It is Time to Clean House (Physically & Spiritually)

What if the clutter in your home is telling a deeper story?

In this episode, join the host, Avionna Elizabeth, as she explores the connection between physical clutter, mental overload, and spiritual well-being through a biblical lens. 
Together, we'll uncover how our homes can sometimes reflect the burdens we carry, the fears we hold onto, and the places where God is inviting us to find freedom.

This conversation isn't about having a picture-perfect home. It's about creating space for peace, healing, and God's presence. A lot of the time, the first step to clearing your home is allowing God to clear your heart.


Questions to reflect on:

- If your home is a reflection of this season of your life, not as judgement but as a story, what story is it telling?
- How do you think God wants your home to serve you and others?
- What would faithful stewardship look like in this season of your life?
- Does your home currently support rest, worship, hospitality, and relationships?
- What are you holding onto physically that may reflect something you’re holding onto emotionally?

#virtuouswoman #christianpodcast #biblicalwomanhood #biblicalmotherhood #OneofVirtuePodcast #sahm #sahw 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, hello, everybody. We are back with yet another episode of Wonder Virtue Podcast. How are y'all doing today? I pray that everybody is doing amazing. I'm feeling pretty good. I got a good night's rest last night. I'm feeling like the Lord is really finna do some pruning in us today, and I'm just I'm just feeling good. So I pray that you guys are doing good. I pray that y'all had an amazing week, and I pray that the week to come is an amazing week as well. Listen, I know you read the title and I know you see what it says. So if you're here listening to this episode, that means that something about that title resonated with you, and you feel like it is time to clean house, both physically and spiritually. So we're gonna go ahead and dive in. But before we do, I'm gonna open us up in a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord God, Lord, I thank you for waking me up this morning. I thank you for waking a listener up this morning, Lord God. I thank you for another day of your grace and of your mercy and of your love, Lord God. Lord, for choosing us, for wanting to commune with us, for just loving us the way that you do. I thank you for being our provider and our protector. Lord, I thank you for your Holy Spirit, Lord God. Lord, I pray right now that on today's episode that your Holy Spirit lead and guide me. Let not one word that does not come from your Holy Spirit come out of my mouth, Lord God. Lord, I submit this podcast to you, Lord God. I pray that our hearts are penetrable today, Lord God. I pray that our ears are open, that our eyes are open to see, Lord God, what it is that you are trying to show us, Lord God. But I thank you again for your Holy Spirit for conviction and just for the ability to be able to come out of these things that the enemy had planned for us, Lord God. Lord, and I just thank you for us being able to rest and abide in you. It is in your mighty and matched name that I pray. Amen. Okay, so have y'all ever heard anybody say that cleanliness is next to godliness? So for a long time, like a long part of my life, I thought that that was somewhere in scripture, right? That phrase itself is not in scripture, but I do feel like it does hold some truth. Or have y'all heard that our rooms are our homes of like a physical manifestation or physical representation of what is going on in our mental space or our spiritual space? That is a thousand percent true, and I'm not gonna say in every single case, but I will say majority of us, yes, our homes, our rooms are a physical manifestation of what's going on in our mental space, in our spiritual space, and I can attest to this. This is this is fact, okay? This is fact, and today we're gonna unpack that, y'all. We're gonna unpack the parallels between what we see in our homes in the physical and what is going on in our mental and our spiritual space. Now, growing up, my room was always a complete and total mess. Well, that's one of the main things that I was getting in trouble for. Like, it was ridiculous. Like, and I don't mean like, oh, it's just like cute, messy. Like, no, my room used to be a hot mess. Like, but I was always being told, like, Avi, clean your room, clean your room, your room needs to be clean. Why does your room look like that? Get rid of some stuff. Like, literally, up until the point that I moved out, I'm not even, I'm not even joking, y'all. Y'all know I'm full transparency with a lot of things in my life, and that's just one of them. And if I'm being completely honest, again, being fully transparent, this is something that carried through my adult life as well, and it wasn't until the Lord started showing me why that was, and that's what I'm here to share with you guys because it is something that the Lord has stripped from me, that He has pruned out of me, and I'm just grateful and I have to I have to share the wealth, the wealth that comes from Jesus Christ Himself, my mental space and my physical space cluttered, cluttered, chaos, foolishness, ridiculousness, too much going on, clutter. Okay, today we're gonna unpack the parallels between the physical clutter and the spiritual slash mental clutter. We're gonna begin a clean house because listen, y'all, we cannot just be we can't just be out here like this. Like, this is not how God intended for our life to be. So, yeah, we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna clean house today and we're gonna work at this thing, we're gonna continue to strive to be one of virtue, y'all. We have to continue to step in our identity in Christ Jesus. So, the first thing I want to say before we get started, when I refer to a house