unworthy servant

⁷“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” ESV

Hmm…read this passage this morning and I was reminded how differently we think as Americans (from Jesus’ day and from much of the world).  There’s a saying in French that I had trouble relating to when I first heard it, but now it’s starting to make sense.  The French use the phrase “there’s nothing to be said” in reference to something working as it should.  When someone buys a new washing machine and it cleans their clothes, ‘there’s nothing to be said’.  It does the job it was intended to do.  When your kids do their homework as assigned, ‘there’s nothing to be said’.

I realize that I am far too driven by praise. When I think I have prepared a good meal for my family, they should make a big deal about it. Right?  But that’s my role as the wife and mother of this household.  I am supposed to see that the nutritional needs of my family are met.  It’s good when they are met in a tasty manner, but ‘there’s nothing to be said’.  Why should I expect praise?

Why is it I don’t remember ever studying this passage?  Perhaps because I don’t want to hear that ‘there’s nothing to be said’ about what I do in obedience to God. He speaks, I obey, enough said.  No praise called for, right?  I’m just an unworthy servant. That’s a tough one, isn’t it? Truth hurts.

Forever in process

Ever feel like you are never going to get ‘there’?  Just a couple of days ago I was playing around, trying to come up with a clever username for my FB account.  My hubs has been gently nudging me to write more, and being the twitter advocate that he is (and since now FB is forcing me to chose a name) I FINALLY decided to take the plunge and set up a blog and twitter account that is also tied to my FB page.  Not sure how it will all work out, but…

The logic behind it all is that we all have a story to tell and unless we record it, it gets lost.  Not that we have a super inspirational story, but God does call us to do some crazy things.  However, He who calls promises to equip us and to provide for our needs.  So, that’s where the storytelling becomes important.

God is yet again leading us in a direction that others might consider financially and intellectually just plain stupid. However, when God told Abraham to ‘go’, he didn’t question Him.  Trust me, I have a lot more questions than Abraham did.  Being the list maker and wannabe planner that I am (and having a daughter that takes it to a new level), there’s a lot that I would like to know.

That’s the area that I realize God is continually trying to grow me.  ”TRUST Me, Hope!” I can hear God saying it, yet it’s not easy.  I guess that’s why I love the phrase ‘in process’.  I am in process to becoming the trusting child of God that I should be…and obviously, God’s not giving up on me because He keeps calling me to work on it!  (How detrimental would it be to wish He would give up? JK!)

I know that later I will see the beauty in His perfect plan, but sometimes I would like to see the outline ahead of time. Wouldn’t you? God could just fill in the lines with the colors He choses and I could see ahead of time what it’s going to look like.  Who am I kidding, right?  If I knew the picture ahead of time, I’d just argue with him and trying to persuade Him to chose another one that I liked better.  Where’s the trust in that, eh?

Lord, help me to trust You and thank you for continuing to keep me ‘in process’!

where are your eyes focused?

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:5-16

Being parents of two teens, my husband and I are very much reminded on a daily basis that the number of days we have remaining with our kids under our roof are limited.  In just over two years, our daughter will be starting college.  I look at her and think, “Oh, no! I still have so much to teach her. Is there enough time?”  I could fret (and admittedly, I do),but what I should do is simply be ‘making the best use of the time’ because worrying about all the other evil will just rob me of what I am blessed with and keep me from doing what I am called to do.

We live in a fallen world. There are horrible things happening all around us, regardless of where we live. The economy is frightening. Job security simply doesn’t exist.  Dwelling on these things, however, are evil, especially when they rob us of the time we could be focused on God and His faithfulness.  

This is truly convicting for me today.  With access to so much information on the internet via blogs, articles, FB, and email, we can learn more than we ever wanted to know on pretty much any topic.  I am human and contraversy draws me in.  But when I look at the young people living in my home, I am convicted of how important it is for me to be focused the Lord, and on my role as their discipler. What am I teaching them?  What do my words, actions, comments, attitude teach them? Am I focused on the temporary issues of this world or am I giving glory to the One who is sovereign and who created it all? Am I focused on the actions and motives of others or on aligning my heart with the One who has everything under control anyway?  

Wow! How much time am I wasting thinking on the ‘evils of today’ when I should be focused on the Lord and the responsibility He has given me in preparing my children for the future?  Forgive me for being so wasteful, God!

Where are your eyes focused?

comparing the color of the grass

So, this past summer, through the urging of my husband’s cousin (thanks, Joel) and some lively young ladies who were hanging out in our home, we finally entered the world of FACEBOOK.  Talk about an addiction!!  Michael set up his page first, just so we could see pics of Joel’s girls. Then as we started to find people we know, there were some connections that I wanted to make and others that Michael wanted to make.  So, the whole family ended up with their own page.

