"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23
This morning I woke up with a lot on my to do list, as I do on a very regular basis. I'm a stay at home mom of two young children and my husband works around 50 hours a week and is in school taking classes to finish up his degree, so that leaves me with a lot to do around the house. As any of you with children know, when you clean or organize a room in your house, it is inevitably going to be messy again within a twenty four hour period if your children are allowed within a 10 foot radius of that room! Not only do I find myself cleaning up and organizing rooms almost every day at some point during the day, I have found that the dishes don't clean themselves, meals don't make themselves, children aren't naturally squeaky clean, bills don't pay themselves and my body doesn't tone and strengthen itself. On top of the normal chores of every day life, there are added things on the to do list, such as doctors appointments, church ministries, volunteering, activities to go to and be apart of that my children are involved in, Bible study to prepare for, friends to spend time with, school functions, phone calls to make, emails to return, and the list goes on. Most of the time I find myself going about these chores and activities in my life with a to do list attitude, seeking only to be able to check it off my list when it is accomplished. Sometimes I go about these things with a less than happy attitude and grumble quietly to myself (sometimes not so quietly) as I have to wash my 50th dish of the day or pick up the 100th toy that has found its way in the direct path my feet are taking.
God wants more of us than an obligatory attitude towards whatever tasks we find ourselves doing. Everything we do, whether it seem very important or absolutely insignificant is to be done as if we were given that task directly from the Lord. If the Lord came down and asked you to personally do something would you do it halfheartedly? I doubt it! And the truth is, everything we do is for the Lord. It honors Him when we cheerfully go about our every day tasks of taking care of the family he has blessed us with. Every day you wake up and take a breath is another day God has given you and there is purpose in every day, even the seemingly ordinary days. So the next time you find yourself picking up that toy that you know you've picked up ten times already that day or find yourself volunteering at your child's school for yet another program or event, or pick up your husbands dirty socks that always seem to land a few feet away from the hamper, take a moment and thank God that He gave you another day on this earth to do these things for your family and more importantly for Him!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Our Unlimited God
"Amaziah asked the man of God, 'But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel? The man of God replied, 'The Lord is able to give you much more than this!'"
1 Chronicles 25:9
I sat down today to do a devotion on the importance of being wise and frugal with the money God gives you but God in His divine way lead me to something a little different. As I searched for Scriptures on this topic I came across the above passage and for me it struck a major chord. Back in August of last year, when my husband was still working for an insurance agency, he sold a rather large policy that would bring in a significant amount of money for us. This was awesome for us because last year had been excruciatingly difficult for us financially. To make a very long story short, my husband ended up leaving the insurance business because it was a 100% commission job with no benefits and we needed something more reliable and stable. (This also was the final kicker to get him back in school to finish his degree!) Anyhow, this one policy was still pending as they needed to collect money from the people. Jon was promised that once they got the money and it all went through, that even though he didn't work there anymore he would get the money. We were happy to hear this as it would pay off some credit cards and give us something to stock away. Today, after 6 months of trying to get this policy issued we found out that not only did their original check bounce, the policy has been canceled because the people never returned any calls after their check bounced. I can definitely see where God was protecting us because we found out these individuals are not reliable and frequently don't pay bills, so we may have ended up owing all that money back (based on how the commission is set up) if we had indeed gotten is and they ended up not paying down the road! That would have been very bad as that money would have then been gone. So as I sat down to write today's devotion God brought me to this verse that I have never read before. Here was a young king, Amaziah, who was gathering an army to avenge the previous king, his father's, assassination. He paid 7,500 pounds of silver to hire the army of Israel to help in this fight. This was not what God wanted so the Lord sent a messenger to him to tell him that he needed to discharge the army of Israel and go with his original army. Amaziah was upset because he had spent so much money hiring them just to lose it all, but the messenger from God said "The Lord is able to give you much more than this." (Amaziah did discharge the army of Israel and do as the Lord wanted. He won the battle, but then made a poor decision to take some false idols back with him to worship... another story for another day!) This verse really stuck with me because it was as if the Lord was saying that He can and will take care of us in better ways than we can imagine. We were not meant to get that money and I believe there was protection in that from God for the reasons I stated above. I also know that God is able to give us much more to take care of all our needs. He is not limited in ways to provide and make things happen. I am so thankful my God is unlimited in resources and power!