or a home, I want y'all to think about yes, your physical home. I want you to think of your body as a home as well, as a temple as well. So, whenever you hear me say house or home, yes, I'm talking about your physical, the physical location, but let's also think about our bodies, our mental space. Now I'm gonna ask a series of questions, and I want y'all to sit with these questions throughout this episode, and then we're gonna revisit the questions at the end again, okay? So here are the questions. If your home is a reflection of this season of your life, not as judgment, but as a story, what story is it telling? How do you think God wants your home to serve you and others? What would faithful stewardship look like in this season of your life? Does your home currently support rest, worship, hospitality, and relationships? What are you holding on to physically that may reflect something you're holding on to emotionally? I bet you it's that thing that God has been asking you and pleading with you for you to release to him and fully let go and give it to him and lay it at his feet. I bet you it's that thing. There are very, very, very clear parallels between mental slash spiritual clutter and physical clutter. Here are those parallels. Overflowing closets equals overflowing thoughts. Unfinished projects equals unresolved decisions. Things with no place equals thoughts with no direction. Difficulty letting go of possessions equals difficulty letting go of past hurts, worries, and or traumas. Feeling overwhelmed by the home equals feeling overwhelmed by life. Listen, how many of those things was it? One, two, three, four, five, six. All six of those things I can attest to. I'm telling you right now, I'm speaking from experience, y'all. Spot on. Spot on. And I'm sorry, if you don't agree, then you know that's fine. But I'm I'm speaking from my personal life experiences. Every last one of them I can check the box and agree with. Every worry, every fear, every obligation, every trauma, every unresolved emotion, it's like another item placed into a room. Eventually there will be little to no space to move around freely. Just like in our home when it's filled with unnecessary possessions, when we just have an overabundance of things. It requires more attention. There are more things to clean and put away. Now we gotta pause. When I tell y'all, when I tell y'all God knew what he was doing, God knew what he was doing when he showed me how many kids we were gonna have. And just even even the thought of when when I knew when I found out I was pregnant, I knew something had to change. I knew something had to change because I'm like, there is no way on God's green earth am I going to be able to function as a wife and as a mother of three, and I'm a stay-at-home mom. There is no way I'm going to be able to live life like this. So please believe God has a plan for you, and He knows exactly what each and every one of His children needs. And the fact that even just me knowing that I was gonna be having three kids soon, it shifted something in me, like mentally, like God really, God really did a work in me. Like when I tell you I was getting rid of things left and right, like the amount of things we got rid of, it's insane. Like my house, and I don't I don't live in a small house. I don't live in a small, I don't live in a small home. And when I tell y'all, it is so much easier to keep up with the cleaning of this home. It has changed everything. Like my mental space is so much better now that I have decluttered my home. And like I said, there is a there is a correlation between my body and my home. And I'm not saying I'm not saying that my house is perfect every single day because it is not, but the fact that I decluttered and got rid of things and got rid of that weight and got rid of that just that above that overabundance of things, which we're gonna talk about why that is anyway. But y'all, when I tell you like that, the one about the cleaning and the not having to worry about is much too clean, y'all. I'm telling you, the less stuff you have, the less there is to clean facts, okay? It it has changed my life. You know, the more things you have, it's more that you have to remember. More that you have to remember, it's more that you have to manage. So, as a stay-at-home wife and mother of three, it has changed my life to declutter. So, just throwing that out there. Let's keep going. More clutter equals more energy required, more energy required equals greater fatigue, which, like I say, y'all, can't live like that. As a mother, as a wife and as a mother, as anybody, honestly, we can't live like that. Greater fatigue equals less capacity for peace and clarity. So we have more clutter equals more energy required, more energy required equals greater fatigue. Greater fatigue equals less capacity for peace and clarity. God wants us to live in peace and in clarity, not in chaos and foolishness, and like our minds are just all over. How are we gonna focus on him? And we got all types of mental things going on, and like I said, a physical manifestation of those mental things going on. We cannot focus on him, we can't focus on our relationship with him, we can't grow in him successfully that way. We're too distracted, we're too bogged down. Clutter literally competes for your attention. Physically, every object in your home asked something of you. Clean me, wash me, repair me, organize me, feel guilty about me, store me, keep up with me, remember why you bought me. Just like mentally and spiritually, every thought asks something of you. Think about me, remember me, worry about me, stress about me, fear me, replay me in your mind over and over and over again. Don't let me go, don't release me. Both of these forms of clutter truly bog us down, keep us distracted. The Bible often teaches about getting rid of those things that weigh us down. Hebrews 12, 1 through 3 