This Devoted Life
What started as a Saturday morning coffee date turned into a podcast where we discuss our faith, family, finances and so much more!
In a world that is encouraging you to “live your truth” and to “follow your heart,” we want to encourage you to live Devoted to THE Truth. The Bible has a lot to say about how to live a victorious Christian life, and we want to share practical insight in how to apply those truths to your life as we endeavor to apply them to our own lives as well.
We are passionate about building and growing the nuclear family, as well as sharing our expertise and experience with finances, homeschooling, and over 70 years of combined biblical knowledge.
Join us as we live… This Devoted Life!
James and Shanda
This Devoted Life
37. Spiritual Spring Cleaning: Decluttering Home and Heart
The spiritual practice of spring cleaning reveals the powerful connection between our physical spaces and our inner lives. As James and Shanda explore in this enlightening conversation, decluttering isn't just about managing possessions—it's about creating space for what truly matters.
Drawing from biblical foundations, they examine how ancient wisdom about cleanliness in Levitical law reflects God's care for both our physical and spiritual wellbeing. From the purification rituals after childbirth to the annual Passover cleansing, these practices weren't arbitrary rules but reflected a deeper understanding of how our external environments impact our internal lives.
Between stories of archery tournaments and family cleaning days, a beautiful truth emerges: maintaining order in our homes can be an act of worship and stewardship. The relief that comes from tackling neglected spaces mirrors the spiritual refreshment of addressing the clutter in our souls—whether that's lingering bitterness, unhealthy control issues, or other spiritual challenges we've allowed to accumulate.
The conversation turns practical as they share their personal decluttering rhythms (twice yearly for Shanda) and how identifying what matters most to your spouse can transform your cleaning efforts into meaningful acts of love. Their vulnerability shines through as they discuss their own spiritual decluttering journeys—James working through control issues and Shanda learning to trust God more fully.
Most powerfully, they remind us that just as darkness is the absence of light, our spiritual blind spots become visible when we draw near to God through consistent spiritual disciplines. Regular time in Scripture, prayer, and self-examination doesn't just maintain spiritual health—it creates capacity for greater joy, peace, and effectiveness in ministry to others.
Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by physical disorder or spiritual heaviness, this episode offers both biblical wisdom and practical encouragement for creating space—in your home and your heart—for renewal. Join James and Shanda as they explore how cleaning house, both literally and figuratively, can become a profound spiritual practice.
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What started as a Saturday morning coffee date turned into a podcast where we chat about things like faith, family finances and so much more.
Speaker 2:In a world that is encouraging you to live your truth and to follow your heart. We want to encourage you to live devoted to the truth.
Speaker 1:The Bible has a lot to say about how to live a victorious Christian life, and we want to share practical insight in how to apply those truths to your life, as we endeavor to apply them to our own lives as well.
Speaker 2:If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and share these episodes with your friends so that you can help them live this devoted life too. Welcome to another episode of this Devoted Life Podcast. We are back in the studio with just the two of us after a fun little run with some really awesome podcast guests. So if you missed those episodes, we had Elizabeth Santelman with Sunshine in my Nest. We had Kindle Togetherness, which is Sarah Ruth Owens. We also had Whitney Newby from Brighter Day Press, and we also had SD Smith, the author of the Green Ember series on recently, which was a really fun one because he also let our son do an interview with him, which just he was through the moon.
Speaker 2:So if you missed those podcasts. I would suggest go back and listen to those, just because they are some really sweet, very God-centered, they love the Lord and they just bring their own passions to the podcast, which is what we love, because we want to have people on that share our faith but also challenge us in our living for the Lord and just making sure that we are serving the Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it was really fun to do that and you know we'll plan on continuing that. But it's also nice to kind of come back and just give you a little update on life and keep learning together and growing together as fellow believers and fellow parents and fellow spouses and all of the family stuff, so the devoted family life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we, for this episode today, we're actually going to be diving into spring cleaning. I have been. We finished up school just over a week ago and it's now like full on purge mode. I know like spring is kind of almost done because we're into June now, but this is like my spring now, so I am deep cleaning all of the things, and so this episode is going to be about not only just deep cleaning our home, but making sure that we're spiritually deep cleaning as well, and just what does that mean for our lives.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and I feel like over the past couple of years I've kind of re-brought this up from time to time, but you know, when January 1st comes, everyone's doing their New Year's resolutions, goals, things like that. Well, kind of I feel like springtime almost is a good time to check in and to also maybe create new goals and things like that. I think anytime is a good time, as long as you're ready to improve on something or change something. So, yeah, the springtime, especially up here in the north, when you have the long cold winters and then the sun's shining and you can go outside without a cold, you can open all the windows.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get some fresh air and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So we like to be outdoors throughout the entire year, but it's definitely more enjoyable when you don't have to bundle up. So it just kind of gets all those spring fever juices going.
