a call to be generous and not important
Matthew 6:33 says "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". Seek God's kingdom first. Ask yourself what He wants....what He considers righteousness......and then there is the Golden Rule, that transcends religions : Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
These are values I live by. Values I strive for. I talk about them with my family. I surround myself with friends and co-workers who also understand them and strive for them......I sing the songs that refer to them......and I believe them.
These values are my energy, my gasoline, my inspiration, my measuring stick for decisions I make in my days. I don't know when or how that came to be my reality.....quite possibly it was when I asked Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior, and I asked for his Holy Spirit to rule and reign in my life. Don't get me wrong here. I am a broken, flawed and sinful human. I'm talking here about what I reach for and what matters to me.....I fall short every single day. But sometimes I don't.
Sometimes I put someone else before me, and I consider what they need as more important than what I want. Sometimes my kids get it too. Claire has been at camp all week serving as a counselor in training for kids in foster care. All week. She not only gave her time, but more importantly, she gave her heart....because saying good-bye tomorrow will break her tender heart. Again. Knowing these kids will go back to hard lives is torture after she has spent the week loving them and having fun....but to seek His kingdom first means that this pain is worth it. God's kingdom advanced this week in the lives of these children because over a hundred volunteers showed up to be just that. Part of the blessing for these kids is to bring in puppies. Puppies are comforting and release the pleasure hormone oxytocin which is also known as the love hormone. I got to join Jill, a generous puppy breeder and family friend at the camp, with Precious and Josiah, and watch the campers and staff love on her puppies.....and lots of other puppies too. She was new to this foster camp idea and was not sure what she had said yes too....but she said yes......and was a blessing. She put someone else first. She was seeking His kingdom even if it was inconvenient and maybe even uncomfortable.....and I know that God will bless her for it. One volunteer was dressed as a clown today while we were there. Josiah is really afraid of clowns. He tugged on my hand and said he wanted to go meet the clown. We went over and asked the clown for a photo and then Joe gave him a high-five. Mr. Clown didn't need to take a moment with my son, the camp interloper.....we were just there to help with puppies....but he gave him undivided attention if just for a moment and may have squashed the clown fear as a bonus.
Isaac.....well, lets just skip him for now. He worked every day this week and started football....and got injured....so he is on the grace card regarding selfless action.
Jeremiah had to sell sweet corn on Tuesday for a school fund-raiser. Our church is not a part of our Christian School funding so the families of our church do a separate thing called the Legacy Fundraising to help pay costs for Christian Ed. Different opportunities come up and this week it was selling donated sweet corn. He did NOT want to do this but we signed him up anyway....because it is part of seeking His kingdom first....and doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. The kid had a ball. He and his partner, along with a couple of goofball teenage friends were smiling and calling people over to buy corn....and they sold out by 1pm.
I guess this is my thing tonight. Don't be the most important person in the room. Be the least. Look around you. There are needs everywhere. People need people. It may be inconvenient to help but is that the worst thing? I think not. I think doing nothing but satisfying personal desire is the worst thing. Be a helper. Be a blessing. Be willing to say yes when there is a chance to offer something of yourselves. Be willing to change plans if it will help someone else. Be resilient and flexible. Be generous. Yes. That's it I think. Be Generous. In everything. With everyone. All the time.
These are values I live by. Values I strive for. I talk about them with my family. I surround myself with friends and co-workers who also understand them and strive for them......I sing the songs that refer to them......and I believe them.
These values are my energy, my gasoline, my inspiration, my measuring stick for decisions I make in my days. I don't know when or how that came to be my reality.....quite possibly it was when I asked Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior, and I asked for his Holy Spirit to rule and reign in my life. Don't get me wrong here. I am a broken, flawed and sinful human. I'm talking here about what I reach for and what matters to me.....I fall short every single day. But sometimes I don't.
Sometimes I put someone else before me, and I consider what they need as more important than what I want. Sometimes my kids get it too. Claire has been at camp all week serving as a counselor in training for kids in foster care. All week. She not only gave her time, but more importantly, she gave her heart....because saying good-bye tomorrow will break her tender heart. Again. Knowing these kids will go back to hard lives is torture after she has spent the week loving them and having fun....but to seek His kingdom first means that this pain is worth it. God's kingdom advanced this week in the lives of these children because over a hundred volunteers showed up to be just that. Part of the blessing for these kids is to bring in puppies. Puppies are comforting and release the pleasure hormone oxytocin which is also known as the love hormone. I got to join Jill, a generous puppy breeder and family friend at the camp, with Precious and Josiah, and watch the campers and staff love on her puppies.....and lots of other puppies too. She was new to this foster camp idea and was not sure what she had said yes too....but she said yes......and was a blessing. She put someone else first. She was seeking His kingdom even if it was inconvenient and maybe even uncomfortable.....and I know that God will bless her for it. One volunteer was dressed as a clown today while we were there. Josiah is really afraid of clowns. He tugged on my hand and said he wanted to go meet the clown. We went over and asked the clown for a photo and then Joe gave him a high-five. Mr. Clown didn't need to take a moment with my son, the camp interloper.....we were just there to help with puppies....but he gave him undivided attention if just for a moment and may have squashed the clown fear as a bonus.
Isaac.....well, lets just skip him for now. He worked every day this week and started football....and got injured....so he is on the grace card regarding selfless action.
Jeremiah had to sell sweet corn on Tuesday for a school fund-raiser. Our church is not a part of our Christian School funding so the families of our church do a separate thing called the Legacy Fundraising to help pay costs for Christian Ed. Different opportunities come up and this week it was selling donated sweet corn. He did NOT want to do this but we signed him up anyway....because it is part of seeking His kingdom first....and doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. The kid had a ball. He and his partner, along with a couple of goofball teenage friends were smiling and calling people over to buy corn....and they sold out by 1pm.
I guess this is my thing tonight. Don't be the most important person in the room. Be the least. Look around you. There are needs everywhere. People need people. It may be inconvenient to help but is that the worst thing? I think not. I think doing nothing but satisfying personal desire is the worst thing. Be a helper. Be a blessing. Be willing to say yes when there is a chance to offer something of yourselves. Be willing to change plans if it will help someone else. Be resilient and flexible. Be generous. Yes. That's it I think. Be Generous. In everything. With everyone. All the time.
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