1 Chronicles 25:9
I sat down today to do a devotion on the importance of being wise and frugal with the money God gives you but God in His divine way lead me to something a little different. As I searched for Scriptures on this topic I came across the above passage and for me it struck a major chord. Back in August of last year, when my husband was still working for an insurance agency, he sold a rather large policy that would bring in a significant amount of money for us. This was awesome for us because last year had been excruciatingly difficult for us financially. To make a very long story short, my husband ended up leaving the insurance business because it was a 100% commission job with no benefits and we needed something more reliable and stable. (This also was the final kicker to get him back in school to finish his degree!) Anyhow, this one policy was still pending as they needed to collect money from the people. Jon was promised that once they got the money and it all went through, that even though he didn't work there anymore he would get the money. We were happy to hear this as it would pay off some credit cards and give us something to stock away. Today, after 6 months of trying to get this policy issued we found out that not only did their original check bounce, the policy has been canceled because the people never returned any calls after their check bounced. I can definitely see where God was protecting us because we found out these individuals are not reliable and frequently don't pay bills, so we may have ended up owing all that money back (based on how the commission is set up) if we had indeed gotten is and they ended up not paying down the road! That would have been very bad as that money would have then been gone. So as I sat down to write today's devotion God brought me to this verse that I have never read before. Here was a young king, Amaziah, who was gathering an army to avenge the previous king, his father's, assassination. He paid 7,500 pounds of silver to hire the army of Israel to help in this fight. This was not what God wanted so the Lord sent a messenger to him to tell him that he needed to discharge the army of Israel and go with his original army. Amaziah was upset because he had spent so much money hiring them just to lose it all, but the messenger from God said "The Lord is able to give you much more than this." (Amaziah did discharge the army of Israel and do as the Lord wanted. He won the battle, but then made a poor decision to take some false idols back with him to worship... another story for another day!) This verse really stuck with me because it was as if the Lord was saying that He can and will take care of us in better ways than we can imagine. We were not meant to get that money and I believe there was protection in that from God for the reasons I stated above. I also know that God is able to give us much more to take care of all our needs. He is not limited in ways to provide and make things happen. I am so thankful my God is unlimited in resources and power!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
True Contentment
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1
"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13
I am not a content person. It seems that no matter what happens or what comes my way, soon enough I find myself wanting something new, different, "better". I remember when I got pregnant with my first child we were living in a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment and we found ourselves needing a larger place. After a month of searching we found the perfect place for us, a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom cedar sided rancher with a large enough yard for our children to play in. At the time it was perfect for us and I wanted it with all my heart. What seemed impossible God made possible and we closed on it in 30 days. For a little while I was seemingly content and completely happy with our new residence. Then we got pregnant with our second child and had collected quite a few more belongings over those 2 years and suddenly our perfect home felt cramped and too small. I found myself longing to move into a larger house that would accommodate our growing family. (At the present time we are still in our 3 bedroom 2 bathroom rancher and I am waiting on God to show us when, where and how to move!) I found myself at one point very unhappy with my home that I had been so thankful for at one time. This discontentment lasted for almost a solid year. I developed a real hatred of my home because I was allowing myself to be discontent with my current place in life to the point it was zapping me of all my joy and thankfulness. God got a hold of me and lovingly showed me that my attitude was not pleasing to Him at all and that I needed to learn to be content wherever I was in life. That's such a hard thing to learn. True contentment isn't giving up your hopes and dreams and accepting whatever life throws at you. It's learning how to be joyful and thankful no matter where you are in life. It's good to have goals and hopes, but to let them take over and make you dissatisfied and ungrateful for what you already have is wrong. Learning to "enjoy the ride" as you strive to reach those goals and make those dreams reality is key. You don't want to miss out on the blessings God has for you each day along the way of this journey called life. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude changes your whole way of thinking and living. Like Psalm 23 starts out, God gives you all you need. Trust him to take care of all aspects of your life and remember to thank Him along the way. Remember..."The Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want...
"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13
I am not a content person. It seems that no matter what happens or what comes my way, soon enough I find myself wanting something new, different, "better". I remember when I got pregnant with my first child we were living in a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment and we found ourselves needing a larger place. After a month of searching we found the perfect place for us, a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom cedar sided rancher with a large enough yard for our children to play in. At the time it was perfect for us and I wanted it with all my heart. What seemed impossible God made possible and we closed on it in 30 days. For a little while I was seemingly content and completely happy with our new residence. Then we got pregnant with our second child and had collected quite a few more belongings over those 2 years and suddenly our perfect home felt cramped and too small. I found myself longing to move into a larger house that would accommodate our growing family. (At the present time we are still in our 3 bedroom 2 bathroom rancher and I am waiting on God to show us when, where and how to move!) I found myself at one point very unhappy with my home that I had been so thankful for at one time. This discontentment lasted for almost a solid year. I developed a real hatred of my home because I was allowing myself to be discontent with my current place in life to the point it was zapping me of all my joy and thankfulness. God got a hold of me and lovingly showed me that my attitude was not pleasing to Him at all and that I needed to learn to be content wherever I was in life. That's such a hard thing to learn. True contentment isn't giving up your hopes and dreams and accepting whatever life throws at you. It's learning how to be joyful and thankful no matter where you are in life. It's good to have goals and hopes, but to let them take over and make you dissatisfied and ungrateful for what you already have is wrong. Learning to "enjoy the ride" as you strive to reach those goals and make those dreams reality is key. You don't want to miss out on the blessings God has for you each day along the way of this journey called life. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude changes your whole way of thinking and living. Like Psalm 23 starts out, God gives you all you need. Trust him to take care of all aspects of your life and remember to thank Him along the way. Remember..."The Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want...
