Redecorating

The interior decorator just left.

The fact that I even had an interior decorator come to my home is monumental. I am not a gal who easily parts with her money.

In fact, I really dislike shopping. The only store where you'll ever find me making an impulse buy is a book store. I can justify buying a book but I have a hard time justifying almost any other purchase.

So, what did the interior decorator say? She said I was going to have to do some shopping, be willing to part with some money and become open to making some changes. I don't want to do any of these things. But I cannot allow our home to stay the way it is.

We could live with things the way they were before. Our home didn't look like a model, but then again, I don't either. I used to be able to blame the look of our home on being a newlywed but I've been married now for fifteen years.

The turning point came when the dresser drawer where we kept our CDs and DVDs kept bottoming out and we realized we couldn't leave the media in the dresser. One conversation started another until we recognized that the neglect of our home decor was forcing us to make some changes in order to have our home be something other than an embarrassment.

Sadly, my home isn't the only area of life where this scenario has played out. It has played out with my weight (and the beat goes on...), with my career and even with my mind.

God has been been tapping my shoulder lately and asking me to redecorate my real interior. To become the woman with a quiet and gentle spirit in I Peter 3:4, I need to start thinking some new thoughts. I've had to evaluate my current thought patterns, invest time and effort into creating new thought patterns and go through the uncomfortable experience of dealing with constant change. After all, my old thought patterns were comfortable, that's why I kept them. But, my old thought patterns were full of worry, fear and selfishness - not the traits of a quiet and gentle spirit.

So, I'm working to wallpaper my mind with the thoughts of Philippians 4:8. As often as I catch myself with the Holy Spirit's help, I ask - is this thought true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? If it's not, out it goes. Then, I try to fill the empty space with a thought that reflects a quiet and gentle spirit.

In theory, this is easier than working with an interior decorator. But, in reality it is hard work. I can't afford to have an unfiltered thought. I have to evaluate each thought that comes into my head - just like I need to evaluate some of the pieces in my home. I hold each one up to the standard and if it doesn't fit, out it goes.

What is your experience with redecorating - either home or mind? Share your tips and let us know what has worked and what hasn't. We all need an expert to help us out - whether it is a professional decorator or someone who has just experienced what we're going through.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for being the expert. Thanks for giving us Your word and for Your Spirit's help to follow what it says. Please keep nudging me where I need to change and enable me to make the changes that need to be made. In Jesus' Name, Amen