A new look...followed by laundry and sin ;)

Well, I finally did it!  I took the time to figure out how to change my background and the overall look of my blog.  I'm still not completely happy with it as there are things I want to add and customize, but at least I think it's more readable now...and I love the purple!!!!  Yup, I'm a purple girl...as is our daughter. 

So what else is new?  Well, the other day I was pondering on how housework can be like an examination of conscience.  Am I weird that I think of this stuff?  I guess that's why I love listening to Archbishop Fulton Sheen - he was sooooo good at making spiritual analogies from temporal things.

After showing you pictures of our dresser covered in clothes that I never get around to putting away, I did what I usually do when I get fed up with myself over something...I looked for WHY this is happening.  Why do I not put away the clothes?  Because the drawers are too full and I can't jam anything in there anymore (speaking of the kids' drawers, not ours).  Solution?  Clear out all the stuff that's too small or the wrong season.  Pretty easy, but for some reason it takes weeks of building to get to that moment.  Duh.  It's all fixed now - except for the overflowing basket of kids' clothing on top of Patrick's dresser :)  I'll have to get Hubby to go into the basement and check the bin I want for spiders and bring it up so I can jam it all in, label it and take it back down.  Problem solved; laundry pile is gone.  Whew!

How is that like an examination of conscience?  Well, in the convent (and all Christians should do this - it's a good habit to get into), we were taught to stop looking for the splinter in someone else's eye and deal with the log in our own, basically.  So you literally do this by examining your conscience...how have I sinned today?

The way I recall being taught was to start with looking at your feelings/emotions during the day - which is like me looking at the heap of laundry on the dresser.  From your emotions, you start to assess why you felt that way.  Were you upset?  Why?  Because your pride was hurt?  There's your sin - pride.  Jesus, I'm sorry for my sins of pride; please help me to avoid this sin, etc....okay, I might not word it exactly that way to Him, but you get the idea. 

Deal with overflowing drawers and create more order in the home...and by examining your conscience, your soul....and if you ever read St. Faustina's Diary, you would read of how she worked on one particular sin for a duration of time, counting both victories and falls with regard to that sin.  Isn't that like housework (or perhaps other work as well)?  You find an area where you're having issues and start pecking away at it with baby steps.  If you've ever visited the Flylady, this is just like what she does when she helps you establish a new habit, like shining your sink every night.  It takes practice and patience.  Don't compare yourself to others...just deal with your own spiritual and temporal issues and stop looking to see what everyone else is doing, unless it's something genuinely helpful.  For me, it takes practice just to do that, but I find a lot more peace when I do.

Do I examine my conscience every day?  Nope....but I should.  It really is a good habit to get into.  High five on that?  Yeah....