Monday, January 25, 2010
"A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine"
"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Do everything without complaining and arguing." Philippians 2:14
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength." Proverbs 17:22
Today didn't start out too good. My son had been sick all weekend and this morning his fever was back up and the rash was from his cheeks to his ankles. The doctor couldn't see him early enough for my husband to watch our daughter, but thankfully a good friend offered to watch her for me. I realized on the way to the doctor that there was a chance I might not get back in time to pick my daughter up from my friends house before she had to leave to pick up her son from preschool. (This wouldn't have been a big deal except she drives a small car that won't fit three car seats, and not to mention I didn't leave my car seat with her anyhow.) So that added to my irritation and feeling of being rushed. My son was diagnosed with Strep and sent home with a prescription for penicillin. (Yes I did get back to my friends house before she had to leave!) Then I couldn't find my prescription card at the pharmacy so it took another thirty minutes to get in touch with the right person at our insurance company who could help me figure things out. To top if off my blood sugar was running low (I'm borderline hypoglycemic) and I was feeling very weak, which always makes things seem worse.
Why share all this, you may be asking? This sure doesn't seem encouraging or uplifting! I share this because life happens. Our days are filled with tedious, annoying situations that we so often just react to without taking time to focus on the Lord or pray. I realized as I was searching for a passage of scripture today that instead of getting so irritated and worked up I should have taken just one moment in the midst of my grumblings and prayed and remembered these verses from God's Word. Being thankful is not just for the big things in life, it's for the small, seemingly insignificant things too. Being thankful changes your whole outlook, your whole day. I could have looked at it like this... I have an awesome friend who watched my daughter so I could focus on my sick son. My son, though sick, is extremely chipper and happy today. The strep isn't keeping him down. I got to have some one on one conversation time with him on the way to the doctor which is rare when you are a stay at home mom with more than one child! God did get me back to my friends house before she had to leave. The prescription situation did work out and we got his medicine for next to nothing, and we are all home happy and safe. And to top it off it's a GORGEOUS day here today. Sunny, mid sixties and the windows are open. A cheerful spirit really does do wonders for the soul. Grumpiness and complaining only wears away at our mental and emotional energy and does nothing good for anyone. I hope next time, when another not so ideal situation comes up I will remember to take a moment and turn my thoughts to Christ and not to the situation.
"Do everything without complaining and arguing." Philippians 2:14
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength." Proverbs 17:22
Today didn't start out too good. My son had been sick all weekend and this morning his fever was back up and the rash was from his cheeks to his ankles. The doctor couldn't see him early enough for my husband to watch our daughter, but thankfully a good friend offered to watch her for me. I realized on the way to the doctor that there was a chance I might not get back in time to pick my daughter up from my friends house before she had to leave to pick up her son from preschool. (This wouldn't have been a big deal except she drives a small car that won't fit three car seats, and not to mention I didn't leave my car seat with her anyhow.) So that added to my irritation and feeling of being rushed. My son was diagnosed with Strep and sent home with a prescription for penicillin. (Yes I did get back to my friends house before she had to leave!) Then I couldn't find my prescription card at the pharmacy so it took another thirty minutes to get in touch with the right person at our insurance company who could help me figure things out. To top if off my blood sugar was running low (I'm borderline hypoglycemic) and I was feeling very weak, which always makes things seem worse.