Speaker 2:Speaking of being outside, we had a really fun weekend this weekend because our kids are now 12, 9, 7, and 4. And this past fall I asked our kids, like what do you think your thing is? Because I feel like they're starting to get to the age where maybe we should start narrowing some things down and not necessarily putting our effort into everything, but kind of just letting them really cultivate what matters to them. And our 9-year-old she was 8 at the time she told us that it was archery and I was kind of like archery, where did that come from?
Speaker 1:So we've been doing a homeschool archery class for years, but it just was more of a I think seven years now.
Speaker 2:right, yeah, we've been doing it since our nine-year-old was four and so it's been fun. But I never really thought that that was going to be something that she was passionate about. So when she mentioned it I was like, okay, well, we can maybe put a little more effort into this this year. So we signed her up for an extra archery league so that she was doing two. Um, the one, the homeschool one, tends to be more fun, like they're amazing about like helping the kids with their technique, but it does tend to be more of a time to get together with friends and just get reps in.
Speaker 2:So the other archery league was she started, um, like really fine, tuning her skills and it was fun Cause one night she came home and she was like I got my personal best. And I was like oh, really Like how, how many bullseyes did you shoot? And she was like I shot 38. And I was like 38 bullseyes.
Speaker 1:I was like, okay, it was true. Yeah, I mean, it's legit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so maybe this is her thing. You know, they bumped her up from, I mean, after those 38 bullseyes. They bumped her up to an advanced archery league because they were like she's doing really well and she needs to be challenged a bit more. So, getting back to the beginning of the story, um, this weekend was our first archery tournament, um, and it was fun because we're doing what's called the S3DA.
Speaker 2:It's the scholastic 3d archery. So it's um outside archery with like target animals and they're walking through the woods, and so it's a great time to be outside and just to let the kids do something that they enjoy while also having a little bit of competition. And so our son and our daughter, who's really into archery now did that, and our daughter, she's nine and she took first in her class, which was just like the pinnacle for her.
Speaker 1:And like by a lot, like it wasn't even close. So again, we're not saying she's like the next Miss Robin Hood or whatever, but it's been really fun for her and something that really kind of just energizes her, motivates her and, yeah, she's been there a good time it's fun when you see your children start to find their thing that they're passionate about, and that's something that they are good at.
Speaker 2:but she's not good at it because it was something that came natural. It's something that she has put a ton of effort into, so it's really cool as parents to see when your children now are seeing the fruits of their labors. It wasn't just something that she just willy nilly, was like I'm going to take up archery and I just happen to be really good at it.
Speaker 1:It was no, I'm choosing to do archery and I'm going to get good at it, and she's so. Our son, he also did great and he actually has a lot more like stiffer competition in his division, so he still shot great. He didn't necessarily place all that well, you know respectively, but what's kind of interesting is a lot of times kids, especially in that age.
Speaker 1:The reason why they're good or not as good is based on how well they listen to the instruction and so it's just kind of funny because she is very good at listening and then implementing what she learns and what is told when our son he's not like. It's not that he doesn't listen, but it's like kind of a little bit of the yeah yeah, yeah, you know. And then let me go do my thing. So just, I thought I'd mentioned I mean, I feel like there's some like life lessons in there.
Speaker 1:You know, it's like all right, get good instruction, listen to the instruction and then go out and do it and, um, actually have that application. Um, but not to get totally unraveled here, but so you said that, uh, when we, when she started the homeschool, it was when she was four and she's five or she's nine.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, I said we've been doing it since we were four, so our son was four when we started.
Speaker 1:Yes, so she's been doing it since she was four as well, so she's been doing it for five years, well, four minus COVID. Yeah, and then all right Sounds good, because yesterday when we were talking to Mr Marty he said we've been doing it for seven years and I'm like wait a second nine minus four.
Speaker 2:You're like this is not that. Then, Okay, nine minus four. You're like this is not that thin, Carry the 12 times three.
Speaker 1:All right, yeah, sounds good.
