I hate cleaning.

There.  I said it.  I hate it.  In fact, I loathe it.  I would gladly wash dishes and clothes and clean poopy diapers over cleaning up my house anyday.

I never have enough room to put everything, and when I suggest a major overhaul and getting rid of what we don't use, John gets the deer-in-the-headlights look and seems genuinely afraid that I'll throw away everything in the house.  Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself.

The reason I am so fervently cleaning my house is that, through much prayer and conviction, John and I are attempting to use our house as a satellite campus of a local christian school.  It would only be for one student, but this one student is very special to us.  She goes to our church, is in our youth group, and I taught her for third and fifth grade.  She would really benefit from one-on-one instruction, but I don't want to have to leave my house and possibly find a babysitter for Henry.  So the christian school is open to her spending half a day with me as her personal teacher.

Why does cleaning matter?  Because our house will have to be inspected by the fire marshal, the sanitation department, and the building inspector, I want my house as clean as possible so we don't fail any of the inspections.  My perfectionistic tendencies can actually be put to good use in this endeavour! 

This will all be a big change for our little family.  To be honest, I keep thinking, "Okay God, if you don't want us to do this, let me know" and He hasn't let me know that yet, so we're plugging along trying to get everything in order.  It's scary and exciting and different--but mostly scary.  What if I don't do a good job?  What if our house doesn't pass inspection?  What if Henry doesn't handle this whole idea well?  What if I don't handle this whole idea well?

But, in the midst of these questions, there is still a peace, and I know it can only come from God.  He will show us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.  Trusting God was never promised to be easy, but I pray that the rewards from this experience are great--both for my student and for our family.