Team Building - Obedience

Well, ... here we are again, preparing to return to the country of Honduras to serve our Father God by serving the Honduran people.  If you're still following along since last year, so glad you're here!  Hang on ... because you're sure to be blessed by our Awesome God as we follow His leading.  If you're a newcomer to these posts and our support team or if you've just happened here by chance, ... WELCOME!  We're glad you're here too and we hope you stick around.

We've officially begun our Team Building and Training meetings and the first one went quite well.

  

Brian asked Pastor Bob (who is also going to Honduras with us this year) to share a devotion with the group on "Obedience" ... 

... it was perfect for this particular meeting and for those of us who were present.

There are numerous rules, tasks, obligations ... with which we are expected to obey on a daily basis.  We all know them ... [speed limits, dietary restrictions, visiting hours, anti-piracy laws] ... do we obey them?  There is a reason for every rule, guideline, or instruction we encounter.  Obeying speed limits keep us safe on the road.  Obeying dietary restrictions keep us healthy.  You get the point ... 

You know, there have been many people who have had the inner "desire" to go on a mission trip, several who have felt the invisible nudge to accept the invitation to go on a mission trip ... this mission trip ... yet, struggle with following "the pull", accepting the challenge or making the commitment to do so.  Often, we may not even realize it or pay close enough attention to it ... but that "invisible nudge" may actually be God trying to let us know that He has a job for us to do.

The biggest reason to not obey is most likely "FEAR".

One particular team member has really struggled with whether or not this mission trip is indeed something meant for her to be a part of ... I know how she feels ... last year that was me.  She has the inner desire; she feels the "invisible nudge" ... but there's also fear.  

But there is nothing to fear when God is involved.  He is always with us and he is an ever-present help ... 

... after church on Sunday morning she approached me to project her on-going doubts and after responding with a few convicting but encouraging words, she was dangling by only a few threads of confidence as I was reminded of something that Pastor Bob stated many years earlier during a sermon.  

[  It is the account of the parting of the Red Sea.  Pharaoh has finally conceded to free the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptian people after succumbing to the ten plagues.  As the Israelites are fleeing with Moses, Pharaoh changes his mind and sets out after them with his entire army, all of his chariots, all of his horses and every one of his troops. 

The Israelites became terrified and they cried out to the LORD and basically wanted to give up and return to their grueling service unto the Egyptians.  

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

(Exodus 14)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ... ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground ... ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left ... ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward^[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

When did the Red Sea part?

It might be tempting to respond "when Moses stretched out his hand" ... but in reality, and I'm sure you would agree, ... Moses had nothing to do with the parting of the Red Sea.   

So, let's try it again ... when did the Red Sea part?

When Moses obeyed the Word of the LORD.  

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding ... woot-woot ... we have a winner!!!

When did the Jordan River part?

When the priests just barely stuck their little toe into the water ... *translation* ... When they obeyed the Word of the LORD.

All I did was ask my fearful team member "when did the waters part?" and responded "not until they stuck in their foot".  ]

When they showed they were willing to obey what God was asking them to do, God took over and did what ONLY HE can do!! 

Amazingly, and SO LIKE GOD, Pastor Bob was inspired to reference this again during his time of sharing.  Oh, dear team member, if that isn't God's confirmation, I don't know what is!  

Obedience isn't always easy and sometimes it can be scary but it is usually rewarding and it is always for "our best".  In this case, obedience to God, though it starts out seeming as if we are doing a job for Him ends up feeling like an nothing less than an amazing gift has been given to us by God.

So, ... any takers for going on a mission trip to Honduras?

After our devotion, we had a time of "team building".  A member of our church who is experienced in military training and team building exercises has agreed to work with our team each month to whip us into "tip-top-team" shape and to correspond his training with our training.  

For the first gathering, I have a feeling he went easy on us.

Here we were during a little exercise of "let's get to know one another while exercising our memory and attention-to-detail".  

(this exercise involved little animal-shaped bean bags being tossed to one another while stating things that someone else said)

Then, my dear, sweet husband climbed aboard his ship (the tiny blue tarp you see in the photo) and awaited as each member of our team requested admittance to the team, as well as the tiny-blue-tarp-of-a-boat.  Before admittance, Brian would ask each person what he/she had to offer his team to which each team member had to reply with only ONE word.