Speaker 2:You really did derail that one, but that's okay. All right back to topic. We want to make sure that we are. You know, as our homes gather dust and clutter, our hearts and our souls can as well. So this episode is just about decluttering. So we want to give just some very practical insight into what that looks like. This is not going to be like a how-to, but just more of maybe an encouragement to make sure that we are keeping a short account both, you know, just physically, and also spiritually.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and it's definitely. I mean, if you walked through our house at the moment, you would definitely know that this is not a how-to, it's more of a hey. This is important in our lives right now, so we think it's probably, you know, applicable to your lives as well.
Speaker 2:Well, we've been through like a really busy season. You know we mentioned archery and baseball season and before that was upward basketball. So we've been in kind of a busy season the past several months. And the other day we had a Saturday at home and I was like can we please just like clean? And so the whole family pitched in and we just like kind of deep cleaned the whole main level of our house. And you looked at me and you went. I did not realize how much of a burden you were carrying.
Speaker 1:He said you know that you didn't actually do, but it was like, oh my goodness, a weight was lifted off of you and you could breathe easier. It was like everywhere.
Speaker 2:I looked was a to-do list. So, once the to-do list was crossed off, it just was, yeah, a big breath of fresh air.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But you know, like diving into this podcast, the one thing that we want to always do when we talk is bring it back to the Bible and if you look at biblical principles when it comes to, you know, decluttering and keeping a short account and just making sure that you know we keep tidy homes and whatnot, leviticus is just filled with these types of you know they're Old Testament laws, but God had them there for a reason.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not really fun to read through during the read through the Bible in the year, but it is yeah, it's filled with these laws, Exactly.
Speaker 2:Well, he had them there for a reason and it was for the Jewish people, but it was there for their good. And so, like I'm just going to mention some of the ones that he had, you know, in Le, and so I'm just going to mention some of the ones that he had. In Leviticus 11, it talks about clean and unclean animals, and that was there for their health. Purity after childbirth was in Leviticus 12, and it was talking about how a woman needed to have a time of purification and then going to the temple and being declared clean after her childbirth. And so I mean now we know medically there is a time after childbirth where a woman is going through just the healing process after, and God literally wrote that into the Levitical law knowing that it was for her good and a time of purification.
Speaker 2:You know there was laws about mildew and contaminated objects in Leviticus 14. So literally that was like if there is mildew or mold on something, there was a whole process that the Jews had to go through to purify the objects. It was specifically like clothing and whatnot.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, it's kind of you mentioned that and I'm like every once in a while we'll open up the refrigerator and it looks like there's a science experiment kind of back there in the corner. It's not my kombucha, there is literal mold growing in our fridge, and they didn't even have refrigerators back then. So, yeah, I can see why God put that in there.
Speaker 2:So I mean there are like biblical laws that take into account cleanliness from a physical perspective. So, it wasn't just about spiritual cleanliness, it was also an external cleanliness as well. Now, does the external cleanliness make you more spiritual? No, but having an outward appearance of cleanliness, taking care of the temple that we are now the physical temple of the Lord spiritually and just our bodies. We can take care of those things, take care of what God has given us with our homes.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, Orderliness and godliness do. They do parallel each other quite often. And again, you know this is the Levitical laws. That's hard to say, but yeah so, and it's the Old Testament, it's the age of law, it's the dispensation of the law, but we can still learn from them and, like I said, it's just good kind of practical living at times I love reading through the Old and New Testament together, so a lot of people will like cherry pick verses.
Speaker 2:But really, when you read the Old Testament, even though those Old Testament laws are not necessarily applicable today, there was still a reason and a heart behind why they were created, and so we can apply those to the New Testament grace that we've been given and use those to continue and further our faith Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a hundred percent.
Speaker 2:And like even going back to some of the Old Testament stuff, god literally designed feasts for the Jews that were part of like a renewal, and one specifically that I can think of is the Jewish Passover. So we have a friend actually it's Sarah Ruth, with Kindle Togetherness who is a Messianic Jew, and so she still holds to some of the Jewish feasts, and one of the things with the Passover is you are supposed to purge all of the yeast from your home and you're supposed to go through and just completely clean everything from top to bottom, like they'll even sweep out, like the corners of their home to make sure that there's no leaven in the home. And so she does a lot with sourdough and she will actually get rid of her sourdough starter every single Passover as part of just that renewal.
