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Colossians 3:22

Colossians 3:22 Obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

We all have stuff to do. Our masters may be our husbands or an employer. Our church commitments, our laundry, house cleaning, carpool or whatever. Sometimes we have jobs to do that we don't like but are necessary. Sometimes we love what we do but not the intrusion into our time. Some things are just a bore but must be done.

Long ago, my closet friend and confidant was a friend with 6 kids. We talked or spent time together just about every day. We discussed how many times we had washed the same dishes. Every day, sometimes the same dishes more than once a day, for years and years. It was discouraging for her at times that these unimportant tasks seemed to be the major job in her life. We prayed over this on and off for a long time. We prayed until we could both see this as a service to our Lord. Washing those dishes supplied not just a clean thing to eat on but showed the love and care she felt to her kids. They showed her the love and care of her husband that he provided food for their family. It shows the love and care of our Lord, that he provided her every need. Eventually, we even joked about these dishes as our labor of love, and would sing when we washed dishes.

There are few things I do that I don't love. But I have become tired. I've stopped sleeping well, stopped exercising, stopped caring about a lot of things. Tomorrow I will wake to the day remembering those dishes and sing a song of praise to my Lord that I am up and moving again.

God made you alive in Christ.

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Remember to keep your eyes open for the hollow and deceptive philosophies that may come at you. What are these? So many.

I didn't grow up going to any one particular Christian church but since our family moved around we went to wherever my parents were comfortable whether it was Baptist, Congregational, EFree, Christian and missionary Alliance, or non-denominational. In each one there was the unspoken (or spoken) list of right and wrong. Drinking, smoking, Halloween, homeschooling, Christian schools, public school, movies, cards, dancing, hymns, choruses, worship teams, choirs, overheads, hymnals. You name it and there is someone who will make a stand about the right or wrongness, appropriate or inappropriateness, sinful or freedom of many things.

Things I have learned to get over? Jeans at church, choruses (praise music) to name a few. I try to remember to measure each thing against the word of God rather than the words of men. Someday I may even clap in church, who knows.

Crazy Days

I had a typical day today. One with 2 steps forward and one step back. I guess that is better than the days when I take 3 steps back.


After class I ran home and ironed some clothes for Lil to wear for her senior pictures. I picked her up from school, took her to get her hair cut and blown out and then to Fitchburg for the portraits. Lil is one of those people that can't be bothered with hair, makeup or clothing. For just one day in her 12 years of schooling I would have enjoyed a little excitement but nope. The one thing she dislikes more than hair, makeup and clothing are pictures. We survived. If throwing shot put or a discus or solving complex math problems had been involved it might have been more fun for her.

Finished and drove back to Littleton just in time for the field hockey game. It was raw and cold today. Yay. They won 9 to 0. Came home in time to help Virginia with her Latin poster, Oh yeah did I mention that I had to deliver the Drama Club poster she had left at home to the high school earlier in the day. Along with her forgotton Latin folder.

Made dinner.

Did I mention that Lil left her ring in Fitchburg at the studio? Ginny ran out of ink in the printer? We ran out of bagels? I am out of gas? One of my acrylic nails mysteriously came off? My new furniture is coming on Friday and I have to get rid of a giant sectional sofa by then? At least I don't have to worry about what to do with my time tomorrow.

Whatever is true.

Do not gloat when your enemy fails; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice. Proverbs 24:17

I took a class in college called "The Hard Sayings of Jesus". We talked about some of the things in the Bible that sound just too hard to do, impossible to live up to. Thankfully we are not under the law, we are not held to a performance test to attain salvation.

Thank God! No seriously, Thank God that we are free from the law and under grace. Not only is it hard to follow Christ's example it is impossible. The scripture above one of those hard sayings. Who doesn't want to gloat, to feel some satisfaction in the failings of our enemies? Whose heart doesn't rejoice?

At first this scripture made me see my sin. Rejoicing over my enemies failure and then it really hit home. WHAT AM I DOING WITH ENEMIES! I'm just a plain old, middle aged, overweight wife and mother. What kind of enemies do I have?

The easy answer is the litany of names of other moms that are thinner, prettier, respected, smarter, work harder, blah blah blah, it goes on and on. Not my friends of course but those other women, the ones I won't be friends with, the ones I don't even know but have judged from afar.

But taking it even further, my enemy is jealousy. ARgh! Why does it always come down to that one.