SPRING CLEANING!!!!

Imagine your marriage as if it were a house. Which rooms might need some extra cleaning out and which ones might need a little extra attention to spruce them up?

The living room of your marriage might be filled with your habits as a couple for entertainment, hospitality and daily interaction. Ask yourself if there is something that needs to be cleaned out of this area of your life.

  Does the TV distract you from your marriage and family?  Do certain video games soak undivided focus from your spouse or kids? While the Bible never says, "thou shalt not watch TV," we are wise to watch out that good things don't become distractions from the best things.   Paul said 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 NLT.  You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.

Take a good look around and check that you have your priorities in order!

The kitchen is a place of service but how those daily tasks are done can show love to your family.  Galatians 5:13 instructs us to serve one another in love.  When Dondi lovingly serves me, or I him, it not only shows a good example to our children, it speaks love to one another.  When one of us does our daily tasks for the family with an irritated spirit, it feeds a cycle of self-centeredness and frustration. 

      How are you going about serving in your home?  There is always an attitude that needs maturing or something else we all can do in addition to what we are already doing.  For example, Dondi every once in while will ask me to run a few errands for him that are important. I always have a good intentions to follow through with what he asks, but sometimes I get caught up with my own chores like cleaning, carting the boys to the gym, cooking etc. That before I realize it I never did what he asked. Then when he questions me I start making excuses or even worse I say nothing at all and sit with a quiet attitude that speaks volumes! What did I show him?  I showed him he couldn’t depend on me to be his helpmate in that area. I expressed that what I had to do was priority over what he needed me to do. We should lighten each others burdens not weigh each other down. After all, the world does that enough to us. 

There are so many different acts of service. From helping with errands to rubbing his back. (which I prefer over running errands!) What loving acts of service has your spouse requested from you that you could start doing with a more loving spirit?

The bedroom of a marriage is a place of rest, privacy, and intimacy.  One thing that I know for certain is that the bedroom was meant for a husband, wife and the Lord.

          I know God is pleased when married couples share a healthy, fulfilling, and exciting sex life. Clean out any part of your bedroom that does not promote that. If your master bedroom is like mine it can get the least attention in your house when it comes to chores. I try very hard to keep our room a place of refuge. A fragrance of peace and romance. If  Dondi had to clear off piles of laundry off the bed every night just to lay in it he would not be feeling peaceful and romantic!!!  Another thing for us is that we have absolutely no pictures of anyone else anywhere in our bedroom or bathroom. Not even our kids. Every wall in our room has a picture of Dondi and I over the years, different places we have gone and silly things we have done. (All that know me, know I am a camera aholic)  It is "our" place.

Every couple is different, look around your bedroom how can you create an atmosphere of romance, intimacy and excitement? Also, look around, is there anything you need to get rid of that might ruin the fragrance of intimacy or excitement.

The garage of your marriage is the place where all the stuff goes that you don't know what to do with. Issues there might be that never got resolved or you aren't sure how to resolve. There might be something you struggle with individually or something you can't agree on. So just like the "garage" in our homes we toss those things to the side and keep piling other things on top of it. Then we try to forget they are there because we don't know where to put them or if we really want to get rid of it to begin with. Those things are issues that often come up in the middle of an argument, and then you realize your "garage” is a mess and is full of junk! 

Dondi always tells me if we haven't used it in 6 months, get rid of it! It is so funny because that used to be hard for me in the "garage" in my house and the "garage” in my marriage. We try to apply that rule in both our  "garages”. Don't move things from room to room in your marriage or even worse toss it in your "garage", Take a look on the things that are an asset and display those things. The junk that is of no value work on getting rid of!  If you aren’t sure how to clean out your "garage" first seek God. Second get plugged into a Sunday school or a good discipleship group.

  Proverbs 24:3-4 NLT A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. 4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
 What good is it to have all the cleaning supplies just sitting in cabinet but never take them out and actually use them? That is what we do with the "cleaning supplies" we have for our marriage rooms. We go to hear the church service, Sunday school and even a small group yet we don't use the supplies we have!
 Proverbs 1:7 NLT

Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Parts of this devotional were taken from

A devotional by April Motl