Speaker 2:She'll get a new and she'll start up a whole new sourdough starter and so it just kind of shows that even God baked in these Jewish feasts for a time of renewal and a time to purge and to cleanse and just to start fresh and new. And I was kind of laughing when I was thinking about this podcast because I had told you I was like I feel like there are two times a year where I am purging and it's like just before Christmas, because I know like we're usually on Christmas break, I've got time to do it, I know that the kids are going to get some presents and it's just a really good time to deep clean during that time. So I usually do it then and then now here I am in June doing the same thing, and so there's like two very distinct times of year where I personally am taking time to. I mean, we keep a tidy home but there's a time to really deep clean.
Speaker 2:And I feel like that twice a year for us is kind of our sweet spot with deep cleaning, and I mean looking at God's laws, like even he has like one time a year for the Passover where you just like wipe everything completely clean?
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally. And I know you know really not to get too far into the weeds on this, but like tidiness and clean like a cleanliness are two different things. So I like things you know tidy and in order and I like to clean as well. You know tidy and in order and I like to complain as well. But sometimes, you know, especially those couple of times a year, you like I'll feel like the house is kind of in pretty decent shape and you're like no, like we need to actually clean this.
Speaker 1:And that's something that's important to you. And so I think, kind of knowing what, what buttons you know need to be pressed or get pressed by the way that a family just kind of coexists together, it's always good to know, especially for spouses to know, like what's important to you or not, Cause and I know we've talked about this in the past, but sometimes you know, let's just say a wife will do something that she thinks that is important to the husband and she'll really exert all this effort and energy into it, and it's not that he doesn't appreciate it, but it might not be important to him.
Speaker 1:And then you know he'll say something and you know, finally the wife will snap and be like you know, I do this, this, this and that, and it's like well, maybe you know there's something else that is actually less work, that's important to him, that you can kind of put your energy into, and or vice versa. Obviously, I was just kind of picked, uh, you know the, the, each spouse, but yeah, so those are things to just as you're doing that, um, you know, practical, cleaning you know just kind of know what's important to your family and your spouse.
Speaker 2:I know when we um were first married, our pastor down in Tennessee actually mentioned what exactly what you said like literally ask your spouse what is important to them because to him he was. He said that, um, I think it was dusting, like he hated dusty surfaces, okay. Um. So I asked you. I said okay. I said what is your thing? And you told me floors.
Speaker 1:You were like I cannot stand when there is stuff on the floor, whether it's crumbs or if there's like toys scattered everywhere so like floors to you was like your thing yeah, like you walk through barefooted and you like have to like kind of like scrape your foot off you know stuff that you know, like the kids track in sand or whatever you know, yeah, yeah, that's kind of the my house is not that messy but there does we have a boot scrubber?
Speaker 2:yes, there are times where the kids have been snacking on something and it's on the floor and you walk through and it's like, alright, we need to grab the vacuum and just to be clear that's not something that you have to do.
Speaker 1:It's just more like hey, as you're cleaning, or whatever it's like if you want to or have the time to put more effort or thought into something it's like why not pick something that's important to your spouse?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Like I told you dishes, like you will stop and do the dishes for me. Like load the dishwasher at night and get it running and I'm like, oh okay, I didn't have to do that.
Speaker 1:You know, once again. That's I have like relief for you Like, you can like, it's palpable, you can feel it, yeah, so definitely.
Speaker 2:I mean, we talk about this all the time. It's just communicate with your spouse and I mean, even as we're coming into this, like decluttering, that we're talking about, um, that is something, that is a conversation that you can have. Um, I always see those memes where it's like hey, you know, we're having guests over and the woman's like running around trying to clean the house and the husband is out edging the driveway.
Speaker 1:And she's like what is he doing? Like that does not matter, but it mattered to you. Yeah, exactly, I want everyone to be impressed by the nice, clean edges on the driveway and I'm thinking, man, I'd rather have a clean house.
Speaker 2:No one's going to notice the edges on the driveway, yeah.
Speaker 1:Or what's even worse is like you're out back, like cutting down a tree or something. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:This is just like the real and the gritty, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:So let's actually go into some practical ways that you can declutter your home and we'll also get into practical ways to spiritually declutter after this. But one of the things is declutter with a purpose. So Hebrews 12, 1 says lay aside every weight. So as I'm working from room to room, I am trying to declutter with a purpose. Like I hate the. Does this spark joy? You know what is that? Marie, I can't remember what her I don't remember. Like I hate the. Does this spark joy? You know what is that?
Speaker 1:Marie I can't remember what her?
