5 star rating

This 5 star cleanliness rating which was posted on the wall of a hospital in March 2025 does not expire for a whole year. If only I could have one of these certificates in my house. Imagine being certified as five star clean for 365 days! Alas nobody would believe the certificate if they came into my kitchen. I don't think I would have been granted five stars for a day, never mind a year.

Keeping clean isn't as easy as we'd like. 

In the Bible Psalm 51  reads  "Create in me a clean heart Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me." When we ask God to forgive us and clean us he does an absolutely thorough job. The problem seems to be that we easily pick up dirt. This is where God steps in to renew our certificate of cleanliness. He does it as often as we ask him and there is no expiry date on his forgiveness.

Scratch Cover

It transpires that child proof lids are also difficult to put on. I shook the bottle vigorously, ready to evenly cover a scratch on a coffee table with the contents of my Pledge Extra Care Scratch Cover. It covered quite a few things, none of which had a scratch. I am intrigued to discover why this happened immediately AFTER I had steam cleaned my kitchen floor, rather than immediately before.
In the Bible there is a verse about covering things, "Above all. love each other constantly, because love covers a multitude of sins."  Sometimes we don't want to cover things, we want them to be seen because they've hurt us. We want others to see the scratches that have marred our lives so that they will feel sorry for us and make allowances for our bad attitudes. I was choosing which scratch to cover when I spilled the bottle this morning, it went all over the place. Can I encourage you to leave the lid off love today, shake it about a bit and see what a multitude of scratches it covers.

Spillit Bang

"Bang and the shoes and cardigan are ruined!"
I suppose I should have known that if something removes black mold it also removes black wool and blue suede. It seemed like a good idea at 3 o'clock this morning but maybe I was more tired than I thought.
Anyway, if I find any black mold I wont hesitate.
I'm reminded of something else that removes dirt, it's called forgiveness. People don't use it enough. When you read the Bible you see Jesus dealing with the dirt in people's lives really effectively. You hear him say "Your sins are forgiven," He said it to people nobody else was likely to forgive and religious people didn't much like it. Trying to get rid of your own grime, usually turns out a bit like my sleeve and shoes. I recommend you leave it to the Saviour of the world. He died so that you can be utterly forgiven and totally clean. 

Spillage

Why is it that when someone says, "Don't spill that all over the white cloth," you feel an inordinate obligation to spill that all  over the white cloth? "That" on this occasion was a mug of tomato soup. The cloth was a pristine white linen tablecloth, freshly laundered by a professional cleaning company at considerable cost. I was nowhere near it when I spilled it. I was simply moving the cloth down a few inches to cover another table which had been added to accommodate a couple more people. Theoretically the tables are all the same size and height. Realistically, they aren't. The mug hit the undercover raised table edge with enough force to tip almost the entire contents onto the white cloth in a large sunset like pattern with sunshine rays running down the overhanging linen. My face was pretty much the same colour as the spillage. 
As I watched the red stain seep into the fabric it actually reminded me of Easter. The red stain on the white cloth that day was no accident, it was the culmination of centuries of planning. The cloth wasn't used for long, barely three days. Jesus folded it carefully and left it in the empty tomb when he rose from the dead. Because of what Jesus accomplished over those three days, my embarrassment over my many mistakes and my guilt over my many misdemeanors have been obliterated. The Bible tells me that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. In the book of Revelation John writes about people who are wearing freshly washed white robes and being sheltered by the presence of God. My shame is taken away through Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus used wine to remind his friends he would give his life for them, I used tomato soup. I don't think Jesus minds what you use to remind you of his love for you this Easter. He just wants you to know you can be utterly forgiven and totally clean.

Soldering irons

I love soldering irons, I love the solder in the little tube neatly wrapped in a coil. I like fixing things. Today I attempted to solder an Iphone5 charger. I've had better ideas.
My new soldering iron with the decent tip seems to have blown up so I reverted to my old soldering iron with the broad tip. This is not ideal for soldering tiny wires together. After what might well prove to be an unsuccessful attempt, I wrapped some old bike inner tube round the join, held it together with parcel tape and waited for someone with an iphone to come, so I could see if I did well. I then had a brain wave - I could take the tip from the new soldering iron and put it on the old soldering iron. I undid the grub screw on the old one and the two philips screws from the new one and using a cloth swapped the tips. I picked up the grub screw to complete the repair. I didn't use the cloth. Grub screws hold the heat quite well - my index finger and thumb tips have blistered.
I will have to go in a minute because someone with an iphone has arrived, but let me just say, joining things effectively is something God is interested in. He wants to join you and he wants you to join him. That became impossible with our selfishness and sinfulness in the way, so he sent Jesus to do what was necessary to allow us to be forgiven if we ask him.. Jesus was like the solder I guess. He took the heat so we can be joined to God.