I am having a busy week this week as it's our Praise a Thon at work. It's a bit tiring as I am working until 1am and then getting up to get the kids ready for school in the mornings but I am loving it and it's only for a couple of weeks.
Planning for this week had got me thinking about life. Why to we rush around like headless chickens trying to have it all. In Luke Jesus says "Look at the Ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more." I love this scripture but I also feel that as we "count for more" we also have responsibility that comes with that. In the book of James it talks a lot about faith and deeds and how the two are not mutually exclusive. During Praise a Thon there is of course a lot of focus on giving as it costs a lot of money to run a multi station TV Network. However I think deeds are like giving and have to be handled with the same spirit at their core.
If you give grudgingly and because you feel you have to then what's the point of that. If you are a "cheerful giver" then even the act of giving will bless you and I believe that counts for our energy, our efforts and our time as well.
When we do the work the Lord has put in our path with everything we have it will bless us. I love that Stephen Curtis Chapman song "Do Everything" whether you are "hooking up mergers" or "cooking up burgers" or "sweeping up lost cheerios that got away" if you do it with a heart for God then God sees it all the same. We are all different and all have different gifts and talents and I think we should celebrate that not everyone is made to be a teacher, a preacher or a high flying executive just as not everyone can be a parent or care for the elderly. All our talents are unique and best suited to the plan God has for our life and every part is needed and valuable. In a large machine if one part did not work properly even if that part was tiny the whole would not function properly that is the same with our bodies, our Churches and our wider community.
So where am I going on this ramble. Well I think you have to seize the moment as you never know what is round the corner. Work hard at what is put in front of you to do but also play hard too. I had the pleasure of going to the park with my son's class yesterday and pushing the kids on the roundabout and being buried by them in the sand really made their day and that is just as valuable as negotiating a million dollar contract if your heart is in the right place.
