Clean Sweep!

Yesterday our entire staff took the day to clean up stuff! We themed the whole day around TLC's TV show, "Clean Sweep!" We took several trailer loads of accumulated junk to the dump, a lot of stuff to goodwill, and also identified some old equipment that you might be able to pick up on Craigslist in the coming weeks!

Isn't it a great feeling to get rid clutter that hinders forward momentum?

The Lord has been speaking to me about the fruit that comes through pruning. In fact, with some trees, if they aren't pruned, they'll actually die! Wow!

Pruning means carefully assessing our lives -- analyzing and asking God to show what areas are "diseased" or non-productive. For plants, pruning is essential to maintaining their health and improving the yield and quality of fruit. Isn't it the same for us?

So I've been going through my personal finances (i.e. I'm pruning our vacation next year so that it will be just as meaningful and fun, but not as expensive) and our personal stuff (trying to finish a fairly long project list that's still lying around since we moved to our new home last Spring). I'm also looking for that added momentum to be added into our church life by listening for what things the Lord is asking me to seek after, to prune back in one area to encourage growth in another, or to remove that which no longer belongs.