DEBBIE NORRELL

It is definitely time for spring cleaning. Recently I was riding past several beautiful homes and the owners happened to have their garage doors open and the space that was designed to protect the car was full of containers and what looked like a lot of junk. Why put your Cadillac or Mercedes outside just so you can keep dozens of plastic containers that contain who knows what? Who ever invented the plastic container should get a prize.  They can last forever, they stack well, you can’t see through them and unless you label them you will soon forget what is inside.  
People keep so much stuff it has turned into several reality shows, have you seen episodes of Hoarders or Storage Wars? It is all about stuff. People’s hoards have them by the throat and then they rent a storage unit, put the junk in it and can’t pay the bill. Someone bids on the unit and makes money from someone else’s misfortune.  
If you don’t have room for something, don’t rent a spot to keep it. Get rid of it. Sell it, give it away or at least set a time limit for keeping the stuff. If you don’t have anywhere to put it after six months in the words of the late Robin Harris “got to go, got to go.”
While we are in April, which happens to be tackle your clutter month, there are many helpful tips to de-clutter your home. A new survey released recently found that 94 percent of U.S. adults de-clutter their homes more than once a year and donate their gently used goods to charities. Of the 94 percent who donate to charity, 36 percent of those surveyed claimed the garage is the space at home most in need of de-cluttering. One easy solution to tackle your clutter in April is to donate an old car. That is if you aren’t using it. I met a man who has 10 cars. Over the phone it sounded sexy until I got to his house and saw that that several of them didn’t even start.
The clutter in people’s homes causes most household arguments for most families. Despite the convenient and cost effective process of donating a car, only 5.4 percent of adults reported donating their used cars when they purchased a new one. Additionally, 4.6 percent of adults will keep their old cars and not use it, contributing to the clutter.
I donated a car once only because after I bought it I could not get the heap home. My only recourse was to donate. Donating a car really isn’t a bad idea sometimes you can get more of a tax refund than what you will get by trading it in or selling it. I know a car may be a big item to donate but read the book “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh the former host of the show “Clean Sweep.” Walsh gives you the courage you need to go through your home, room by room, and even possession by possession and honestly assess what adds to your quality of life and what’s keeping you from living the life of your dreams. Let’s clean up.

(News and Experts)—Americans believe in heaven—since 1997, the numbers have fluctuated from 72 to 80 percent, according to Gallup polls.
But what is heaven and what does it look like? 
“Too often the popular idea of heaven is a place where you’ll have nothing to do but tell a jealous God how good he is over and over for all eternity—and that wouldn’t be much better than hell,” says Charlie Webster, former senior engineer for NASA, Bible scholar and author of “Revitalizing Christianity” (www.NewCenturyMinistries.com). 
“That’s not Jesus’ picture of heaven,” he says.
Heaven will be a place with exciting challenges against a background of caring love from everyone and to everyone.
“But you don’t have to wait ‘til you die to experience some of the most important benefits of heaven,” Webster says. “Anyone can create a real foretaste of heaven wherever they are. And you don’t even have to believe in God to experience part of this—though it certainly works better if you let God help you.”
“Caring about and helping with the needs and pains of others brings real joy,” Webster says.
It’s the same thing Jesus said two millennia ago: When you focus on yourself, you are the only one interested in helping you, he says.
“Even in places of worship, most folks are asking, ‘What can God do for me?’ instead of ‘What could I do to make this world the caring place God wants it to be?’”
Here are three ways Webster says anybody, regardless of creed, can get a taste of heaven here on Earth:

• Forgiveness: When you forgive a hurt or transgression, there’s a great sense of relief—a weight has been lifted. Animosity eats at the bearer. But how to forgive? It takes both faith and sympathy—“faith that if the transgression needs to be punished, it will be, and sympathy because you can’t know what caused someone to anger you,” Webster says. “Take a road-rage scenario—some speeding motorist almost kills you. Your immediate reaction is anger. But do you know the reasons behind his risky driving? Maybe it’s just that he thinks everybody should get out of his way. God will deal with that. But maybe he’s responding to a genuine emergency that you might have handled the same way. If you turn the matter over to God, you can arrive home stress-free. Better yet, offer a prayer for the offender. Whatever the cause, he needs prayer.
• Helping Others: Rather than stressing over time, money and travel logistics for a vacation focused on pampering yourself, Charlie suggests helping others in the form of a mission trip—an all-around win. Volunteers often see a new part of the world; but more importantly they come home with wonderful new friends and the knowledge that they’ve made the world a better place. And you can usually find a trip that’s already planned and priced at reduced rates. When your mission vacation is over, you’ll truly be recharged and refreshed and you’ll have memories you could never get on a vacation focused on yourself.
• Having a Marriage that Works: By far the best marriages are the ones in which couples have asked themselves “how can I make his/her life better” rather than saying “I want him/her because he/she satisfies my needs.” Such marriages almost never end in divorce, Webster says. “Even couples who never go through a ceremony can experience this. God never demanded a ceremony—he demands the unselfish love that he knows will bring us true joy.”
“In the end heaven is really more about relationships than where you are,” Webster says. “It’s not fluffy clouds, scratchy robes, and awkward wings. The heaven Jesus taught about is an active life in an environment of unselfish caring—the kind of environment that builds strong bonds.”
“If you accept that the after-life taught by Jesus is real, then doing this in your daily life prepares you for an eternity of ever-greater joy. It’s a life of unselfish caring that brings the kind of joy that will make heaven, heaven.”  
About Charlie Webster: As an engineer, Charlie Webster headed NASA projects for several years; as a Bible scholar, he has taught biblical studies at the college level.

POWERFUL TRIO—Mel Blount, TiAnda Blount and LaMarr Woodley

On April 5, at the beautiful Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, hundreds attended the Mel Blount Youth Home 15th Annual All-Star Celebrity Roast: A Roast and Tribute honoring Pittsburgh Steeler Linebacker LaMarr Woodley.  Current and former Steelers arrived early to sign footballs and Steeler memorabilia for the grand auction.
In a program message from Mel Blount he says he can’t believe it has been 15 years since his wife, TiAnda, wanted to do something special for his 50th birthday. “She had been praying for guidance from the Lord about how she could help me in my effort at the youth home. I was reluctant when she came to me with the original idea of the dinner. Now 15 years later I am thankful she followed the prompting of the Lord.”
On this wonderful evening LaMarr Woodley was honored. Blount says Woodley is a great role model in the NFL. Woodley returned to his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan and contributed over $60,000 of his own money to keep a football program alive. He is doing countless things in the Pittsburgh community as well. Woodley pledges $500 for each sack he records in a season, to support organizations serving disadvantaged kids in Saginaw and Pittsburgh including the Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania and Prevent Another Crime Today (PACT). Woodley donates an initial $5,000 and seeks sponsors to match.
Blount says in the months to come he will share information about plans for the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Youth Home.

Spring Conference
April 18—Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, 6111 Rodman St., East Liberty, will host the Lott Carey Spring Conference 2013. The three-day seminar will feature Rev. Dr. John Mendez, Rev. Keron Sadler and Rev. Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler. The theme is “Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations.” For more information, visit www.lottcarey.org.