This is Laura ... her ONE word was "Nursing".

One by one, each team member requested permission to climb aboard and be counted as a member of the team ...

Would everyone fit?

Sure enough ... we ALL FIT!  

What a GREAT team!  

Honduras - GET READY!

Preparing to go Again ... Mission to Honduras: 2013

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                                                                                                             April, 2013

Last year, many of you may remember that we (Brian, Kimberly and Ben) went on a mission trip to Honduras in October.  It was so awesome to share with so many of you about our Medical/Evangelism mission and it was an amazing privilege to serve the Honduran people and share with them the hope in our hearts and the certainty of the joy of our Salvation in the LORD Jesus.  Many of you joined our mission team through prayer, financial support and contributions of supplies.  Your participation was and is so valuable to us and we invite you to come alongside us again as we prepare to return to Honduras in October of 2013.   We (Brian and Kimberly) are excited to, once again, serve the Honduran people and spread the Good News of Jesus, our LORD and Savior and this year, we are also excited to share with you that our roles will be slightly different as we will be leading a team from our own church!  As Team Leaders, we will provide informational materials to those interested in going on mission to Honduras; we will facilitate team meetings and training, maintain necessary paperwork on each team member and track finances for support-raising.  In addition, we will coordinate communications and necessary payments to World Gospel Outreach, the organization with whom we serve in Honduras.

Ben will be a team member once again as he responds to the Spirit’s leading to participate in something that matters to God.  Ben says, “When I went on the mission trip last year, it was an experience like I had never had before.  One of the reasons I really look forward to going back is because I really loved doing “Concrete”.  We would pour a small concrete floor into a family’s home that had previously only been a dirt floor.  It is a great feeling to see their joy by us just putting in a new floor for them.  I hope to, once again, impact the people of Honduras and to provide a way for lives to be changed.  They have so much need!  I pray that God works greatly in and through our 2013 mission to Honduras.”

 

This is an invitation for you to be a part of something that matters … something that makes a positive impact in the life of another human being ... AND it’s an opportunity for us to form a relationship out of purpose. 

Here’s just some of the ways your support impacts the people of Honduras:

1)      Karla came to Brigade to receive dental work … greatly needed dental work.  When she came to us, she only had seven bottom teeth; when she left, she was toothless.  Her teeth were so bad, she was grateful to have them removed.

                                                                      

2/3)This is a home.  Eight people eat, sleep and live in this space, that the family stated has been upon a dirt floor for over thirty years.  Now they have a level, concrete floor.

4)    This young gang member received hope and a way out of a hopeless situation.

                                         
Again, we need to raise $1,595.00 each OR $4,785.00 for the three of us.  As we did last year, each of us will start us out with our $200/person “deposit”, which is due on or before 4/21/2013.  That leaves $4,185.00 that we need to raise via faithful contributors and fundraisers with $1,905.00 being due on or before 6/23/2013 and $2,280.00 being due on or before 8/18/2013.

There is a lot of work to be done but “many hands make light work” and nothing is impossible with God!

No contribution is too big or too small and we just LOVE to watch as one-by-one we become a great, Big GOD Team as more and more people join us through prayer, financial support and contribution of supplies.  If you would like to begin praying for us, here are some specific needs we have thought of:

1) That we follow God’s leading in effectively training and encouraging our team members 2) That our fundraisers would impact the community as well as our funding needs 3) That God is preparing the Hondurans we have not yet met 4) That we would continue to grow and mature spiritually and discern the will of God for our lives

In Honduras, at the beginning of each day of Brigade, after a time of praise and prayer, we would shout out at the top of our lungs, both in English and Spanish (like the shot at the start of an important race) “Let’s Go To Work!”  (vamos a trabajar).  All the Hondurans waiting in line outside could hear this; it was a jolt of excitement and energy to kick off the precious work about to be done …

… So huddle with us now … place your hands to the center … on three … One, Two Three … “Let’s Go To Work!”