Speaker 2:I don't remember Like years ago there was this does this spark joy? And then no, it doesn't. So you get rid of it. That's not what I'm talking about, but I do want to make sure that I am decluttering with purpose, so, like going through the kids rooms, like we are, I just finished doing the girls room and I went through every drawer, every whatever, and kept only the things that were needed, you know, and we got rid of the things that were literally creating a physical weight that was unnecessary.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely yeah, and it's not that we're minimalists or things like that, and not that we shouldn't be you know it's just we, we aren't, and um. But at the same time it's like why keep the clutter? Why keep the things that, when they a lot of times can be a joy to others?
Speaker 1:So, we'll donate whatever and give it away and maybe sell a few things if it has some value, and we don't know anyone that necessarily would want it. So those are things that it can actually benefit others and it's also benefiting us, yeah.
Speaker 2:I was thinking of Proverbs 31. That's been known as, like the, the Proverbs 31 woman, um, and I recently learned that the Proverbs 31 woman, um, she's actually referred to as a woman of valor in the original Hebrew, which I thought was really kind of neat, because that gives me this picture of just like this woman who is, like you know, valiantly working towards a goal Right and um, you know. So she look at well, to the way of her household. The way that I keep my home is actually an act of worship and it's the way that I am caring for the things that God has entrusted to me. And so the way that now I am going through and decluttering our house and just taking care of the physical aspects is also a way that I can spiritually honor the Lord, because I'm I'm taking care of the things that he's entrusted to me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yeah, and it's not that we have to like over-spiritualize things or whatever, but it is true. It's all connected and, um, you know, our spiritual being and our souls with our physical being.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean a way that we can spiritually you know, deep clean is just to keep a short account of our sins. First, john 1.9 says if we confess our sins he's faithful, and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And so, just keeping that short account and like really taking time to sit and be like all right, is there anything that has that I have allowed to seep in in the past few months? And you know I struggle with wintertime because it's dark, it's just honestly depressing here in Michigan outside, and so there might be like a little bit of like a spiritual warfare going on for me that I need to make sure that I'm, you know, coming into the springtime just really taking account of. Okay, what have I allowed to seep in in the past several months that maybe I need to, you know, keep account of yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in our notes here, you know, as part of this it's the spiritual rhythms in life and so, kind of in an attempt to confess and keep a short account with God and to remove the soul clutter that's in your life and in your, yeah, just like a part of who you are, you can identify those things. I mean sometimes kids we kind of laugh because, like kids will tell you the truth, like whether you want to hear it or not, whether you want to hear it or not, but sometimes you know adults other adults might not, you know, unless you're really close with someone they might not share something that you know is evident in your life. So, like, how do you recognize those things that you should declutter out of your life? And it's through those spiritual rhythms, with prayer and Bible reading, and you know Bible study and just really you know seeking out godly things. And then usually God will show you like, hey, you need to get rid of this bitterness in your life.
Speaker 1:You need to get rid of this envy and this lust and all these different things that left, you know, harbored in your life, can really lead to some bad things and some damaging things, and so you know, kind of really having that spiritual rhythm of doing, you know, keeping a short account with God, talking to him, learning from his word, it helps you stay decluttered or take care of those things and declutter the things that really need to be rooted out of your life.
Speaker 2:You're much better at Bible references than I am, so maybe you'll have the reference for me, but I was thinking of you know, the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Speaker 1:So if you need, to Is that Ephesians 6? Maybe, I don't know, we'll have to look that up. We'll put that in the show notes.
Speaker 2:But anyways, I got to thinking you know what you need to declutter, and it's like spending time in God's word will literally show you.
Speaker 2:It divides us under the soul and the spirit, you know, and it's just like, okay, let's take time to be in God's word, and that will, in turn, show you what you need to do.
Speaker 2:And you know, just from a personal perspective, one thing that I really struggle with and that I've been working on for the past month, that just kind of I don't know why it all of a sudden hit me, cause you know, there's Proverbs three where it's like trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lead not to thine own understanding, and I went whew. A lot of what I struggle with is a lack of trust in the Lord, because I try to control this, and it's a verse that I've known since I was like three or four years old, but to me, all of a sudden, it's been brand new. I was reading it in one of my Bible studies and it really it. It pierced a part of me where I was like I need to give up some control, because I'm trying to like, whether it's in relationships or just, you know, struggling with the kids or whatever it. To me it was a I need to trust the Lord more, and it's, it's a verse that I've, I mean, probably heard a million times over the past.
