Like most authors and speakers, I spend a lot of time traveling. Sometimes I am asked to stay in the home of a church member, but typically a hotel room is booked for me. During the course of my ministry, I have stayed in some rather posh places. I have also stayed in some places I wouldn’t dare mention for fear of a lawsuit.

One thing you can always count on—whether in a roach motel or a five-star/five-diamond establishment—there will be “amenities” in the bathroom.

I have my favorites, of course. When I walk in and see products from Bath & Body Works or Crabtree & Evelyn, I’m nearly giddy. There’s another line that—although not necessary known for being an “indulgence” product—is, none-the-less, good. It’s called Purity Basics®.

I especially like the French milled bath and facial soap. I even like its cover, a white wrapper with a baby blue front. In the very center is a lush tree in the middle of a misty field. The word “purity” is printed in small case, the word “BASICS” is in large. Just under this is—again in small case lettering—the phrase: cleanse your body.

Body & Soul

Last year I sent to my editor and publisher what was, no doubt, the most fun book I have ever written. Oasis; A Spa for Body & Soul (Baker/Revell, 2007) is a look at how we girls take such high maintenance care of our bodies and how we can, hopefully, mirror that care toward our spiritual selves. Using metaphor, I take a look at things like “exercise” and then mirror it with “working out” our salvation. “Eye care” (including various ways to wear eye makeup, how to arch your brow, etc.) is then shifted to a look at David’s words found in Psalm 101: I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

So, when I see something like “purity basics…cleanse your body….” my mind naturally wanders to the metaphorical obvious: what French milled soap can do for our bodies, the Lord can do for our souls.

Washed in the Blood

Do you remember when—as a child—you took your own version of a bath? Do you remember seeing your mother glare down at your dirty face and hands not five minutes after you came from the tub? Do you recall her words?

“Did you bathe?”

“Uh, yes ma’am.”

“Did you use soap and water?”

“Uh, yes ma’am.”

Then, horror of horrors. Mother went to the tub for closer inspection only to find it completely dry. Lifting a brow, she asked, “Can you tell me why the tub is dry?”