says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. So, y'all, how can we truly run this race? How can we truly fight this battle? How can we truly navigate through life if we got all this extra baggage? We have all this extra weight. That's why he gave us this instruction to let go of those things that are weighing us down. And yes, y'all, the clutter in our homes, again, it is a physical manifestation of what is going on spiritually. So, what are you holding on to? And why are you holding on to it? Because God said to let those things go, God said to put those things down. Matter of fact, He said, throw off everything that hinders, throw it off, like literally discard of it, have no regard for it, like let it go. Let it go. Let it go. It is impossible to successfully run this race to navigate through this life in a constant state of overwhelm. And if it was possible, God would have never instructed us to put those things down and to throw them off and to rid ourselves of those things that are weighing us down. So, y'all, again, we don't know more than God. There's a reason why He said to throw those things away. Just think about if you're trying to run a race and you're holding on to absolutely nothing, you're able to run freely. And then also envision yourself holding on to a 30-pound dumbbell trying to run. Which one is easier? Which one is easier? I'll let you answer that one. So the next verse that I'm gonna read to y'all is Matthew 6, 19 through 21. It says, Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So basically, what that verse is talking about is you know, we spend so much time storing up treasures here on earth, right? But all of this stuff is gonna wither away. It's not for eternity, okay? What we should be focused on is our treasures in heaven, because those are our treasures that we will have for eternity. It says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. After listening to me read that verse, ask yourself, where is my treasure and what does my home reveal about what I value? I'll let you sit with that one. I had to sit with that one, so I'll let you sit with that one. We rarely begin collecting clutter because we just want a cluttered or a messy home. Like that is not the goal. I would say I don't know anybody in there, I would I don't know anybody in a correct state of mind that would just say, hey, I'm gonna buy up all this stuff because I just love living in a messy home. I just love living in a cluttered home. I just love not being able to step over. Uh I look, I just love not being able to walk around freely in my home. I just love being constricted, I just love being overwhelmed by the amount of items that I have in my home. That is not where that stems from at all. Okay, it is never the goal, it is never the point. Like I said, I'm not speaking for everybody, but I will try to at least speak for 99% of people, okay? At least for me. That was not the goal. That was not the goal at all. Never, never. More often than not, clutter develops over time, and it is a response to emotional needs, life experiences, or ways of thinking. The possessions themselves is usually not the root issue, they are a symptom of something that is going on deeper. So, y'all know, y'all know I like to do research, even though these are things that I have personally gone through. I just like to see what the facts are. I looked into some common reasons on why people end up with a whole bunch of clutter in their homes, and you know, like I said, just us knowing that parallel. I wanted to see what the parallel was between someone's mental space and what their home represents. So here's what I found. I was talking to my husband this morning, and I was like, doing these Bible studies and just doing some research and stuff, it really a lot of the time makes me sad because it just really highlights to me how much the enemy really has impacted our lives so heavily, y'all. Like it really, it truly breaks my heart. It really does. I'm not gonna okay, I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry, but it it it really it truly breaks my heart. Like, and it's just it's just a constant battle, y'all. That's why we have to that's like last week's episode. That's why we have to renew our mind, that's why we have to be transformed because the enemy got us in so early, and through life experiences, these things, y'all, they bog us down, and this is not the way that God wanted us to be living. So I'm rambling, but I just had to share my heart with y'all real quick because it really be breaking my heart. So we're gonna it's it's 10 things, it's a list of 10 things. Let's go ahead and dive in, y'all. So the first thing being a fear of scarcity. This is one of the strongest reasons people think things like, What if I need this later? What if I can't afford another one? What if this becomes valuable one day? I don't want to waste it. This mindset may stem from growing up with financial hardship, experiencing unemployment, or living through times when resources were limited. Number two, emotional attachment. Objects become connected to memories, relationships, or identity. Someone may think, this reminds me of my grandmother. This was from when my children were little. Getting rid of this feels like losing part of my life. The item becomes a symbol rather than just an object. Number three, unresolved grief. After a death, divorce, or other major loss, people may avoid sorting through belongings because it feels emotionally painful. Keeping the items can feel like preserving a connection to what was lost. Number four, anxiety about the future. People who experience chronic anxiety often prepare for every possible situation or scenario. They may save things like extra containers, clothing, tools, boxes, and household items. The possessions can create a sense of security, even if they're rarely used. Sometimes clutter begins because making decisions