With all our love and warmest regards,

Brian and Kimberly Prendergast/Ben Lindberg

Honduran Medical-Evangelism Ministry Information

Honduras is among the poorest nations of the world. It is a nation of neglected and abandoned children and adults in dire need of help. Many families are locked into a devastating cycle of disease, unemployment and illiteracy. Every year, more than 50,000 Hondurans have their medical and dental needs met by medical and non-medical volunteers who make up the Medical-Evangelism brigades of World Gospel Outreach. Lives are changed and communities are transformed as WGO Brigades partner with more than 80 local Honduran churches to serve those in need, bringing medical care to some who have never had it.

Your prayers and financial support are needed to fulfill the call to go to Honduras to serve the people there and to share our hearts for Jesus with them.  Each team member must raise $1,595 ($4,785 for the three of us) and have a prayer team supporting our efforts.  We sincerely covet your support and invite you to invest in us and the work we seek to do for the LORD.  All financial gifts are tax-exempt.  God bless you and be with you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I, We… will help Brian and Kimberly Prendergast and Ben Lindberg as they serve as short-term missionaries to Honduras from September 28 – October 5, 2013.  We agree to pray for them ______ and/or I, we would like to contribute $_________ to their mission fund. 

Name - __________________________________________

Address - ________________________________________

________________________________________________

Email Address - ___________________________________   

(so you can receive updates on the mission – YOU WILL NOT BE CONTACTED BY THE MISSION ORGANIZATION)

Please make checks payable to: and mail to:

Community Church of Elkhorn

c/o Kimberly and Brian Prendergast

1614 Meadow Lane

Elkhorn, Wisconsin  53121

*In the check memo line be sure to reference Honduras Team #3913B* and return the remittance form above to ensure that your contribution is allocated properly.

What Do You Think You Can't Do?

WRITTen SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010

Me and my treadmill ... (to God be the Glory!)

I don't know why now ... I mean, I surely do not understand what is different about the last few weeks ... well, wait, I DO KNOW WHAT ... OK ... let me explain.  I do not like exercise!  I mean, I really DO NOT LIKE exercise.  I could actually use the 4-letter "H" word that refers to having anaversion to and/or an intense dislike ... REALLY.  My husband, on the other hand, LOVES exercise and would be perfectly happy to exercise often and heartily.  YUCK!  

A little more than fourteen years ago, I began to have terrible back pain, a burning like I've never felt before and throbbing, aching muscles around my knees.  I underwent many medical tests and after testing negative for each, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, ... hmmm ...  The pain got so bad that I could hardly do more than just walk.  It was (in my opinion) absolutely ridiculous; I was only 24 years old but I felt like I was much, much older.  I was given multiple prescription drugs, which after the first couple of days I refused to take because they made me sick, and I was told this would never go away and I would have to learn to live with it.  

 I have tried exercise now and then over the years and I have had some successes, but in most cases, my body would suffer greater pain and discomfort from most types of increased physical activity.  Therefore, I disliked exercise even more and did it less and less which caused me to be even less physically fit and my body to become weaker ... are you starting to get the point?  It was kind of like a hamster running in his wheel and not ever going anywhere.  Over the years, my husband and I have prayed about it, talked about it, challenged it and accepted it and though I've pushed myself past what I believed was my limit on numerous occasions, more often I have stopped myself due to the thoughts constantly parading in my mind "I can't do this" and "I don't want to hurt".  A vicious cycle is what it has been.

Over the last year or so, I have been doing some soul-searching, I have been seeking God more deeply, I have tried to analyze certain aspects of my life and trying to improve upon those areas where I fall very short.  While I've been "searching" and cleansing my mind and my thoughts, I have found that there is a link to the way that I treat my body.  Now, I would not say that I have abused my body or mistreated my body in terrible ways and I don't think anyone else would either but stick with me here and I'll explain.

I LOVE sweets and treats!  Truly, ... I would pick a handful of cookies over a piece of fruit any day.  One could almost say I am addicted.  I'm not really sure if it goes hand in hand with someone who has an addition to say, ... tobacco or alcohol or something like that ..., but I DO NOT LIKE to go without a sweet.  So, in the recent months, during my "searching" and "cleansing" of the mind, I discovered and had to confess to myself that I might just regard my sweets (and my tea - sniff, sniff) higher than I regard my LORD and Savior.  Is THAT possible?  Dear friends, ... it really is!  If one could find him or her "self" saying, "I'm not giving that up for ANYONE!", ... THAT is an addiction and an "enslavement" to that "thing".  

