A couple of years ago we decided to pony up $200 or so and buy one of those Hoover carpet cleaners, and let me tell you, it's been worth every penny.  

Here's the thing, I don't really consider us dirty people.  Sloppy?  Sure.  Dirty?  No.  I mean, I personally tend to tip the scale on the side of 'pretty disgusting individual,'  but as a whole, I'd like to think we're fairly clean folks.  

With that being said, all I have to say is if you clean you're own carpet, then nothing and I mean NOTHING will make you feel more disgusting than when you empty the container of the used water out.  It is nothing but lower Mississippi River water and it makes you wonder how in the world could your carpet be so dirty?  

But it's easy actually when you think about it.  There's 4 of us in our household and we are in and out all day long.  Walking in the grass, down the road, at school, at work, in the car, in the yard, in the store, you name it, where on it.  Just think of all the stuff that attaches to the bottom of our shoes, all the dirt and grime that is tracked in from the outside world, all the junk, the undesirable dirt.  

But isn't that like our hearts?  We have the opportunity to purify ourselves from the outside world, and God allows us to do so.  Once we have He no longer sees our sins, but there are consequences for our choices and our actions. 

Many times we track things inside of us, we walk through a song, a tv show, something online, or a thought and we track the things we want out right back in.  Heck, sometimes we straight up walk through the cow pasture looking for things to step in, and when we find them, we roll in them.  We allow ourselves to be consumed and dirtied by the desires of our hearts and the shiny things of the world.  

But yet God is steadfast, cleaning us, as 1 John tells us, continuing to purify us from our sins, our unrighteousness, from the things we track into our hearts.  

Because of this, isn't it time to live up to our end of the relationship?  Isn't it time we pursue the things of God and avoid the dirt and grim?  Of course we'll never ever be perfect, in fact, God has never said or demanded we be perfect.  But God does require our very best effort and because of this free GIFT of grace and mercy, it's time to avoid those things that soil us.  

So may God lead you and guide you through times of temptation and frustration this week at home, work, or school.  May we have a week with clean carpets.