A heart to serve

I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to finish the blog that I wanted to post last week, so I thought that I would just talk a little bit about something that happened to me just this weekend.

Yesterday we attended the annual Jacksonville Yard Sale, which for those of you who don't know it is a city wide yard sale that is not for the faint at heart. There are die hard garage sale shoppers decked out in walking shoes, large rimed hats, fanny packs, wagons, and anything else that may help them to seek out and carry back their loot (like children - but only the ones old enough to keep up). We had a wonderful day of searching for treasures and we spent about 6-7 hours walking around town with good friends. By the afternoon my knees where very painful and I was thinking that I probably over did it a bit with the walking.

You may have noticed that the title of this blog is 'A heart to serve' and I promise I will get to the point...

I have a good size yard that was in desperate need of being mowed since it had been just over 2 weeks since I last mowed it. Being a single Mom I juggle many responsibilities and although I needed to mow I had placed other things above this on my priority list. I had decided with a determined spirit that nothing was going to stop me from mowing my yard this weekend. I knew it must be done but it was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do or needed to be doing with my body still yelling at me for doing too much yesterday.

I was speaking to a good friend of mine about my schedule and the sweet thing that has prompted me to write this blog is that she later told me that her son (who is almost 15 years old) offered to come and mow my lawn. Now if you know me you will know that accepting help is something that I am not always good at (but I am working on). Although I did say, "Oh, he doesn't need to do that." She followed it up by informing me (in the way that she knows that I wouldn't object) that he would be here Sunday afternoon to mow my lawn and help me out! (I guess she knows me pretty well and wasn't going to let me get my big fat pride in the way of accepting some help that in reality I needed.....aren't those the best type of friends!)

So this afternoon, just as promised, my wonderful friend showed up with her two boys and the oldest jumped out of the car with a smile and eager spirit to come and make my life a little easier. And this is what he did. It was 96 degrees out and he just jumped right in and mowed until he was finished with nothing more than a glass of ice water for payment.

While he mowed, the younger two played, and my friend and I talked about our boys and I was thanking her again for bringing her oldest over to assist. She was telling me that since she too is a single Mom that she really wants to be sure that her boys understand that part of being a Godly Man is doing things for others, and not because of what you get in return. She wanted to be sure they learned these lessons.

When she left I started to rethink our conversation about the boys learning to serve and the fact that service is a precious lessons and skill for them to learn. I had been very thankful for her sons hard work and help, but I hadn't realized until that moment that if I had continued on in my stubborn state of thinking that I could just manage on my own then her son wouldn't have received the lesson (and undoubtedly the blessing) that has or will come to him from his pure heart to serve someone else.

The example of this 14 year old boy has made me think today about our calling as Christians to serve one another and the blessings that seem to come to everyone involved in the process. I am challenged and determined to be sure that my son grows up understanding this principle and I hope that today we will all think of ways that we might be able to bless someone else. The beauty of it all is that it doesn't have to cost a dime. Maybe you could do something like this boy did for me and do a chore that just might be a bit much for someone that day, you may find that it is as simple as smiling at someone and thanking them for all that they do, or perhaps you have been blessed financially and can meet the need of a friend or stranger. Whatever you choose, I am confident that the Lord will bless your efforts.

Galatians 5:13-14 (New American Standard Bible)

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

May we each be challenged to exude God's character today.

In Him,

Jessica

Do you know who you are?

I've discovered that a core issue that many of us struggle with is figuring out who we are. Are we the person that our parents say that we are? Are we defined by our job title and status in the workplace? Are we who our spouse and kids say that we are? All of these are questions that many of us face on a regular basis.

For me, I can sometimes make conclusions about myself based on something that was said to me or about me by someone close. Sometimes my thoughts about who I am are even made by me based on choices that I've made....good and bad.

The real question is, who were you before anyone told you? If you were born into the world and left without a name or a family to call your own, who would you be? Where would you find your identity?

I would like to suggest that we take a moment to discover who our Heavenly Father says we are.

John 1:12 reminds us that we are first "Children of God". This is very important as we now have a basis to find out what our Heavenly heritage is.

Ephesians 1:3-8 tells us that not only are we God's children, but we are told that before He formed the Earth, He chose you and He chose me to be His own. He sent His son Jesus to be a sacrifice so that you and I could be holy and blameless before God in love. Jesus brought forth our official adoption as Children of God. My personal favorite part of this scripture is the fact that we are called His Beloved! The one true God of Heaven and earth loved us and had a plan for us even before the foundation of the earth. He planned on blessing us as His children before we were born, not based on our performance as humans, but based on our identity as His children. What a marvelous relief! He loves us for just being His! We can't even effect His love by our actions which gives us assurance even if we have made mistakes in life.

What kind of thoughts might you have of yourself that conflict with God's statement that you are His BELOVED?

I challenge you to take your thoughts captive for one day and try to examine how many times you make comments about yourself, like "I'm so stupid, I can't believe I just did that." or how many times a day that friends, co-workers, or loved ones have told you things that are negative about who you are, and you believe it.

Replace the lies with truth! Darkness must flea the light. Speak positive words that are reflective of the fact that you are a son or daughter of the one true God and King.

God Bless and I pray that each one reading this blog will receive a fresh vision in their mind of just how precious they are to God.

In Him,

Jessica