Decluttering Your Heart: Deepening Your Walk With God And Your Husband

Decluttering Your Heart: Deepening Your Walk With God And Your Husband
You know what time it is...

Spring cleaning season is here, and while you may be busy dusting shelves and tossing out clutter, have you paused to consider that your heart might need a little decluttering, too? 

Just like a messy home can make it hard to find peace, a heart weighed down by sin, distractions, or unaddressed emotions can keep you from walking closely with God - which in turn can wreak havoc on your marriage. 

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to 
lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.
This is an instruction, which indicates that we have control over whether or not we do this. 

If we want a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord, and a stronger, healthier marriage, we have to make space for God by intentionally, purposefully, obediently letting go of the things that get in the way.

Maybe you're struggling with bitterness or unrealistic expectations toward your husband; a grudge you’re holding against a friend; or just the never-ending to-do list that keeps pushing time with God to the bottom of it (which means it rarely, if ever, happens). 

Whatever it is, there are some steps you can take to declutter the things in your heart that aren't serving you, your faith, or your family, and free up some space to invite Christ to fill you with godliness and fruits of the Spirit. 

The first step in decluttering your heart is identifying what’s there. 

You can do this by prioritizing your time studying Scripture. 

When you spend intentional time in the Word, the Holy Spirit brings to light the things you need to surrender (Psalm 139:23-24). 

If you don’t make space for Scripture in your life (daily if possible), you won’t even recognize the clutter you're carrying.

Spend time reading and studying the Bible, and then take a few minutes to journal out a few things you feel the Spirit is revealing to you that you need to let go of.

The next step is to actively let go of sin and negativity. 

This is where you apply what you study. 

If God’s Word calls you to forgive, you forgive. If it calls you to trust instead of worry, you surrender your anxieties in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). 

It’s not enough to simply acknowledge the clutter; you have to remove it. And just like with physical clutter, this is an ongoing process—not a one-time event.

As you take steps to declutter your heart, you’ll find that your time with the Lord feels more joyful and meaningful, your marriage will benefit from your softened spirit, and your joy in Christ will grow. 

The final step is to replace the clutter with fruits of the Spirit. 

In Matthew 12:44-45, Jesus tells us:
Then it [the demon] says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
When you simply try to stop doing or to release something, without replacing it with a godly alternative, you leave your mind, heart, and soul susceptible for the enemy to fill that space with even more clutter. 

For example, you can try to stop thinking negative thoughts about your husband, but if you don't replace them with positive thoughts instead, you'll find yourself coming up with all sorts of other destructive assumptions to dwell on.

How do you cultivate the fruits of the Spirit? By practicing the core spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, and worship. 

If you need help getting started, I invite you to check out my free Quieting Your Mind Guide. This guide was created to help you learn how to experience deeper, more meaningful and fruitful connection with God in your quiet times. 

Make time this week to sit with the Lord and ask Him to show you what needs to go. Then, be obedient in clearing it out and adding spiritual disciplines in so you can walk more freely with Him.

5 Instant Self-Care Ideas for Busy Moms

5 Instant Self-Care Ideas for Busy Moms

Most of the moms I know who are stressed out and in desperate need of self-care are the same moms who insist that they simply don’t have time. 


Between full-time work; distance learning with multiple children; running a household; building a business; supporting a husband; and being a friend, there just seems to be no time left at the end of the day.


I think a lot of the time, we equate self-care with taking a long bubble bath, or spending an hour at the gym.


What if I told you that some self-care activities could be done in just minutes, or even seconds? 

If you find yourself too busy to commit to regular self-care, check out a few of these instant (or almost-instant!) self-care ideas.


1. Stretch


Stand up, put your hands on your back like they’re in your back pockets, and do a back extension. We spend so much time hunched over our computers, leaning forward over the stove, putting laundry away. This simple stretch is SO good for our backs! Then just raise your hands overhead and stretch upwards. 


2. Drink water


The time it takes to get up and fill a glass of water, then drink it, can be used as just a minute to breathe. This also helps you to get a little more hydrated, which can do wonders for your mindset and health. 


3. Check out the daily story on the Bible app


This is a new feature that has only just recently rolled out. It’s the verse of the day, a 1-3 minute video thought from a pastor or Bible teacher, a quick devotional to read, and then a 1-2 sentence prayer. It’s new every day, it’s not a plan that requires you to stay caught up, it takes only minutes, and it’s always refreshing. If you miss a day, it’s no big deal. You’re not behind, you just check out the story the next day.


4. Use a Stress Away roller


Stress Away is one of my favorite Young Living essential oil blends. I keep a roller in my purse to use any time I need it, and I diffuse it a LOT now being home all the time. If you’ve never used it before, I would be more than happy to send you a sample! Just one quick inhale of this blend and you feel like you’re transported to a tropical island. 


5. Pet your dog or cat


Did you know studies show people with pets live longer? Why is that? Because spending a minute petting our furry family can slow our heart rate and release dopamine and seratonin, which regulates your mood and reduces stress. Just make someone else clean up the poop. 


Here are a few other bonus ideas for you:
  • Send a short Facebook message or text to check in on a friend
  • Mail a hand-written letter or quick postcard
  • Go for a quick, 5-10 minute walk

I also know that the idea of making sure you complete some kind of self-care can feel daunting and stressful in itself, because it’s just one more thing you “should” be doing. If none of these activities resonates with you, find something that DOES.


True self-care is taking care of yourSELF, not anyone else, so you need to find things that make you feel good. If you miss a day, don’t stress. 


Just know that YOU are important. You can’t serve anyone if you’re stressed to the point of sickness. It’s imperative that you stay healthy, and one major component to this is finding whatever self-care works for you.


So tell me, if you had all the time and money in the world, what act of self-care would you choose?


To subscribe to future blog posts, click here!

To grab my free resource on 5 Ways to Boost Your Energy, click here!