Tea and sweets are something that I thoroughly enjoy, something that I count on for enjoyment and comfort ... it's wonderful to sit quietly sipping a lovely cup of hot tea and nibbling on some tasty bit of sweetness ... but I discovered that I was allowing THAT ACTIVITY to become my GOD, ... where I sought refuge, comfort, peace and renewed strength.  In addition, my indulgences in said "comfort and peace" has caused me to pack on extra pounds that I do not wish to have ... another vicious cycle.  

As 2009 came to a close, I was really at a point where I just knew I wanted to change.  I spoke with the LORD, telling Him I don't want to be a slave to food and be enslaved to an immobile body ... (You are my GOD and You are all I NEED) so I planned to fast.  Honestly, I've never really done this before.  I've thought about it many times, I've heard about it and I've read a little bit about it.  At first, I was going to fast from all unnatural foods but then quickly realized that my intent was really to prove to myself and to the LORD that He is my first "comfort and peace"; nothing comes before Him, everything in my life comes after Him.  Tea and sweets are what I needed to fast so for the first few weeks of January that is what I did.  It was SO DIFFICULT and I had to seek God constantly for strength and perseverance.  When it became difficult and I thought I would give in to temptation, I prayed, asking God for strength.  I searched the Bible for more direction and more insight and before long, I realized that God hadn't actually asked me to "fast"; He just wanted my focus to return to Him ~ He knows always, but sometimes I forget that when I remain focused on God, there is a peace in all things and my perspective is clearer.  

The funny thing is, I was sure that during those weeks that I was fasting from honey-sweetened teas and numerous candy snacks and sugary treats, that extra pounds would just melt away effortlessly ... and do you know that I did NOT lose one single pound during that time???  Oh, the frustration at that realization. But let me tell you something ... dear ones, you've been patient and I am finally getting to the point ... 

On the day that I decided that I would no longer fast from tea and sweets (and to celebrate its end, my dear, sweet husband was taking me to Panera for a Chai Tea Latte and sweet treat in the evening) I had a strange urge to run on my treadmill.  I do not really know why I would "WANT" to do something like this but I thought, "I'll give it a shot and at the least I'll try to counter some of the calories I will consume later at Panera".  Do you know what happened?  

After one minute, I just wanted to get off!  So, I prayed ... perhaps it was the LORD, Himself, prompting me to talk to Him ... to focus not on the discomfort but rather to draw strength from Him.  I began to say the LORD's Prayer.  I found that after saying "Amen", nearly a minute had gone by and so I'd say it again, thinking about each word as I prayed them, ... Amen and Amen.  I was so overwhelmed that first day that I was in tears as my time on the treadmill came to an end.  I was on my treadmill for thirty minutes doing a mix of fast-walking and jogging!!!  I set myself a goal ... thirty minutes or 300 calories, whichever takes longer.  And I did it!!!  

So, the next day, I did it again!  And the day after that, I did it again!  Each time, I would pray and talk to God, saying the LORD's Prayer and adding another AMEN each time; then I began praying Scripture that I know to help the minutes go by and to pray to the LORD for strength and endurance.  As the minutes would go by, while in prayer, I would watch the numbers change on the information panel of the treadmill.  The panel displays distance, time elapsed and calories burned.  Being the "numbers person" that I am, I would look at the numbers and talk to God about the numbers, ... one more minute, LORD, ... help me to reach the next whole number, ... I'm almost to the next mile, help me to keep going, ... I trust You, LORD, You are my strength ... and so I would push myself as the LORD allowed and each day I have met my goal and on more days I have exceeded my goal.  One day last week, I was so "into it" that God spurred me to fifty minutes on my treadmill!!!  Yesterday, I went for my "record" time/distance/calories of 60 minutes, 11 seconds!!!  

