All About Jesus - Not About You!

It's all about Him anyway - not about you! 

Recently at church I overheard a young man talking with one of our Associate Pastors about why he had not been singing in the choir lately.  While I didn't hear all of the conversation, I heard enough and watched this young mans body language to know that he was upset because he had been missing for whatever reason and the Praise Leader had not come to ask him about why he was gone or encourage him to come back.  The Pastor he was talking to told him that he should be singing for Jesus and not because of anyone else.

How true?  It's all about Jesus!  Not about us.  If we are working in the ministry to be seen of people then the condition of our hearts need some work.

Why are you doing it?  Who are you working for?

Are you teaching that Sunday school class to get praises from the parents of the children you are shepherding?  Are you singing in the choir so that the entire congregation will see you up front and know what a splendid voice you have? 
Let's take this a step further.  Why are you going to church?  Because your parents did?  Or because you have been taught it's what you are supposed to do?

Colossians 1:16 says we were created for God.  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Because we were created by Him and for Him maybe we should do what
Colossians 3:23-24 says Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Don't get me wrong, I know what this young man is feeling.  I am not proud to say this but I have in the past been right where he is now.  Feeling hurt because someone didn't notice all the work I had done.  But the Bible reminds us in these passages that we should not be doing it for the praises of men or to be seen but we should do everything, (not just at church) EVERYTHING as if we are working for the Lord.  The verse says Whatever you do and this includes your marriage, how you raise your children, your housework and your job if you work outside of the home. 

Are you working for the Lord? 

No More Barely Enough.

Despite  all of my many written routines, cleaning charts, schedules, and lists I have found myself in a state of doing Barely Enough.  

What do I mean by barely enough?  Basically doing just barely enough to get by.  Laundry has been done on an "as needed" basis.  Grocery shopping has consisted of many quick trips to pick up stuff for dinner today or breakfast tomorrow.  Menu's and actual grocery lists haven't existed.  House work has been done in a mad dash during the hour before my husband arrives home from work.  

If I was working a job outside of my home where I had to clock in, work a certain amount of time and actually show progress in my work - I would be FIRED!  

I am thankful that my husband is a patient man.  Patient with me and the lack of progress going on inside of our home.  I am not sure exactly why I been this way lately.  Lazy, I guess.   What  I do know is the lack of organization and having things in order is really stressing me out.  Also, the Lord has really been dealing with me about how well I have been taking care of my home.  I definitley have not been doing everything heartily as unto the Lord.  Don't misunderstand, we are not living in a pig pen but the busy-ness of life the past few months has resulted in extra clutter piles and a lot of routine maintainence being neglected.   

 

Just the other day this was the scene as I sat on my porch with my family binder, notebook and some old printed off notes from Fly Lady trying to re-vamp my daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning plans.  My husband joked and asked why I was reading Fly Lady when all I really needed to do was go get out Mr. Clean.  lol  He was right but I like having a plan, a list to go by.  I just work better when I do.  Having a plan that works is the key though.  So get ready as I soon will be re-posting my cleaning plans and schedules.  No more barely enough! 

 

What about you?  Do you like to have lists and a written plan for what you want to accomplish each day, week and month in your home?  Do you stick to them?

Free Printable Marriage Prayer

Hop on over to the Time-Warp Wife's blog for a printable copy of this beautiful prayer.

Free Printable Marriage Prayer

Vacation Menu Planning

A few days before we left for our vacation I jotted down quickly on a piece of scrap paper a menu for the days we would be gone.  My mother laughed at me saying that I really wouldn't be on vacation if I was still having to cook.  Yes I would have enjoyed a "vacation from cooking" but we always do this.  When we go somewhere, anywhere even if it is a soccer game an hour a way I will pack up a cooler with sandwich stuff for our dinner. 

To make my menu as simple as possible - because after all it is vacation I used some of my ready made foods and I also made up some things before we left. 

For example:

Breakfast
I took along a package of pop tarts and a bag of cereal (we bought milk once we arrived) BUT I made up a double batch of my homemade biscuits and enough sausage patties to go along with the biscuits before I left.  I also pulled two loaves of Friendship bread out of my freezer.

Lunch
I have to admit because we tended to sleep a little later and were out driving and sightseeing so much we skipped lunch most days but I took along the fixings for ham and cheese sandwiches on the days we did eat lunch.

Dinner
From out of my freezer I took a bag of frozen spaghetti sauce, hotdog sauce,  and taco meat.  For spaghetti night all I had to do was warm up the sauce and make our pasta.  We had hotdogs a couple evenings (one over a camp fire) but all I had to do was warm up the hotdogs and sauce.  And on taco night I just warmed the meat and chopped my veggies.  We ate good food that filled us up and saved a lot of $$ in the process. 

It wasn't really all that hard either because of the prep work that I had done at home.

What about you?  Do you generally eat out while on vacation or do you cook?  If you cook do you take along already prepared foods?