is emotionally draining. Instead of deciding keep it, donate it, or throw it away, people simply postpone the decision. Over time, postpone decisions become piles. Number six, identity and self-worth. Some people attach possessions to their identity. And y'all, this was a big one for me. This one was a huge one for me. Y'all, the way that I cleaned out my closet before having my baby, like, oh my gosh, I got rid of so much stuff. Anyway, anyway. Examples include this proves I'm successful. I'm a collector. This represents who I used to be. Y'all, that's a huge one. That's a huge one. I might become this person again. Huge one. Huge one. Y'all, this was a huge one. At least for me. At least for me, this was a huge one. Letting go of the object can feel like letting go of a part of themselves. And you know what, y'all? Sometimes, a lot of times, and in my case, letting go of that old version of you, it was needed. It was needed because we're we're a new creation in Christ anyway. So why are we holding on to things that came from a time where we were not, you know? And it's so faring too. It's so freeing, it's so freeing. Even if it doesn't feel like in the moment, I'm telling you, the weight, the weight that is just lifted off of you after you do something like that is incredible, it's amazing. So, okay, number seven, perfectionism. People may keep supplies because they hope to complete projects someday. This is a big one for me, too. Examples include craft materials, books they'll eventually read, exercise equipment, or home improvement supplies. The clutter represents aspirations that haven't yet become reality. So basically, you're just holding on to all of these things because of what may happen one day or what you aspire one day. But honestly, when I was doing when I was doing my decluttering, I was literally like, look, if I haven't done it at this point, I'm getting rid of it. And if I do decide to do it at some point, I'll just get it again. It's it's it's just taking up space, you know. It's just another weight holding me down, okay. Alright, so now number eight, dopamine and shopping. It's another big one. Y'all, these I'm telling you, I'm telling you. It says acquiring new things can provide a temporary sense of excitement or reward. For some people, shopping or collecting becomes a way to cope with stress, loneliness, or sadness. Once the initial excitement fades, the item remains and the cycle can repeat. It's not a can repeat, it does repeat. And then you just one day you look up and clutter. And again, it's just a physical representation of what's going on already in here, in your mind, in your mental space, in your spiritual space. Number nine, difficulty with executive functioning. So basically, it's harder for you to organize, prioritize, and complete the cluttering task. Items accumulate because managing them requires sustained planning and decision making. Number 10. Lack of emotional processing. Huge one. Huge one. Sometimes people don't realize that they're using possessions to cope. Instead of processing loneliness, fear, stress, anxiety, or trauma or disappointment, they unconsciously fill empty spaces with things. If that is how you continue to cope, no amount of anything that you buy is ever going to be enough. It's never going to be enough because what you're really seeking for, what you're really looking for, what we, because you're not in this alone. I'm telling you, this is this is a me thing too. Y'all know how I am. Y'all, at this point, we're on episode 13, so y'all know how I am. I'm not just this is not a condemning message. This is a convicting message for myself and for you. I it's always gonna be something that I am, it's always gonna be something that I was either delivered from or God is delivering me from. So know that you are not alone in this. We are in this together, we are becoming one in virtue together, okay? My sister in Christ, or my brother in Christ. If you're listening, listen, we're in this together, okay? So it's never gonna be enough. What we're really searching for, what we really need is Jesus. That is it, that is all. He is it, he is all okay. So So, from a biblical perspective, from scripture, we can see that external accumulation can sometimes reflect internal concerns. Jesus warned about placing our security in possessions. In Luke 12, 15, it says, Take care and be on guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. He also encouraged us to trust instead of fear. In Matthew 6, 31 through 34, he says, Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. So we we do not need to be anxious about anything, we don't need to be holding on to these things. God says to trust Him, we must trust Him. So what are we holding on again? Why are we holding on to these things? Why? These passages don't imply that every clutter at home is caused by greed or lack of faith. Rather, they invite believers to examine whether fear, anxiety, or attachment has begun to shape their relationship with possessions. So again, it's all about the heart. No problem. But if it is something that holds significant value of such like if it if you're holding on to it because of fear, because of stress, because of anxiety, that's where the issue is. When we begin to address the emotions behind the clutter with grace rather than shame, we often find that letting go of possessions becomes easier and easier and easier. And as somebody that has come out on the other side of this thing, yes, it does. When I tell y'all the way that I be in this house, and I'm like, look, I ain't touched this in how many months, out the door it goes, goodwill it goes. Or if a friend can use it, here you go. I don't need it, I don't want it, I don't need it. Here you go. Like that is literally my new thing, and I it is so freeing. And like, like this says, like, I'm telling y'all, it does become easier. I'm telling you, as as God continues