Project Breadcrumb Trail

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Time for Spring Cleaning

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Spring is officially in the air! I can’t help but smile looking at  the calendar and seeing “1st day of Spring” written on today’s date.

Most of us look forward to the long awaited Spring season and take this time to freshen up, clean out and reorganize our living spaces. Before you go for the Clorox wipes this season, let’s take a minute to evaluate a highly cluttered area that goes unnoticed.

Of all the spaces in my life, my head is always the most cluttered. The problem with this, is that when my mind is blocked, God’s word is blocked. We must be prepared to continuously clear this precious space so we do not subconsciously block the messages God is trying to communicate to us.

Here on the Breadcrumb Trail I often share what happens when God talks to me and even more importantly, when I listen and trust Him. Sometimes His voice is loud and clear and other times it seems non existent. I’ve found a pattern with this inconsistency. I’ve come to understand that I hear God much more clearly and consistently when I make room for Him in my life. This starts in my head space.

If you look up the best way to declutter and clear your head, most articles will agree that taking a walk will do the trick. While I don’t disagree, I will argue this is just a temporary fix. It’s similar to clearing out the stale air that builds up in our homes during the colder winter months. While we open the windows and doors to let fresh air in and push stale air out, as soon as we close the doors the dust in our house and the clutter in our brains start to lay a foundation and begin to collect again.

I’ve learned that it’s not my job (or any of our jobs) to know our purpose, have all the answers or carry all our burdens. We often put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves trying to figure it out, but that’s not our job, that’s God’s job.

It’s OUR job to clear the space for Him. From there, we can listen and trust Him. Here are some pro tips on how to clear our (head and heart) space and make room for God’s word.

While we can’t always take a walk whenever we want to, we can call on God to heal our mind any time. Negative thought patterns trap us and limit our ability to move forward with a decision, a task or a goal. The first step in breaking through this pattern is to be aware and acknowledge when it happens. Instead of getting frustrated and beating yourself up, surrender your thoughts to God and ask Him to heal your mind.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10

Let the sunshine in and expose your dirt. Sometimes we don’t realize that dust has collected on our furniture until we expose it to light. Every Spring I’m always a little embarrassed to see the dirt and clutter that has built up, despite my routine cleaning efforts.

Just like dust hides in the dark, our fears, shame and pain hide deep within our being. We push them within ourselves hoping they will go untouched and disappear. I’ve learned the only way to clear those feelings out once and for all is to expose them. It’s an act that is simple, but not always easy. You have to find a path that allows you to set yourself free of these things. It may be a family member or close friend, a writing platform, a counselor or a pastor. If you don’t know where to begin, start with the Mighty Counselor Himself and ask Him to guide you.

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11

Open your heart to let Gods’ love in just as you would open the door to let in the fresh Spring air. One of the coolest things I’ve discovered on my “Jesus Journey” is God’s ability to change our hearts. I literally feel differently about things that previously had no impact on me. God speaks the loudest and without interruption when he speaks through the changing of our hearts. If your heart is blocked, ask Him to remove the barrier and be open to believing that He will.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

The calendar holds 4 different seasons, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. In life, it’s not always clear what season we are in, but, your season in life can be more clear, if you clear the space to hear God’s word for you.

Seasons come and seasons go, but God’s love is constant all year round.

If you’d like to clear space (and gain sanity) in your life by eliminating social media, check out my four part series that will set you up for a successful departure:

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May God bless and protect our country and everyone reading.