To some, this might be strange ... to others, the fact that I'm making such a big deal might be cause for concern and to those who are physically fit on a regular basis, this whole post might be absurd ~ perhaps the only person who might truly understand what an amazing, awe-inspiring, miraculous fact this truly is would be my husband (and even then, he can't fully know) ~ BUT, GOD is allowing me something that I have not been able to attain until now.  Each day when I go on the treadmill, I think about God, I pray to Him, I think about how awesome it is that He is allowing me to do this and I'm not struggling with pain, discomfort, breathing issues, muscles spasms, leg cramps, etc ... all things that have inhibited me before.  My attitude has changed; my outlook is more positive ~ I feel REALLY GOOD!  And guess what else?  While I haven't given up tea and sweets, I am not craving it to pacify me or to provide me comfort and so I've had less of it (beloved Dennis and Maureen, this does not mean you should discontinue parcels of vital supplies).  Amazingly, and to the glory of God, I am seeing physical results to my "prayer time on the treadmill", even though it's only been a few weeks.  

There are some days that I think about skipping out but I don't want to take for granted what the LORD is granting me ... I want to take full advantage of it now and as long as it lasts; I don't want it to be taken away.  And usually after I've been at it for a few minutes, the negative thoughts are gone and I know it's good to be where I am.  The LORD is with me each day, as I talk with Him and pray, as I draw strength from Him ... my mind races with thoughts about my glorious God and the time passes by quickly and that in itself is a huge blessing!  

It is only because of GOD that this is happening; it is only by His strength that I am achieving this success.  I thank Him each day; I praise Him because He loves me even in the tiny details ~ in ways that some might be blind to or find completely insignificant ~ the LORD is with me.  I cannot say it enough ... I have been given this gift by God; I could not do this before!  I could not do this before!  How great is my God?  Truly indescribable!!!

So, ... what do you think you can't do??

Nothing is impossible with God ~ Luke 1:37

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength ~ Philippians 4:13

I love you, O LORD, my strength ~ Psalm 18:1

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always ~ 1 Chronicles 16:11

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect ~ Psalm 18:32

A Little Story ... as told by myself, Ben and Molly

Me: “Did you know that Ben is my son?  Do you think he looks like me?

Yep, he is!

As my natural son, Ben is granted certain rights and privileges just for being born to me such as food, shelter and clothing is provided to him.  As his parent, it is also my responsibility to share with him, teach him right and wrong and love him no matter what.  As my child, Ben is considered to be my heir and he is entitled to an inheritance.

So, Ben, what’s an heir?” 

Ben: “A person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate and/or possessions of another.”

Me: “What’s an inheritance?” 

Ben: “Something that is or will be inherited; property that transfers at the owner’s death to his or her heir.”

Me:  "Okay, ... so, what will Ben inherit from me?  My house?  Here is a nice room in the house ... my favorite room ...

The family car?  Here is a likeness of our vehicle ... if that's still around, it will be part of Ben's inheritance.

And if there's any of this left ... well, that will part of the inheritance too!

Those things are fine, I guess ... but they're not worth all that much, are they? ...  they're not indestructible, ...  and they certainly won't last forever.

Me:  “Hmm, … okay, are you with me so far?

Did you know that Molly is my daughter?  Do you think she looks like me?

            Molly isn’t my natural-born daughter – she’s adopted.

Molly, what does adopted mean?” 

Molly: “To take into one’s family through legal means and to raise as one’s own child.  My mama and baba adopted me and I got to live a new country with a new family; I got a new name and now I have a future inheritance!”

Me: “That's right!  Molly’s rights and privileges as my daughter are exactly the same as Ben’s, just as if she had been born to me in the same way that Ben was.  Isn't that cool?  That's one of the uniquely special things about adoption!”

Ben: “hold on, uh, … Mom …”

Mom: “yes?”

Ben: “I’m adopted.”

Mom: “huh?”

Ben” “I’m adopted too …”

Mom: “what do you mean, you’re adopted?  I should know whether or not I gave birth to you or if I adopted you.”

Ben: “I’m adopted by God.”

Me: “Ohhhh … you know what?  Ben’s right!  (He always WAS a smarty-pants!)  Ben IS adopted by God!  And not only has Molly been adopted by our family but she, too, has been adopted by God … even I have been adopted by God!  Do you know why?”

