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housekeeping 101

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HHH Housekeeping_101

Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old and was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. In God’s opinion he was a good king; he kept to the standards of his ancestor David.

In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah, having first repaired the doors of The Temple of God, threw them open to the public. He assembled the priests and Levites in the court on the east side and said, “Levites, listen! Consecrate yourselves and consecrate The Temple of God—give this much-defiled place a good housecleaning. Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before God—they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God, and walked off. They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple. And because of that, God’s anger flared up and he turned those people into a public exhibit of disaster, a moral history lesson—look and read! This is why our ancestors were killed, and this is why our wives and sons and daughters were taken prisoner and made slaves. 2 Chronicles 29.1-9

I like the way Hezekiah approached his kingship. The first thing he did was “repair the doors of The Temple.”

This past spring I decided OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW! And, I painted all three of our exterior doors a beautiful yellow.

Door Collage

By doing this simple task, it was though a new invitation had been extended. Come to our house and be welcomed. I think that is what king Hezekiah had in mind. “The doors of God’s Temple are repaired – now come back to the Temple and worship our God.”

After our three doors were newly painted then it seemed only fitting to do a bit of outdoor housekeeping. We mowed and trimmed, planted flowers, threw away some old junk, painted some yard art and birdhouses and spruced things up.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Before and After Summer 2016

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Where we live it is not uncommon to see old homeplaces left to ruination. Honestly? It makes me crazy. One might see a large piece of overgrown acreage and a dilapidated farmhouse in the midst of the mess. Without fail I’ll say to whomever is with me, There are so many families that could’ve made this their home – instead of the family allowing Grandma and Grandpa’s house to deteriorate and be destroyed. 

They boarded up the doors and turned off the lights. The life of the house left to die.

Y’all…you know what I’m going to say, don’t you?

Where and Who is The Temple of God today? Post-Jesus?

Yup! Us.

You. Me.

Our hearts, our lives are now The Temple of God’s Holy Spirit – He lives within us.

Are our doors in good repair? Are they open or locked up?

Is our temple clean? Cluttered? Filled with worldly stuff we don’t even need?

Is there a room we hide from HIM? Maybe just a little space we “call our own” and lock that one door?

I don’t know about you but I do know about me and at this juncture of my life? I sure don’t want God’s anger flared against me and I sure don’t want to be used as a public example of disaster! “Things” have certainly changed since old king Hezekiah and there’s that wonderful gift of Grace we’ve been given through Jesus; nevertheless, I think it wise for us to be alert and aware to some of the pitfalls the old devil would love to throw in our way. Things like…

ah…THAT doesn’t matter.

God doesn’t care if you do THAT.

so, you keep THAT a secret.

what does it even matter?

if it feels right?

com’on don’t be such a prude.

I intend to keep my doors in good repair and my “house” clean.

Join me?

We all need to do some housekeeping now and then. Join me and enter the giveaway.

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xo

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Linking up with: Beth, Holly, Holley, Jaime, Jennifer, Jenny

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. This is amazing and so practical. We’re due for some serious housekeeping around this place once I’m through with my summer job. (Three more days . . .)
    Always a blessing to sit behind the yellow doors of your welcome here!

    Reply

  4. Love the yellow with the real reasons behind them. I need some serious housekeeping done on my end. Maybe this is a “wake-up” call. Thank you

    Reply

  5. Always good to stop here and receive a word for the home and the soul at the same time! With getting back into a routine this week, I found this post timely. I loved your photos!

    Reply

  6. We think alike! I have the same thoughts when I see what could be a home for a family that needs one. Love this post. Love the yellow door!!! Off to do some much needed housekeeping of my own!

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  8. Lots of twists and turns in this post, Susan–from Hezekiah and rebuilding the doors of the temple, to your lovely new doors (and front porch, I might add!), to the doors of our hearts. The Lord can truly spruce up the most dilapidated heart around!

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  9. I love your yellow doors. I am so thankful that my yard looks good after the church approved my proposal to have landscapers come in and make the yard look better.

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  10. Susan, I love this. I love how you took us from your house and garden to our hearts. I’m sure we all have some house cleaning to do there, at least I know I do.

    Thank you for this timely reminder and encouragement. Blessings to you! xo

    Reply

  14. I like the thought! We all need a cleanup every now and then. I like what you’ve done with your garden! Love the color on your doors too 🙂

    Reply

  15. Susan love how you took us on this tour of twists and turns. Those new doors are really neat – reminds me mine need some tending to, but I’m not a painter.

    Let’s open those hearts and not lock them up, and open our doors to let Him shine as others enter them.

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  16. Susan I love yellow and as such love the updates to your home!! Also, wonderful point. Your word illustrations are awesome. I’ll be taking stock today of what in me needs some housekeeping as I plan on some home projects this weekend too!

    Reply

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