Hobbies, habits, and holiness...

Hebrew 12:12-14 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Wow, what a mouthful in Hebrews! It feels as though my hands hang down low with depression as I try to organize our garage of hobbies. It seems as though I am organizing everyone's hobby with no hope of finding my own little space to do a hobby. We have hobbies and containers, and tools and tool bags, and empty organizers, and stuff we've accumulated in the last 15 years that has to some how find majical spots in our garage so we can bring over more hobbies, tools and JUNK from the old house in the next 5 days. And I have even been yelled at because I need to make it fit (like a jigsaw puzzle or something)....and oh how I'd like bitterness to take root...

We have fishing, woodworking, camping, baseball, hockey, anything you would need to fix anything from electric to plumbing, gardening, and we haven't even moved the canoes, more rollerblading stuff, and who knows what else. Thank God Chris fixed up under our deck so it can store some things, and we found a good place for our wood. I would like it if we downsized on our hobbies...

Habits...some lately have found the habit of doing "good" after doing bad. Sometimes I never know what the bad is, but the eye contact goes away, and the good works start up. It's a way of "healing" their hurt, without confessing it and growing in forgiveness and trust. We talk about it a lot and I pray that they will feel safe enough to just say it outloud, and not "work it out".

Holiness...as per Hebrews 12...is hard when I just want a little space from the kids, (starting even at 6:30am in the morning and until bedtime - but today I took a nap..just so beat lately), and when I'm "told" to organize something that isn't even mine and I don't have a clue how to organize it...Holiness is hard, but "without it, no one will see the Lord"...and that's what we have to remember in all we do.