Skip to main content

Put it into Practice

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Phil. 4:8

I am tired of cleaning up after my children. Yes, it is true and I apologise to all of you endlessly patient and enduring mothers. I used to be you. I homeschooled my children when they were younger. We had the chore charts and they learned how to do all of the household chores properly. Can I brag a little and tell you they were pretty good at it? Not all boys know how to cook a meal, clean a bathroom and do laundry; but my guys do.

Now my problem.... They don't do it! Not only do they procrastinate at the 'household chores' I ask them to do, they don't even clean up after themselves half the time! Can I tell you how frustrated I am at this. I am seriously bummed. Now that I am in school full-time, I thought they would take up some slack but my oldest just got a job at Dairy Queen, plays in 2 Christian bands, does drama, band and chorus and is never home. His room is embarrassing (evidently not to him). My youngest plays sports and has way too many social events and friends.

Ok, what is the point of all of the griping? They have learned it from me but don't put it into practice! So I was talking to God about this today and he reminded me of these verses. You see, I grew up in church and know what truth is. I know how to be noble and I understand the importance of purity and doing what is right. But I admit that sometimes I don't choose the lovely, excellent or praiseworthy thing.

How frustrating that must be to my heavenly Father. He has entrusted me with the Holy Spirit, knowing that the power I need to think and dwell on these things is possible through this gift in my life. It is time to put it into practice. Time to grow up in the Lord and choose to do right. The knowledge is there. The ability is there. But sometimes we get so busy with our own plans and ways that we neglect the very person He designed for us to be.

And you know, like my children, if we keep ourselves right and do what we should do day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, we won't have a big mess to clean up when God finally points our mess out to us!

Comments

Mara said…
Great post. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with children that don't do what I taught them...LOL. I appreciate your comparison. I'm so thankful that we have a patient, loving merciful God.
Anonymous said…
I love your post! Praise God we serve a merciful and patient God!!

Popular posts from this blog

Be careful who you tell your dreams to!

I went with my son recently to see a production of Joseph and the Amazing Coat at a local community college. As I sat in the dark theater and watched the young men in the production, one of the lessons in the first part of the story hit me fresh and clear. Joseph told his dream to the wrong people at the wrong time. In his naivity, he thought his brothers would rejoice with him when he shared his dreams with them. Instead, it caused their jealous to turn to hatred of him and the favor of the father on his life. Many times in my own life, I have been too quick to share what God is showing me about the future with others. The truth is not everyone is called to share your dreams. There are circumstances and life issues people deal with that get in the way of their ability to 'rejoice with those who rejoice'. Just because you are there for other people does not mean they are capable of being there for you. Wisdom teaches us to wait and be careful about our conversation and 'the...

God's time is the right time!

This morning I got up ready for my new healthy lifestyle! I drank a big glass of water and took my vitamin, exercised, walked the dog and made a healthy breakfast. As I sat down to eat, a wave of nausea came over me and I began to shake and sweat. After I threw my healthy breakfast in the trash, I realized what had happened: I had taken my vitamin on an empty stomach. No, it didn't make me feel better this morning, but hopefully I won't make that mistake again. Now for the spiritual application.... There is an order for what God has for our lives just as there is an order for taking things like vitamins. This morning, I got ahead of myself. I was so excited about my goal to get healthy that I didn't take the time to remember the basics I already knew. God has perfect timing. I look forward in faith to what He has promised me. I believe with everything in me that this is the year I will begin to see His promises and plans for me fulfilled. He is lining everything up ...

Life Choices

One fine Sunday morning, a man was walking with his family to church when he heard an awful commotion coming from behind the church. He sent his family on it and went to see what was going on. To his surprise, he saw the devil sitting on the ground moaning and crying something awful. "What in the world is wrong with you?" he asked the devil. "You won't believe what they're blaming me for in there." was his answer. Now, I know this story has A LOT of faulty theology but stay with me as I make my point! There are so many things in our life that we deal with that are a result of our own bad choices. When you think about the fact that every one of us is allowed to make our own choices in life, it is mindboggling. I know sometimes it seems it would be easier if we could force those that we care about to make good choices. It is so hard to see people that we love hitting their heads against a brick wall over and over again wondering why the wall won't move, bu...