“God’s unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.  And this gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5NLT)

“What does that mean?  Well, we have to start at the beginning …

What is Sin? – SIN IS ANYTHING THAT SOMEONE DOES, THINKS OR SAYS THAT DOES NOT AGREE WITH WHAT GOD DOES, THINKS OR SAYS. (why? Because God is  Creator and He sets the standard)

Who Sins? – EVERYONE “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Ben and Molly, when you do something wrong at home or at school, is there a consequence?”

Ben and Molly (in unison):  “YES.”

What is the consequence for Sin? – “For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23a)

“So, what is the consequence?  It's DEATH!  What is death?  It is eternal separation from God … so our sin certainly does NOT get us to heaven because that’s where he lives and our sin separates us from Him.

“But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)  …

... did you read the BUT in that verse?

So, what is this gift?  And what is ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“Believe in the LORD Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)

… and there’s more to it …when we believe that Jesus is our LORD and Savior because God sent Him for us, to save us from our sins, we are guaranteed eternal life in heaven AND ...

“… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, … but born of God.” (John 1:12)

“…[we] received God’s Spirit when he adopted [us] as his own children.  Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”  For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs.  In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory.” (Romans 8:15b)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, … (1 Peter 1:3-4)

 ... we are also included in the same inheritance that Jesus Himself is given as the natural Son of our Heavenly Father!!!  Can you imagine???

Living in Filth ...

My son broke our vacuum cleaner!  I have to preface that my verve for cleaning, organizing and rearranging has not genetically passed along to him.  You must know that he almost never vacuums; it's just not one of his strong points and if he can avoid the task of vacuuming, he certainly will but on one recent occasion, he did decide to take that route at a time when it became absolutely necessary due to build-up of what we'll call "debris and gunk".

And he broke the vacuum cleaner!  The nerve! 

So, ... naturally, we needed to purchase a new vacuum cleaner.  We got one by Eureka, the kind that doesn't require vacuum bags!  It’s great!  There’s just this cylinder-shaped container that catches all the debris that the vacuum sucks up. 

Well, there was a period of nearly two weeks between the death of our old vacuum and the purchase of our new one.  Needless to say, I went to vacuuming right away.  I took the new machine out of the box, connected its attachments, plugged it in and away I went.  I vacuumed just one room and noticed movement … you know … in that cylinder-shaped container that catches all the debris that the vacuum sucks up.  So, I turned it off and pulled the container out. 

Sure enough, it was FULL of YUCK that looked like THIS …

THAT WAS IN MY CARPET?  ALL THAT??  That is, in my opinion, A LOT and I couldn’t even see any of it!  I had no idea we were living in that filth and I certainly didn’t realize it could build up so quickly. 

You know, .. SIN is like that.  Sometimes it’s right there under our noses, we’re living in it and we don’t even realize it.  If we don’t pay attention and remove it right away, if we ignore it because we don't want to deal with it, it can build up in our lives, eventually becoming obstacles of "debris and gunk".  When we're finally ready to do something about it, it might just be that permanent damage is unavoidable (we may suffer earthly consequences of our sin), though, spiritually, God wipes our slate clean because God is a God of FORGIVENESS and RESTORATION! 
For those of us who are in Christ ... believing that He (Jesus) physically and spiritually received the punishment we deserve when He was crucified and descended into hell, trusting that He overcame the shackles of death by His unsurpassing power, knowing that He crushed Satan's grip on Him and all mankind who believe when He was raised from the dead ... we are restored and Jesus resumes His reign next to His Father in heaven. 

I know that it is impossible for me to prevent ANY "debris and gunk" from getting into my house so I have to vacuum on a regular basis.  In the same way, it is impossible for us to prevent ANY sin from being in our lives ... we still sin but we continue to strive toward eliminating them from our lives.  God is our vacuum cleaner and we can go to Him on a regular basis and allow Him to remove our "debris and gunk".  1 John 1:8-9 says that "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess ours sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  He restores us and helps us to choose differently, react differently, respond differently ... until the sins we continue to struggle with become less and less.   It's a process and it needs to be dealt with on a regular basis; the longer we put it off, the more prone we will be to incurring greater consequences or damage ... turn to the LORD and let Him be your vacuum so you don't keep "living in filth".