A pest has taken up residence in our home and started to multiply itself through out our dwelling. At the beginning it was hardly a bother, even laughter encouraged its occupancy. Besides, who wanted to extinguish with heavy chemicals, we are trying to live with less chemicals. As we turned our heads, the pest believed it was invisible. We had encouraged it by purchasing "how to books" for increasing its productivity, even though it was a joke.
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| This can be bought through Amazon |
However, it has been so productive and I am quite sure this isn't what God meant in Genesis when he said, "be fruitful and multiply". We are now having to engage in chemical warfare to rid this pest from our home.
It has devoured our dreams, our productivity, our health, our education, our money and our relationships. It was so easily allowed to take over our home that we may not know who we are without it. BUT IT IS TIME TO GO!
...EXCUSES!!
The head needs to come off this pest and our home needs to learn to keep it away!
- Weight Excuses
- Exercise Excuses
- Romance Excuses
- Lack-of-Excellence-in-Education Excuses
- Not-Serving Excuses
- Money Excuses
- This list could take a whole page so I will stop - it has invaded every area of life
In order for us to want a change, we have to hate the thing that needs to be changed more than the change it will take to get rid of it. I went to some sources on Excuses....I wanted to become sick of excuses.
Dictionary definition - A reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault
Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure - Don Wilden
OUCH!!!!
Excuses are the tools with which persons without purpose in view build for themselves great monuments of nothing. - Steven Grayham
A lie is an excuse guarded . - Jonathan Swift
We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty. - Marcus Quintilian
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. - Benjamin Franklin
(now that one really makes me want to get rid of our pest)
The bottom line....it comes to destroy what God intended in our life. We become robbed, dissatisfied, apathetic and lifeless.
DEU 30:11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."I found myself with others in the scripture, which were there for my example. My extermination will be coated in prayer, because fleshing it out will not bring death to something that has been so easily welcomed into our home. We will need His strength and being girded up in His Word. There is also no condemnation for those in Christ, so I am not walking in condemnation, but conviction. I will now grab my RAID and spray the pest of EXCUSES!Do you need a can of RAID for some pest in your home? (I am not asking you to answer)
What a great illustration and words of conviction. Satan loves it when we do this! He keeps us down and out of commission. Thanks for sharing. Because I've already been started making them this morning.
ReplyDeleteThis is a perfect post! Those excuses are all over our lives, and your illustration was point on!!
ReplyDeleteTerrific, Janette!! I'm going to get the Raid right now!!
P.S.... YAY RANGERS!!! They just went out and DID it... no excuses!! :)
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you! I have become my excuses too. It is so hard to jerk that bit out of that horses mouth. I will work on that too.
ReplyDeleteThis is a profound kind of post, I love how you do that, you think up such cool things.
This was soo GOOD Janette. And oh so true for me. wow...some of those quotes were quite convictiing. I need a can of Raid for sure...Have a wonderful week-end. HUGS, Debbie
ReplyDeleteI have had too many excuses lately. I need to Raid my life of the stuff the weighs me down and makes me not be the daughter of the King that I need to be.
ReplyDeleteOh, my weight is very heavy on my heart right now-I have been fighting this for a long time and need to get serious about it.
PS I finally answered your tag questions! Thanks for tagging me it was fun.
Hope you have a great day-it is pouring rain here today! We were going to go to the pumpkin patch-not today now.
Oh, I like that! Ok, my excuses for lack of exercise have been exterminated. My husband fixed my treadmill. So...
ReplyDeleteOFF with the pounds!
Blessings and FAVOR!!
Janet
www.homeward4.blogspot.com
This is great, Janette. Holy
ReplyDeleteSpirit inspired I'd say. I
need a giant size can! Gotta
get off the computer now, stop
making excuses, and go clean
this messy house.
Hugs,
Sandy
I agree with you about excuses.
ReplyDeleteActually I could use a can of RAID for the pest in my house. And frankly, it's called discouragement and depression. I'm tired of it and want to take it all to the Lord. He is my strength and my healer. And nothing is impossible with Him. I need to speak the Scriptures aloud. No more excuses!
ReplyDeleteThank you Janette; I needed this post.
Love you,
Debbie
Oh my goodness....did this ever hit home.... I was actually hoping it was a post on how to get rid of spiders... whew....they're multiplying like crazy around here....but I think God had a better idea... as always, right? I really needed this to think on.
ReplyDeleteWarmest hugs,
Spencer
Oh, I am convicted. So many excuses that stop us from what God has called us to do.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
Wow! I needed this today--I need to get up and finishing washing dishes that have accumulated for a week while we have been without hot water--boiling pots and pots of water is just not what I wanted to do this past week--but now I am paying the price--
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Janette. God bless you.