to prune you, like, and then we're supposed to be cheerful givers anyway. So it's like, yeah, I know this this served a purpose in my life, and it really helped me in my life. So now I am excited to see somebody, and even if I don't see it, I know it's gonna make somebody else happy, it's gonna, it's gonna help somebody else. So here you go, you know, be a cheerful giver, be excited about giving because that's what God tells us to do, anyway. So the goal here is not simply to have a more clean home or a less cluttered home, a physical home, anyway, right? We want to address what is going on within us internally, and you know, it'll just once we address things where they really start to the root of things, that's when we'll start to see growth, that's when we'll start to see change. This process here is meant to help us cultivate a heart that is free to trust God, live with contentment, and use possessions as tools rather than things that we find our identity in or that we find comfort in or security in. Our true identity and our true security is in Christ and Christ alone. Now let's revisit those questions, and of course, I'm gonna let y'all reflect on y'all own. But I do want to I I do but I do want to revisit those questions again just so y'all can have them. Um, I will try I will put them in the caption of this video too, just in case if y'all want to actually write these questions down to copy and paste them into your notes, however you want to do it. But here are the questions again. If your home is a reflection of this season of your life, not as judgment, but as a story, what story is it telling? How do you think God wants your home to serve you and others? What would faithful stewardship look like in this season of your life? Does your home currently support rest, worship, hospitality, and relationships? In the last one, what are you holding on to physically that may reflect something you're holding on to emotionally? Truly seek the Lord, ask him to answer every one of those questions for you, and just ask him to lead you and guide you and what your next steps should be. This has been something that has been so freeing for me, and honestly, there's a few areas where I can see where I got a little more work to do, or he got a little bit more work to do in me, and that's fine because we're not perfect, we're not perfect, but what I can say is this is something that has truly, truly, truly been so game changing for me because the devil is an opportunist, and y'all, any chance he gets to bog us down, he's going to try. He's gonna try, and honestly, he's been trying the last couple of months with me real bad, and in some areas I gave in, I gave in, but we working on it. We working on it. God is working on me, he's helping me, and honestly, I have him, I have the lore on my side, so at the end of the day, the devil is the defeated foe, regardless. So it don't matter if a certain season he thinks he's winning, he's not. He hasn't won, he's not a winner, he's a literal, he is a literal loser, and that's just it. I want y'all to know that as you allow the Lord to begin this pruning process in you, just rest, trust him. Know that you have nothing to be fearful of, you have nothing to be anxious of, you can trust him, you can let go of that thing or things, items, possessions, you can let them go. You can begin to clean house, you can allow him to clean house internally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, all of the things, all of them, y'all. He's faithful to complete a good work. And listen, he his he wants, he is literally sitting on ready set. He wants his children free. So keep that in mind. He loves you, he loves me, he loves all of us, y'all. So continue to step into who God has called you to be. Continue to become one of virtue. If this is your first time listening, or if it's not, and you just truly are ready to give your life to Christ and you haven't yet, I'm gonna offer you a prayer of repentance and salvation. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna do some pauses in between, and you can repeat after me. Um, and then if you're watching this on YouTube, I'm gonna put the prayer on the screen. So I'm gonna go ahead and do that now. Dear Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in desperate need of a savior. I believe what your word says in John 3.16, and Lord, I thank you for loving me this much. I repent right now for my sins and for breaking your laws. I genuinely ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is your son who has died on the cross for my sins. I believe that he rose on the third day for my victory. I now declare and receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. May the blood of Jesus speak on my behalf from this day forward. Thank you for seeking after me and accepting me into your kingdom. Amen. Listen, it's time to clean house, it's time to declutter, get your home in order. This concludes episode 13 of Wonder Virtue Podcast. If there's anything in this episode that stood out to you, y'all leave it down in the comments. Let me know. Let me know how you guys are enjoying this podcast. If anything has been said throughout this podcast that has truly convicted you or has truly helped you in your walk with Christ, I would love to hear. Um, I have had some people reach out to say that they're listening, that they're learning a lot. Um, but I just I just want the Lord to have his way, I want the Holy Spirit to have his way, and I just truly want as many souls saved, and I just want us to all be walking in the bliss and in the grace and in the mercy that Christ has for us and not what the enemy has planned. And I just truly want freedom for his people for my brothers and sisters in Christ. So that is the goal, guys. Um, again, this is the end of the episode, and I will see y'all next week. I pray that y'all have an amazing week and God bless you all. Bye, guys.