A sippy in the toliet...

This is my life. In a nutshell. Sippy cup in the toilet. I should close the computer and call it a day. This is where I am today. A sippy in the toilet. Hilarious.

Now, let me say, this is not just a blog about parenting. Although, I could start a blog named, what-not-to-do.blogspot.com. That's a good idea, actually. Hmm. But, I am NO expert on parenting, nor would I ever claim to be. But this is a blog about me and Jesus and the Lord is always using my boys to yank the "pride rug" out from under my feet.

Example...I am always on a mission to find healthy things for the kids to eat that are still "kid-friendly", yet nutritious. So I found "Wacky Mac" at Wal-mart. Spiral noodles of different colors. The colors are actually veggie spirals of spinach, carrots, tomatoes and beets. (as I write I realize it does sound disgusting). So, I disguised it with some marinara sauce, made an obnoxiously big deal about this "special dinner" and called the boys to the table.

"I don't want this" Grant said.
"Oh, buddy! How fun! Silly colored pasta! I spy something orange on your plate!"
(I can be so annoying. My poor kids.)
"Mom. I don't want to eat this."
"I'll take a bite then you. One... two... thr...."
"...Mom. I don't like colored noodles. What makes them colored, anyway?"

Busted.

After ten minutes of coaxing him into taking a bite, he finally did. Pause. Chew.
"It tastes like...nothing. It's not bad. I just tastes like nothing."

Nice. I think I'd rather him told me it was awful. So, a sippy in the toilet. A dinner that taste like nothing. Did I mention that it is 5:30 in the morning, Luke is up and he has already eaten at least a third-quarter cup of mini marshmallows. what-not-to-do.blogspot.com :)

Anyway, I promise this has a point. So, yesterday one of my dearest friends, Susie, comes over to look through some of my baby clothes. She is sixteen weeks pregnant. She and her husband, John, tried for three and a half years to get pregnant. That is a long stinkin' time. Three and a half years. Forty-two months. Twelve-hundred and seventy-seven days of waiting on the Lord. Every month, hopeful. Now, finally a baby boy on the way! So, Susie starts telling me a story about a trip she and John took to see family. While on her trip, her sister-in-law was venting about her children being sick - vomiting throughout the night and lots of diarrhea. Susie sat, listened and sympathized with her. On the way home, she and John were recapping and he said, "I can't wait for diarrhea and vomit. After three and a half years... puke and poop - I'll take it. I can't wait."

Perspective.

I thought of Colossians 3:23,24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Whatever you do. Wow. Paul is actually writing to the slaves of the time. Slaves...work with all your heart.

The word heart is a form of the word psuche and means "from the soul, rendered "heartily." It means life, doing the will of God from the heart."

We are all are ultimately working for the Lord. Serving Him.

I am preaching to myself today. What if, just what if, I lived in the mindset of raising my kids "from my soul. Heartily. From the well of my life. Doing the will of God." Everyday. Now, I might KNOW I am living out His will for my life, but I sure don't always live like it. I sometimes just view it all as a big ol' inconvenience. A sippy in the toilet. Really?

Yes. Really.

I also thought of a verse in Ecclesiastes. King Solomon says, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God." Ecc 2:24, 25

To find satisfaction in a sippy in the toilet, a dinner that tastes like nothing, vomiting and diarrhea. I'll take it. This too, if from the hand of God. I want the "I can't wait" mindset.

It is God's will for our lives to find satisfaction in our work. To work, ultimately for HIM.
If the slaves in Colosse can find satisfaction in their "slave" work, surely we can find it, too. Whatever your work is today, I pray we all work for the Lord and find deep satisfaction.

Be blessed.