredly for you. NOW is when you need to be taking charge of the atmosphere of your home and learning to make it a sanctuary. You'll be amazed what a difference you can make in your home's atmosphere even if you are not the main caretaker and you have five littles running around like a whirlwind after you. =) My Mom works a couple days a week and has plenty to do when she is home, so I get plenty of practice! I really have fun on the day that she is at work and I'm not. It's a great feeling to have my home to take care of all by myself, and to get to see how I can make it a sanctuary.

That said, one thing that I've found makes a HUGE difference in my home is simply shining my sink! Any of you that read FLYlady know about this great trick!

The FIRST and FOREMOST thing to remember when shining your sink is that you must wash all your dirty dishes and put them all away first. Also clear the clutter off your counters. If you do this every day(or, better yet, after or before every meal) it won't take long.

The first time you shine your sink there are a few extra steps.

1. First of all, fill your sink full of hot water and add bleach. Let it sit for one hour. If you have a bleach spray cleaner(Like Clorox), you can skip this step. Rinse!

2. Using baking soda, scrub your sink! Get a scratchy and a toothbrush and get in the cracks. If you skipped the first step, then after you think you have it clean, spray bleach all over and do it again!  It will be SO MUCH FUN,  I promise! Scrub in your drain and around your handle, on your handle, around the outside edges of your sink. Until I did this, I never realized how much of my sink wasn't supposed to be that brown color! =D

3. RINSE! Do not let any bleach remain! You're going to use Windex in the next step, and if it combines with the bleach you will have a nasty headache!

4. This is the step that you do every night(Or every meal!). After rinsing your sink out, dry it out with a rag or dish towel. Then grab a paper towel and some Windex. Squirt Windex all over and clean the sink like you would a window. You will  be so surprised!! I read what FLYlady said about this and didn't believe that I really would be able to see my reflection, but if you have a stainless steel sink(Like me!) you really will!

Doesn't it look so nice??

See it sparkle?? See it shine??!

Now, the reason that this makes such a difference is because it cleans your kitchen! Really! Once you do it the first time you will be addicted to it! (Really!) So then your cupboards are clean, your dishes are clean and put away, and your sink sparkles! What an amazing feeling! This adds a lot to the feel of our home because the kitchen is the first room of the house and the hub of activity. If the kitchen is a mess, no Sanctuary!

All that said, I'm noticing a drainer piled full, so I better get it unfull and get my sink shined! =)

Make My Life a Sanctuary

Lord, 

Prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy,

Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I will be a living

Sanctuary, Lord for you.

 What does it look like to be a Sanctuary? For Jesus and for the people around me? A place where God is glorified and where others find compassion, rest, and peace. Not in chaos or distress, having a soul at rest. Oh yes, then what about the space I have? Is it a Sanctuary? Do the people that enter it feel like a tornado just wrecked the place? Do I feel like I can rest in Jesus and not be distracted? Please join me for this series on making my life a Sanctuary. Perhaps you can go away with some ideas and encouragement for making your own life a Sanctuary!