I have had a blast reconnecting with recent friends and with old, old, old friends…all the way back to second grade!  Being a visual person, I first go to the photo section (and some of you disappoint because you have nothing more than A pic of yourself and maybe one of a dog…not that I don’t like dogs, but you get my drift –more pics, please).  Then I hit the info section to find out if they are married, where they live, possibly what they do, what they believe, what they spend their time doing, etc…

Often after ‘friending’ someone (I love how that’s become a verb), I get a note on my wall that says something like “Wow, you live in…That must be exciting…how did you end up there?”  Well, the obvious answer is GOD!  He has blessed our family with some cool experiences with many stressors because of it, but we are grateful.  

HOWEVER, I look at the pics of people who have been in the same general area for years and I find myself being a little covetous (no, honestly, a lot covetous).  We’ve moved roughly 15 times in the past 10 years.  Following a call to ministry, we sold our business, took off for three years of seminary, spent three years overseas, came back to spend two more years working at two different seminaries, and then came back overseas again about 2 1/2 years ago.  I find it really difficult to let go of boxes because we might need them the next time we…(I shudder to say the word).

I look at families who have been in the same house for ten years and am in awe.  I think about how well they must know their neighbors and the members of their church and how they have watched their kids grow up with the neighborhood kids bouncing in and out of the kitchens I see in those photos.  I find myself comparing the color of the grass…

Why is it we always want what we do not have? Regardless of how richly God blesses us, I am always wondering what it would be like if we were still living in ‘the green house in Charlotte’ that we owned ten years ago.  What if my children had been able to spend their entire childhood in the same city?  How deep would my relationships be with the friends I had then, if we had had more time together?  

God continues to take me back to a favorite passage in Psalm 37 (verses 3 – 6):

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

Now God has not promised that He will provide for my every whim, but if my heart is aligned  with His, will give me desires that are His for me and He will grant those in His perfect timing.  He has me in THIS place for THIS time for HIS purpose. I pray that I will be faithful in committing my ways to Him.  I pray that I would not look with envy on what others have been given or where He has called them to live or in what He has called them to do.  Help me,  Lord, to be obedient where I am and to follow You  wherever You lead.

  I also pray that each of you will see the beauty in the  place He has called you to live and invest your lives.  May you see the uniqueness of your opportunities  and ministry…and blessings!

starting off with a TAG…

My hubby JUST got my blog set up yesterday (after much discussion about how I needed to start one and he knew I’d never find the time to figure out how to set it up…I’m very much the “Honey, what button did you say I need to push” kind of wife when it comes to the techy world). So, thanks, Sweetie!

This this morning, I get my first tag from one of those precious friends God has brought into our lives during French language school (who was tagged by another precious friend from language school). Wow, I digress! I don’t usually jump in but…it’s rainy today, I’m sick, and what the heck?

Here are the rules:

1. go to your documents/pictures.
2. go to your 6th file.
3. go to your 6th picture.
4. blog about it.
5. tag 6 people …

 

Here’s what I got….

 

This is a pic that I believe Kaley actually took.  It’s from the summer of 2007, when we first moved.  We were at Notre Dame feeding the birds.  This is one of our favorite things to do.  Anytime we know that we are headed to that part of the city, we like to take along some rice (though, the birds have recently become a little more finicky about their choice of ‘treats’ and prefer sweet bread).  Regardless of the food, it is cool to feel something so small and delicate nibbling from the palm of your hand.  

My 6 ‘tags’:
1) my hubby – my best friend and the guilty party for getting me into things like this!
2) Melanie – my mocha punch buddy!
3) Sherrill – a new friend that I met through aMANda who is loads of fun!
4) Candy – whom I worked with several years ago back in NC, with four full-of-life kids
5) Lori – whom I also worked with in NC and now has three strapping young boys to fill her days
6) Prissy (my best friend from 2nd grade who is now a brand new mommy of Hall, born this past week)

Joining in…coffee??

So, it’s the start of a new year; we have a new president; so why not try something new??? Like blogging.

My family loves to have guests in our home for dinner. My daughter loves an opportunity to try a dessert recipe (cookies and pies are her favs), I love to experiment on main dishes, and the guys love to make requests; but what we enjoy most is what comes after the meal….coffee and talk! So that’s the theme I have chosen for this blog –AFTER DINNER TALK.

We often sit for hours with friends, old and new, and share our thoughts, questions and experiences. We have so much to learn from others, to share with others, and to learn together. These visits often begin over lunch and spill over to dinner and maybe even a late night snack…

Conversations range from ecclesiology and missiology, marriage and parenting, family and pet stories, team work and leadership, ‘the good old days’ and the future. God has brought so many interesting people into our lives and through the wonder of the internet, we have been able to reconnect with many in the past year. I pray this blog will be an opportunity to build on those connections and develop new ones.