Speaker 2:You know 38 years of my life, but all of a sudden it was striking me as something new, because the word of the Lord is like new every morning. I mean, his mercies are new every morning and it's just, it's living and active, and it struck me in a different way and so I knew that that was the Lord giving it to me, going oh, this is something that we need to work on right now.
Speaker 2:So, honestly, like if I'm just being totally transparent, that's the where I am spiritually decluttering, right now is like trying to give up some control and not letting things make me so frustrated and angry when it's not going how I had it planned.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, like you said, control is definitely something that both of us gravitate towards. And I've got to say you look great for 38.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1:And maybe I was thinking of the sword of the spirit with Ephesians 6 or something I don't remember. So don't hold me to my put on the spot. I'm sorry, I did really put you on the spot with that one. You're really good with references and I am not great with references.
Speaker 2:But one verse that I do want to wrap up that little section of, just like spiritually sprinkling in our souls is.
Speaker 2:you know we talked about being in God's word. James 4, 8 says draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you, and so the more we draw closer to the Lord, the more he is going to be able to reflect and to shine light. Light is another thing that's been coming up in a lot of Bible study like topics for me lately. Just darkness does not love light. So the more we are drawing closer to the Lord, the more he's going to be able to illuminate those dark spots in our life that we need to purge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, actually darkness is the absence of light. So, it is true that once we're devoid of Christ his, you know, just working in our lives, and we kind of hide these dark corners of our souls and our spirit and who we are, our beings, it can get pretty bad right, because we don't have the light shining and exposing those issues.
Speaker 2:And so often there are times in our life where it's like, well, I don't want to read the Bible, and usually that's like those are the times that we need to, and that's where I think those spiritual disciplines come in, because if you have habits set up to where, like you do it every morning you're not going to I mean, you don't want to do it just because I have to do it. But that's not a bad thing, though, either, to have these rhythms and disciplines set up to where, well, I spend time on God's word at this time, and even though I don't really feel like it today, I spend time in God's word at this time, and even though I don't really feel like it today, I'm going to. You might still get something from the Lord during that time, because you were still faithful when you didn't feel like being faithful.
Speaker 1:Right, yes, yeah, no, I totally agree. And yeah, so it's. These are all great reminders and there again, it is the physical and spiritual application of this. And you know one thing too, with you know, taking the time to declutter and to have the spring cleaning, sometimes, you know, I guess you know this isn't something that really speaks out to me, but I think you know some people could say like, well, you know, it kind of it distracts me from other ministries that I could be doing for others or whatever. But it's almost like the oxygen mask where you know you put your own mask on first and if you take the time to make sure your home and your life is in order, it actually makes you more capable of helping and serving others.
Speaker 2:Right. Well, doesn't it require of a pastor to have his home in order? In order to minister, I mean that's. I mean it's kind of biblical. I mean we're not pastors, I mean especially not me. But you know that is a requirement for a pastor is that he leads his wife and his children well in order to be able to shepherd his flock well.
Speaker 1:Right and so I mean, I feel like that's kind of the same thing here is kind of a well-ordered life actually enhances your ability to minister, to other people yeah, it eliminates a lot of the distractions and it just really helps you, you know, be more effective in other areas of your life rather than being bogged down and overwhelmed by your own home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so this is not to say that you should like never have any clutter, you know, because, like I mean it just it automatically accumulates. This is just like a time to just remind us, and maybe you, that there there is a season of renewal right now, with spring, everything's coming alive and it's fresh, like I can look out our windows right now and just see the sun shining and everything's turning green, and it just for me, it's like when I feel like I come back alive and it's just a time to to clean house and to open the doors and to let the sunshine in and just um, you know, not only clean the house physically, but just making sure that, spiritually, we are, you know, keeping a short account as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, yeah, no, it's good. Like I said, it's practical, um, you know it's something that is important for all of us, um, but it's kind of uh, been especially on our minds in the last few weeks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right. Well, I guess that'll be a wrap. So until next time, continue to seek God, love your spouse, hug your kids and stay devoted. Thank you for tuning in to this Devoted Life podcast with James and Shanda. We appreciate your support in sharing biblical uplifting truths with the world. If you found value in this episode, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us to improve the show and we'd love to hear from you. Be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. To learn more about how to live a life devoted to God and family, head over to thisdevotedlifecom. You can also follow me, shanda, on Instagram at devoted underscore motherhood. Thank you again for listening and we look forward to seeing you next time on this Devoted Life podcast.