A prayer for God to search and know your heart, by Victoria Realano, read by Lea Martin.

Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Find out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting

life.

Psalm 139 23 through 24.

Can you please take out the trash?

There's dishes in the sink.

Whose turn is it?

As a mother of multiple teens and tweens, my days are lately filled with reminder after reminder,

for them to complete the tasks needed to help our house feel like a home.

Yet, if I'm honest, having a cozy home is not my only motivation for having them do work

around the house.

As my mother used to say, always keep your house clean so that if anyone comes over unannounced

you won't be embarrassed.

Although we don't get regular visitors, etched in the back of my mind is the reality that

an unexpected visitor would walk in to see the bursting trash can or the dishes stacked

to the roof, and the idea of being ashamed keeps me on my toes.

Over the last few weeks, I started to think about how much effort I make to not let others

see my mess.

Truthfully, this level of trying to cover the trash is not just pertaining to my home.

In public, I try to keep myself from getting angry.

Many times I hide my emotions to not be seen in a negative way.

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