clean slate

Lately, I've had this "thing" with white.  White & cream, layered textures on my bed, milky winter skies, really minimalist home design ideas, soft baby blankets that are (yup!) linen white, white-washed walls, creamy lattes (though, I really shouldn't be drinking any milk)...maybe because it is winter and we haven't really had that much snow this year either (*knock on wood*).  Even my current favorite soap is simple & white!  I really don't know why this is, because by nature, I am in love with colors.  Bold, bright, and beautiful...COLORS!

But, there is just something so raw about white and the elements that fit so well with it.  It's pure.  It's clean.  Much like how I have been attempting to start my days.  A while ago, I wrote about a bad habit of mine...not putting things away.  Along with that unruly pattern, tag-teams the "starting fresh" routine that I haven't seemed to get into a groove with since we got married.

You see, for me, mornings are just not my thing.  Never have been.  Though lately, I've been trying.  Trying to consistently make the bed as soon as I 'jump' out.  Taking the dishes OUT of the dishwasher before I leave for work.  Reading/writing something while eating breakfast instead of just staring into space (though writing down my thoughts that early usually consists of a sentence or two in a 45 minute span...maybe!!).  Though, they are the smallest of steps, I have noticed an improvement in my attitude towards the day...having a clean slate to work from.

When I was taking out the trash today, it hit me how "grubby" I can let myself get.  If you think about it, the garbage bin itself really isn't that gross, it's just the bag full of stuff that sits in it!  As I've been purging my home and making room for baby I've had to ask myself, "..am I really that cluttered or unorganized of a person?".  The answer is no...I just hold on to stuff that I really don't need and have carried it with me for years - memorabilia, guilt, papers, habits...things that limit me from starting 'fresh'.  It's like creating a painting and trying to combine every color of paint I've have collected (with every single year/experience/memory/etc.) in my life.  All that will result is an ugly, big, brown mess!

More and more, I see the need to let go of all the garbage/clutter/habits that limits my perspective to be clear, pure, and clean.  It will get harder and harder for me to see the right colors glistening together, or to enjoy the simple beauty of unpolluted white if I don't oust the unforgiven thoughts, get rid of unnecessary items (tangible or in a memory), and attempt to clear my current vision of "mess".

How do you start from a clean slate?

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.  We have received all of this by coming to know Him...In view of this, make every effort to respond to God's promises.  Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.  2 Peter 1:3-9

pic pix: latte from DeVille, November.2011, Calgary, AB