Holla Flock!

I’ve got no idea what I’m going to talk about yet for this week’s sermon, so we could be in for something quite rambling, or alternatively, something quite short. Only Beysus knows. And, at the mention of her holy name, I have a rather shocking statement:  we aren’t singing one of her songs for today’s musical interlude, but rather a gorgeous tune by our beloved DOLLY PARTON:

I have no idea what what a hard candy Christmas is. I prefer hard candy to soft candy. Madonna released a lovely album called Hard Candy, but seeing as this song predates that album by decades, that reference has no bearing. Still, no matter, this song is absolutely beautiful, I will forever be unable to say the word “through” without saying “thro-oo-oo.” I have no problem with that. Onto the sermon!

Bear with…got to think of something…must have an idea somewhere…if preachers can make up crap so can I…got it…minimalism!

While the weather outdoors may make you think the opposite, springtime is soon to be amongst us again. It will strike within two months, beautiful balmy days will appear; birds will sing and crocuses will poke out of the frozen earth. It’s one of the remarkable things about life, it just keeps going on and nothing really changes. It may seem so, but it’s never really any different. We love and fall out of love, we learn and forget, we have dreams and sometimes succeed, we live and live and then we die. It’s really not that depressing. I don’t know why people make such a fuss out of life. Just do the best you can to enjoy yourself and like Miss Dolly said, you’ll “be fine and dandy.” Way off track here, what I meant to get around to saying is that it’s time to start SPRING CLEANING!

I have always found that one of the easiest ways to enjoy life is by being in relaxing environments. I think back and find that some of my happiest memories and most exciting times have been in hotels. I was lucky enough to be born into a family of travelers, and so I have never been without the thrill of a trip or very distant from the prospect of an escape. Because of this, and because I don’t have a way to live as a globetrotting adventurer just yet, I made a pledge a few years ago to turn my home into a vacation destination. We’ve discussed this at length in some of my other series, but I’ve not yet spoken about it here, I’ve not preached to you about it.

It was one of the greatest decisions of my life. I went through my possessions and purged myself of anything unnecessary. Of course I clung to books and pictures and some old writing, but the rest of it went to the recycling center and the burn pile and the dump. You don’t need most of what you have. It’s hard to part at first, but once that lamp or pile of scrap material or maybe even that ugly family heirloom is gone, you won’t miss it for a minute.

Today, I spent several hours in what is going to be my future walk-in closet/gym and I reveled in the empty space. It’s so nice to have room. My family is made up of hoarders, a gene that I blissfully avoided by some miracle. (I thank you daily, Beysus.) Because of this, I have still two (three really) more rooms to purge and reutilize. Growing up in this farm house, only half of the house was useful, the other was just storage for junk. It’s so good to be rid of it all.

I find that clutter is suffocating and when it goes away, well, you don’t actually mind being at home much. You can make a pot of tea, relax in your tasteful lounge, enjoy getting into your bed in your very tastefully decorated bedroom, delight in making macarons in your neat, tasteful (I’m into that word right now, sorry) kitchen with checkerboard tile floor, enjoy a film on your big screen television — it’s just like being on holiday, except you’re home.

And so, my recommendation to you is to purge your home of unnecessary flotsam and jetsam. I urge you to transform your home into a place you want to be, a place you aren’t ashamed of. Most importantly, though, make your home a place where you can relax and give into your lazy moods and spastic moments, make it a destination…not just a place.