How to Renovate a Heart

As I write this, we are in the middle of a house renovation. About half of our house is being remodelled to make the house more livable and more contemporary.


The first thing that happened was that, after we moved all our possessions out of that part of the house, the workers got in, cut off the power and then proceeded to knock down walls that were no longer needed, pull down the ceilings, and lift up the worn out floor coverings.


They then installed new beams into the roof cavity to make sure that the removal of structural walls would not cause the roof to fall in. New internal walls had to be constructed, the electrical system rewired and an air conditioner put into the roof. The walls and ceilings have been re-sheeted, and door trims replaced. In coming weeks the power supply will be upgraded, a new kitchen will be installed, and everything will be painted.


The workers have made a big mess, but in a few weeks we will effectively have a new house. The cost will be enormous, but we have enough money put aside to cover it all.


When you ask Jesus to take control of your life, He starts by transforming your heart. The old stuff has to be taken out, because it is harmful to you. Attitudes, addictions and wrong behaviour patterns have to change, hurts need to be healed and consequences for our actions recognised.


In the Bible, God promises to give us a new heart. “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”


Christianity is not a collection of rules in which our behaviour is modified from the outside. No, our relationship with God leads to Him cleaning out our old heart and giving us a new heart.


It is messy at times and it seems to take forever while you are going through it. You don’t have to worry about the price because it has already been paid for.


Why don’t you ask Jesus to come and give you a heart renovation?

Home Improvements Day 10

The rooms are starting to look like rooms now with the plastering of ceilings completed today.

The doors are also starting to look like doors with knobs and latches attached. This door is an unexpected addition at the bottom of the stairs.

We noticed this afternoon that even though the doors have been open all day, the house is surprisingly warm- the west facing windows used to only warm up the side bedrooms, and the walls were not insulated. Now the house will be much more thermally comfortable.

Monday they get stuck into skirtings and architraves.

Home Improvements Day 9

The air conditioning was installed today. They were hoping to get it done by lunch time, but the confined space in the upstairs roof made things trickier than Troy expected. The gear is in now, and they just need to put the vents in.

The builders were hoping to get the ceiling finished today, but the delays with the air conditioning held them back. That will be finished tomorrow.

This is the new bedroom, formerly the kitchen.The door overlooks my fish tank, hence the windows. We have a proper sky light which will help to light the place in the day time. This room is about the same size as our existing bedroom, but the built ins will be far more useful than what we have now.

Home Improvements Day 7

At last, a door in the hole. That should make the house a lot less cold tonight.

Margaret made the mistake of requesting new doors on the hall cupboards to match the other internal doors. Well, you can’t just pull the old doors off and put new doors on. We have to make new inserts to jazz up the inside of the cupboards. We found ourselves hurriedly emptying cupboards that we thought would be left alone.

The old bathroom has a new door, but no latch yet.

Tomorrow the air conditioner goes in and the ceiling goes up.

The builder told Margaret that they should be done by the middle of next week, after which the floor coverings can go down. That was a shock, but we aren’t counting chickens yet. If it happens that way, it will be just 3 weeks from start to finish.

Happy days!