What's In The Name?

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.



This is where the title of my blog came from. This scripture has changed my life over and over again more than any other. I remember in college hearing a message on worship. How I could worship daily--How can my life be worship? A mentor in college (Thanks, Karen!) pointed me to this verse. Since that day, it continues to take on new life.

Keeping in constant contact and communication helps me worship. But I'll be quick to admit that I get so sidetracked...middle of the night feedings, groceries, bills, cooking, cleaning, being a decent mom. My contact some days is like a late call to a best friend, filled with lame excuses. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to call sooner. I got so tied up..." Well, I guess I got tied up in the 'patterns of this world.'

So again, today, I ask God to transform me...literally a metamorphosis into something new. Have you read The Metamorphosis? You know, the one where the guy wakes up and has been transformed into a cockroach. Everything he knows is about what a cockroach would do, eat, and how it would live. Eventually the mind goes there, too. I think of that every time I read this verse. God literally wants me to eat/sleep/breathe Him. But I have to be transformed. I wish it was as easy as waking up that way.

And again, today, I ask God to renew my mind. Renew, renovate, change. When you renovate a house, you tear down what's old and broken and replace it with something better. Something clean, functional, and beautiful. It takes time, it takes getting dirty, and it takes patience. And I've noticed that often times when we try to renovate things ourselves, we get into a bigger mess. Then we have to call in the experts. In this case, The Expert.

So now you know why this blog is called Renovations of the Heart. I'm hoping that's exactly the direction I'm headed in (minus the cockroach thing). God is changing me daily (when I let Him in long enough) and I pray that I'm becoming a better wife, mother, daughter, and friend because of it. But most of all, I just hope that I'm becoming more like Him.