stain remover

I'm back, peeps.

I have way too many recipe-I-owe-you's out in my name. 

So, I have a bit of catching up to do...

the perfect gluten-free chocolate chip cookie {finally!!}

grain-free cranberry orange scones

gluten-free grilled pizzas...to name a few.

But this recipe is one our family uses everyday.

We dig for worms. 

We fish. and river-stomp. and dance in the mud. 

We savor popsicles in the sun until they melt all over our clothes.
We slurp watermelon so juicy it runs down our arms.
We pack up hot chocolate and hike and snack in the woods.

We paint.
We climb trees. And roll down hills.

We play hard.
And we use lots of stain remover.

I think we go through it by the gallon in the summertime. 
Which is why I started making our own, for just pennies, to keep up with all the boys at play.

Homemade Stain Remover
2 parts hydrogen peroxide*
1 part Dawn dishwashing liquid
Mix the two ingredients in a spray bottle. An old "Shout" bottle works well. 
*Hydrogen peroxide, H₂O_2, becomes diluted to water and oxygen when exposed to light, hence the brown bottle it comes in. My smart older chemist brother taught me this. So, be sure to use an opaque bottle.

We have put it to the test - mud, coffee, ketchup, marker, soy sauce, paint, hot chocolate...It has removed them all.

Because life is too short to stay clean all the time.

Life is also too short for me not to write about more than what we use for a stain remover. Writing down this recipe for how to clean ourselves up on the outside reminds me all too much of the stains we keep on the inside. No matter how clean we may try to make our clothes and our house and our car, we all have been marked with a stain we cannot remove ourselves. There is no formula to wash away our sin. Jesus said trying was like cleaning the outside of the cup when the inside was still filthy. I remember the moment when someone offered me a drink, then pulled a dirty styrofoam cup out of their unwashed dishes and filled it with water for me. They were extremely poor, so I overlooked the stains to appreciate their gesture. But that doesn't work with God. How is anything less than perfect acceptable before a holy and righteous Creator of all things? 
Do you know what the incredible thing is?! 
He has not left us to clean up ourselves to be "good enough." He has not even asked us to try. He sent a Savior. 
We have a whole holiday set up to celebrate this remarkable Gift. 
{Merry belated Christmas, btw. Happy New Year too! Sorry it's been awhile...}
God in flesh. God with us, Jesus. 
Who lived a perfect life, died as a payment for our debt, conquering death so that we may have life! Every sin...He has removed them all! This is the part where I want to put exclamation points after every sentence because the more I grasp this, the more it affects my days! It changes who I want to be and how I want to spend my time. Because this life is not all there is! 

No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. 
I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow.

Isaiah 1.18 {NLT}

Oh, how I pray you know Jesus. 
There is no greater joy than experiencing His Almighty Love.

Let Him make you whole. 

Let Him wash away your stains forever. 

There is no sin that is a match for His grace.

Timothy Keller, Prodigal God