Offering…

Ding-Dong! DIIINNNNGGGG-DOOONNNNGGGG! Rap-rap-rap-rap.

Inwardly I sigh. My mind begins to roll. Didn’t I just send them outside to play? Isn’t their dad outside with them? I am just trying to get dinner started! UGH!!! I am being interrupted.

Reluctantly I turn the water off and slowly with mind still churning and frustration mounting I plod to the door. Secretly I hope she will be gone by the time I open the door. But she isn’t.

There standing with crooked glasses, face beaming, and smile wide is my precious L. “Here mommy,” she practically jumps the words. She lifts up her four-year-old hands full of the first flowers (weeds) of the year. Her offering of love to me.

My frustration disappears, tears well and I choke out a weak thank-you for my little precious girl’s thoughtfulness.

I return to the task of cooking and a song from this morning at church starts playing in my head...”I bring an offering of worship to my King. No one on Earth deserves the praises that I sing. Jesus, may You receive the honor that Your due. Oh Lord I bring an offering to you.” Then it hits me. Do I truly wholeheartedly bring an offering to my King? Do I like my precious L run to the Lord with my treasure of sincere gratitude and love. Or do I reluctantly mumble thanks as I pass through my days?

So I continue to count the things for which I am grateful!

251. Mouths sticky with peanut butter
252. nearing done with sewing project #1 for my girls
253. seedlings poking up in pots on my kitchen table
254. Seedlings leaning toward the sun…that I would lean toward the Son!
255. First flowers of 2011
256. Purity talk to fifth and sixth graders was fun! No one passed out! 😉
257. birds singing their songs
258. overcast days that remind me of the sun
259. youngest one in underwear!
260. smell of yeast in bread
261. smell of bacon
262. home-made dinner ruined only to find a new wonderful restaurant
263. the sound the pages of my Bible make as I turn them
264. My three blessings working together to help each other
265. My L standing up for her little brother
266. the hats my girls wore to church today
267. school project completed and working on it together
268. laughter
269. wisdom that comes from my husband
270. smell of coffee in the morning
271. Gift of prayer that I may approach the throne of Glory!
272. Honor of praying for friends
273. Butternut Squash soup
274. The smell of outside in my kiddos’ hair
275. E can ride her bike without training wheels now!

Are you bringing an offering of praise to God? Share what you are grateful for…Leave a comment! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Saturdays are for…

School projects, pjs, hearty breakfast…and a time of rest!!! At least in this season. Praying your Saturday is a wonderful day of rest.

What are you doing this Saturday?

Honoring God Honoring Others

Honor has become an important word in my house. In fact it is a word that has changed how I parent, how I think, and how I view my life before God.

The idea started when I read a book, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids by Turansky and Miller. They give a definition of honor that my kids can understand and now quote:

Honor: Treating others as special, doing more than what is expected, and having a good attitude.

Romans 12:10 tells us to “…Honor one another above yourselves.” We are to honor God (1Cor 6:20). We are to honor our parents (Exodus 20:12).

I discovered that I should allow honor to shape all of my relationships and all of my actions. This was news to me, yes I am slow and stubborn so if this isn’t news to you please disregard or follow my thinking and laugh with me that I am slow… 😉

1. God’s laws should be followed
not as a religious check-list to prove how righteous I am…
not to show how smart I am that I figured out I needed God…
not so that I can get God’s blessings on my life…

We follow God’s laws as a way of honoring Him because He gave us eternal life, life, gifts to use, a purpose, all those gifts I am thankful for and more.

In fact Jesus tells us that, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” (John 14:23)

2. Honor changes how I teach my kids.
I have been teaching my kids to honor each other, honor me and their dad, honor their teachers and friends. I have also been teaching them to honor God. Here is the hook…

I have to show my kids honor in order for them to honor me. Ok this is not revolutionary thinking, but let’s make it real…I need my kids to pick up their rooms. However they are deep in an imaginary world…How do I show them honor? “I will give you five minutes to finish what you are doing and then you need to pick up your room.” Honor. I don’t respond well if I am not being treated with honor, so how can I expect my kids to respond well if I don’t treat them with honor?

3. Honor is the backbone of the “Golden Rule.”

Matt 12:7 says, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” So loving, honoring, treating others as we want to be treated is the crux it binds up all the things God calls us to do and puts flesh on it. I ask this of myself and of my kids…“Would you want to be treated like that?” Often I have to be even more specific. “If someone said the same thing to you would you like it?” Ouch the words sting but my calloused heart starts to heal. It starts to bleed for the people I have wounded and it is then that I can ask forgiveness. It is in that moment that I can confess my sins and do what I can to reconcile.

What are your thoughts on honoring others? I hope you stick around and discuss this topic with me!

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