Serving our families...

I went to a Ladies' Brunch at Christ Fellowship this morning featuring Judie Byrd. She is the host of "Judie Byrd's Kitchen", the founder of The Culinary School of Ft. Worth, and food editor of Ft. Worth, Texas Magazine. You can find her website here. She's an amazing woman, full of life and beaming with love for Jesus. She shared some great recipes, made biscuits right in front of us, and encouraged us as the managers of our homes to do everything we do for God, knowing that He is really the only One who will ever truly know and appreciate how much we stay-at-home moms do during our days.

She admonished us to step it up and stop just surviving through the days, but embrace the calling God has placed on us as caretakers to the precious families He has entrusted to us. She also reminded us that it's not our job to become a Martha Stewart clone, but to become the best of ourselves. It will look different for all of us- it doesn't make it wrong or right, because we're all wired differently- and that's a beautiful thing.

Judie gave us  a great Bible verse to think about as we go throughout our days: 1 Corinthians 15:58. It says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

I was thinking about that. What if I'm laboring all day for my husband? Trying to please him, to gain "points" per se with a clean house, home-cooked meal and happy children? My labor would be in vain. There is nothing wrong with cooking, cleaning or keeping the kids happy, but where is my heart in it all? Hubs can't reward me on the other side of eternity.

What if I'm laboring for my children? Trying to make home a fun place to be, somehow hoping that one day they'll brag to their friends that they had the greatest mom in the world, and working with all my strength to bring them happiness instead of disappointment? My labor would be in vain. My children aren't capable of bringing me glory in heaven.

What if I'm laboring to impress my parents? my inlaws? my *ah-hem!* blog readers? It's all in vain. When I stand before God on Judgement Day, and He asks what I've done with the life He gave me, He won't ask my parents, or my children, or my husband what kind of woman I was at home, or how I fulfilled the calling He gave me... He'll ask Jesus. And I want the eternal rewards that Jesus can give so much more than the temporary bliss of seeing all of the peole who click "LIKE" when I post my blog to Facebook.

And so I am reminded again today that all of the laundry, the toilet cleaning, the cooking and other chores that seem to depress me throughout the week are simply ways to serve and bless my family while obeying God. Even if no one ever steps up with a "thank you" (although I'm so glad that my hubs is great at saying Thanks when he notices the work I've done), I will bring God glory, pleasure and joy as I walk in obedience with a happy heart, doing what He's called me to do- to "bloom where I'm planted" (or so I've heard it put). So I'm on a mission to be more purposeful (note: purposeful does not mean perfect!) in taking care of my home- not just making it clean, but making it a great place to be, because when I worship God, the fragrance of His presence fills my home. And what better way to worship God than to obey Him with a cheerful and thankful heart?

So.... I had a little fun today as I thought of the different hats I wear as a stay-at-home wife & mom. There are so many more, but these are the few I could fit into my backyard, haha! Check out the pic below, You'll see Cooking Mom, Grocery Mom (although my re-usable "go-green" grocery bag is hidden), Cleaning Mom, Laundry mom, Dr. Mom, Teacher Mom, and Fun Mom. Thought for the week: How can you glorify God as you go about your day to day responsibilities?


By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I heart Photoshop?