Mary Challenge: Picture your home in all its clean and organized glory, and then burn the image into your brain and heart. Now grab your journal (or notebook, or scrap of paper) and write down your big picture. Ask God to help you physically create the vision for your home life.

I am having a hard time with some of these Mary challenges. They have me doing more physical doing than I expected for it being a "Mary" challenge and then it's also having me do a lot of me discovering what I want. This life I live is no longer mine but Christ's...I feel as though I should be re-evaluating the importance I place on my picture of what I want. Yes, if Christ is in us, He will give us the desires of our heart but I also know that Satan's main way to weezle his way into our lives is with deception. Satan can use something harmless (ie the ideal clean home), twist and manipulate it until we are fixated on it and truly believe that is what God is asking of us.

I went the opposite direction in this challenge and have been trying to sweep the ashes from my burned in "big picture" out of my mind and heart so there is uncluttered abundant space for God's "big picture". I don't just want His help "physically create the vision for [my] home life". Right now, in my life, He is fixing my gaze on a larger world view outside my windows rather than inside.

Don't get me wrong. I fully believe my home is a gift from God to be used for God but I don't want to get caught up in what I want to accomplish here.

Martha Challenge: Living Room – Clean your window treatments and wash the inside of your windows.

Windows...WHY did I say I loved lots of window to let in natural light.

Mags thought it was hilarious to be "sprayed" on the other side of the windows and then apparently I missed a few spots ;o)

Izzie was a scrub'n machine. She'd say, "wa wa wa" the entire time she was wiping the windows. Then she came to show me all the grime she'd cleaned up and when back for more. Love having my girls help with cleaning!