Why share all this, you may be asking? This sure doesn't seem encouraging or uplifting! I share this because life happens. Our days are filled with tedious, annoying situations that we so often just react to without taking time to focus on the Lord or pray. I realized as I was searching for a passage of scripture today that instead of getting so irritated and worked up I should have taken just one moment in the midst of my grumblings and prayed and remembered these verses from God's Word. Being thankful is not just for the big things in life, it's for the small, seemingly insignificant things too. Being thankful changes your whole outlook, your whole day. I could have looked at it like this... I have an awesome friend who watched my daughter so I could focus on my sick son. My son, though sick, is extremely chipper and happy today. The strep isn't keeping him down. I got to have some one on one conversation time with him on the way to the doctor which is rare when you are a stay at home mom with more than one child! God did get me back to my friends house before she had to leave. The prescription situation did work out and we got his medicine for next to nothing, and we are all home happy and safe. And to top it off it's a GORGEOUS day here today. Sunny, mid sixties and the windows are open. A cheerful spirit really does do wonders for the soul. Grumpiness and complaining only wears away at our mental and emotional energy and does nothing good for anyone. I hope next time, when another not so ideal situation comes up I will remember to take a moment and turn my thoughts to Christ and not to the situation.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
From People Pleasing to God Pleasing
"But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ." 1 Peter 3:14-16
I have come to realize, sadly, that I am fearful person. I fear way too many things, one of these being fear of what others say and think about me. I want to be liked, plain and simple. Sometimes this fear of what others think has gotten in the way of me sharing the gospel or saying something that God has laid on my heart. I've been a Christian for twenty years now and I've become very aware of the nudging of the Holy Spirit. There have been times when I have felt like I should say something to someone or share a passage of Scripture but my fear of looking stupid or stumbling over my words clamps my mouth shut. This passage from 1 Peter has really shown me when I do what I know is right, share the Bible with others and truly live out my Christian life from day to day I will be rewarded. There is nothing to fear in doing what is right because God is so much more powerful than any and all of my fears combined. If someone laughs at me or makes fun of me for something I have done that is right in the eyes of God that is not my problem and God will take care of it in His way and time. I also glean this tidbit of wisdom from this verse...not only am I supposed to share what I know from God's word with others, I need to be studying God's Word and in Bible studies and involved in church so I can truly grasp what God's Word is telling me so in turn I will be able to answer people when they ask me why I believe what I believe. It's very important to know the reason you believe what you believe. It can't be because your parents or a teacher or a pastor or your spouse told you this was the right way to live and the right thing to believe. Searching the Bible and growing in your relationship with Christ is the only way to be able to understand God's truths and become unwavering and steadfast in your faith. Learning about who God is helps you stop worrying so much about what other people think about you and makes you long to please God and care about what He thinks about you.
I have also found that the more I let go of my fear of pleasing others and focus on pleasing the Lord, He has truly blessed me with some of the greatest Christian friends a woman can have. Friends with whom I can share my heart and soul and share each other burdens. For these amazing friends I am truly grateful. Becoming the person God meant for you to be is the greatest blessing, next to salvation, that you'll ever experience on this earth! Let those people pleasing fears go and start living a life pleasing to God!
I have come to realize, sadly, that I am fearful person. I fear way too many things, one of these being fear of what others say and think about me. I want to be liked, plain and simple. Sometimes this fear of what others think has gotten in the way of me sharing the gospel or saying something that God has laid on my heart. I've been a Christian for twenty years now and I've become very aware of the nudging of the Holy Spirit. There have been times when I have felt like I should say something to someone or share a passage of Scripture but my fear of looking stupid or stumbling over my words clamps my mouth shut. This passage from 1 Peter has really shown me when I do what I know is right, share the Bible with others and truly live out my Christian life from day to day I will be rewarded. There is nothing to fear in doing what is right because God is so much more powerful than any and all of my fears combined. If someone laughs at me or makes fun of me for something I have done that is right in the eyes of God that is not my problem and God will take care of it in His way and time. I also glean this tidbit of wisdom from this verse...not only am I supposed to share what I know from God's word with others, I need to be studying God's Word and in Bible studies and involved in church so I can truly grasp what God's Word is telling me so in turn I will be able to answer people when they ask me why I believe what I believe. It's very important to know the reason you believe what you believe. It can't be because your parents or a teacher or a pastor or your spouse told you this was the right way to live and the right thing to believe. Searching the Bible and growing in your relationship with Christ is the only way to be able to understand God's truths and become unwavering and steadfast in your faith. Learning about who God is helps you stop worrying so much about what other people think about you and makes you long to please God and care about what He thinks about you.
I have also found that the more I let go of my fear of pleasing others and focus on pleasing the Lord, He has truly blessed me with some of the greatest Christian friends a woman can have. Friends with whom I can share my heart and soul and share each other burdens. For these amazing friends I am truly grateful. Becoming the person God meant for you to be is the greatest blessing, next to salvation, that you'll ever experience on this earth! Let those people pleasing fears go and start living a life pleasing to God!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
