Today fellow Living by Grace hostess, Patty Wysong, joins us to talk about heart-clutter. Patty is a home executive with over 20 years of experience who homeschools three of her five children, but don’t let that fool you. She spends much of her time working on what God has placed in her hand: her keyboard. From the corner of her living room she writes inspirational fiction, devotionals, blog posts, and teaches online blogging workshops. You’ll also find her drinking kool aid from her china cup, preparing for the ladies Bible study she leads, and helping at their church.

Patty learned about blogs and blogging the hard way and now delights in teaching and helping others, sparing them that frustration so they can focus on what God has called them to do. Through her writing, Patty has found the extraordinary God in her ordinary life.

My Two Brooms  by Patty Wysong

In my broom closet we have two brooms, a shop broom with a wide head and soft bristles, and a smaller, normal house broom.  The shop broom does a great job on 85% of our tile floor, but for the other 15% we need to use the smaller broom.

A lot of dirt gets tracked into our home and I often have one of the kids grab the big broom and do a quick sweep so we aren’t crunching with every step and tracking it onto the carpet.  But those quick sweeps with the big broom don’t eliminate the need for a thorough sweep, complete with using the smaller broom along the edges and under the kitchen cabinets.  When life gets real busy, I settle for quick sweeping jobs, but just as soon as we can, we get out the smaller broom.

My spiritual life is similar.  A lot of dirt is tracked into my life just simply by being human and living.  Many times I reach for the equivalent of my big broom–I’ll read a shorter Bible passage and pray as I go, but I leave the more detailed Bible study and in depth prayer for another time.

My goal for a quick sweep is to keep the grungies and crunchies away until we can do a more thorough sweep, and the same is true when I do a quick sweep spiritually.  It’s to keep the grungies and crunchies away.  But it doesn’t eliminate my need for that in-depth time of Bible study.  Time spent with my Bible and a pen–studying, not just reading.

The unfolding of Thy words gives light;

it gives understanding to the simple.

~Psalm 119:130

 

When you walk about they will guide you;

when you sleep, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk to you.

For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light;

~Proverbs 6:22-23

Don’t just settle for a quick buzz through the Scriptures.  Make time—yes, make the time by rearranging things in your life if you have to, to study and linger in, and on, God’s Word.  It will sweep the grungies and crunchies out of the corners and from around the edges of your life, leaving you clean, refreshed, and full of light.

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Visit Patty’s website, www.pattywysong.com to find out more about her and her writing and catch a nugget of truth at Jewels of Encouragement – www.jewelsofencouragement.com, a site she regularly contributes to.  Then, stop by the Barn Door – www.thebarndoor.net to experience life in the mid-west & the Book Loft www.barndoorbookloft.net to get to know some fab-tabulous authors.