Love this!!!! THANKS!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Leslie
Awesome post and yes, I hate excuses. I hate it the most when I make excuses to or about myself.
ReplyDeleteHaha, too funny! Not that you have a pest problem, but the determination that rose up in order to deal with it and grab the Raid.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I saw the UGLIEST brown spider outside my window. He had spun the hugest web. I wondered if it was a brown recluse. Not that we have those around here, but I have never seen a critter of this magnitude here before! I used almost a whole can of Raid before it finally curled up and died. Unfortunately, the Raid went right through the window and into our front hallway, and I can't get rid of that smell! An ugly reminder, for sure...Godspeed with your unwanted house guest!
What a great post.
ReplyDeleteWe have that same pest in our house too..
Thanks for the encouragement and good kick in the rear.. LOL
I think all of us are guilty of letting this pest in.
ReplyDeleteThis one GOT to me! If the Raid spray cans weren't so unattractive,I'd be tempted to set on out on my counter where I'd be reminded of this MANY times a day!
ReplyDeleteI see that I have no excuses for making excuses any longer!
Yes I do need some raid, and something for the ouch!! ouch! pain. LOL. I so related to this post, and the quotes so true, and the scripture too. This was such a thought provoking post for me janette, I am tired of using those excuses that I use, some mentioned in your post, the one about exercising is one I use everyday. I even told my dh this morning that if he really loved me he would get me outside and start me walking. was that another excuse? LOl
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet comments on the post especially the one on the donkeys. Please tell that sweet son, that anytime he wants to come visit and pet them he is most welcomed, and anytime he wants more pictures I will email him some. The photos just don'r do them justice, they always entertain us.
As always I am truly blessed by your thoughts.
HUgs,
Sue
hey janette!
ReplyDeletesorry about your extermination troubles.
we have little excuses all over the place
here, too!
this is such a clever but convicting post
that i will be praying about.
on a funny note, hailey and i spent each
night, several times during the night,
stomping on giant ants in brazil.
if i put that much effort into prayer i
would be a mighty woman of God!
thank you for digging back into my
old posts. that was very sweet.
nothing at my blog . . . too tired. :)
love,
lea
...not walking in condemnation, but in conviction.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is important.
We can easily make excuses, then condemn ourselves or one another. Shift blame. Refuse to own up.
Prayer is indeed the starting point...you are so right.
After reading your post, I realize I also need to get rid of my own excuses - for complacency, for indecisiveness, etc.
Thank you for being quite direct.
Deut. 30:11 was a very good reminder. I have almost forgotten that passage, so I thank you for mentioning it here.
Love
Lidj
Hi! I am a new follower from CSAHM site ... you can follow me back at http://www.avonbykaren.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
Ouch Janette...you just stepped on my toes big time!! Must be the Lord...my big excuse lately is how busy I am!! Guess I need a huge can for that one!! He is really helping me prioritize, and things have been much smoother!! WOOHOO!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the great message!! Nothing like a good smack up side the head with a frying pan!!
LOL!!!
Have a blessed week, sweet friend!
HUGS,
Becky
Great post, Janette!!!
ReplyDeleteGo Rangers.....
Janette.. what a great post.. and soooooo true.. I am learning that I have been turning my head to ignore a lot of things lately.. and need to take better care of my self and my family. thanks for the confirmations..
ReplyDeleteyou may want to check out a new book coming out.. Lysa Terkeurst the author of the wbs I am doing has a new book coming out called
Made to Crave,,and it is based on Gods word about the foods we eat, and what we crave,, check it out..
I cant wait to get a copy..
http://lysaterkeurst.com/
Great post.. talk to ya soon..
Now stop that Janette!! No more speaking such confronting truth, you hear! ouch, ouch, ouch. And I thought you were a blogging friend and sister?! :P
ReplyDeleteI put a little cheeky face, but wow, this was POWERFUL for me right now.
I loved this:
"In order for us to want a change, we have to hate the thing that needs to be changed more than the change it will take to get rid of it."
That IS the TRUTH!
Well done... now, I'm slinking back to my corner, licking my wounds lol.
This was an awesome post!
ReplyDeleteI want to live determined in ridding my home of those pesky bugs that want to separate me from God.
Oh, boy! Long story short, but I could have saved myself a day of twisted tummy aches and nausea if I'd just read this on Saturday...I've been spending some concentrated time with the Lord since then and He used Gideon to give me the once over...no more excuses, it's simply easier to obey the Lord the first time around!
ReplyDelete