Thursday, February 25, 2016

Drudgery

Grunt work - Menial tasks - Drudgery - Grubby work

What is the most menial task in your list of responsibilities?
  • The thing you hate to do but must
  • The thing you put off doing until the last possible minute

Click the link below to read how Jesus taught important concepts to his disciples by performing a task usually done by the lowliest servant in a first century Jewish home.


Service is love in working clothes

 

Few of us are called to greatness but all of us can perform lowly tasks with humility and a sense of purpose.

"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." (Colossians 3: 23-24) NIV
(Try applying this verse to the task(s) you consider the most menial.)

The commonplace becomes spiritual if done in the love of God

Grunt work & drudgery become humble and self-less service

The ultimate gift of selfless love came soon after Jesus' foot-washing example: God gave his only child to die on the cross to redeem the sins of mankind.

The ultimate Gift!



Thursday, February 18, 2016

God's Serendipities

Often God drops neat little surprises into our lives just to delight us. That's how it was with this story:


Marge's School Store

For forty years or so I've been hearing my husband, Bob, tell of his elementary school escapades. He was raised on the south side of Chicago and attended Kohn Elementary School. Near the school was Marge's School Store--a small business selling milk and bread plus candy and pop. And, oh yes, school supplies. Sort of like a 7-11 without the booze.

As you can imagine, the boys from Kohn Elementary hung out a lot at Marge's. My husband gets a far-away look in his eyes when he relates how they used to go to the little store after school or on weekends, buy candy, and sit on the curb planning their fun. Marge and her husband, Frank, owned the store and lived upstairs in the large two-story house that was both home and business. It's a fond memory from my husband's childhood.

Fast forward forty years. Bob and I owned a Hickory Farms Store in a shopping mall in Phoenix (Metro-Center for you local readers). Don't ask me why. It was a crazy investment idea that lasted less than two years.

One day, I tended the store while Bob worked on the books in the back office. I was helping an older couple from nearby Sun City with their purchase, doing the cheese and sausage thing: "Would you like a sample of .... It's our newest cheese, blah, blah, blah." As we chatted I asked them what Arizona residents ask everyone: "Where are you from?"
"Chicago," they answered.
"Oh, my husband is from Chicago. What part?"
"South side."
"What a coincidence. Bob grew up in Roseland, on the south side."
"Oh my," said the woman. "I lived in Roseland, too."
"Wow. Bob went to Kohn Elementary School."
"I know Kohn. I ran a business near there."
"You know, for years he's gone on and on about some place called Marge's School Store where he went to buy candy and pop."
The woman put her hand to her mouth and gasped loudly. "Oh, my," she said, her voice shaking. "I'm Marge!"
Now I gasped, then ran to the back of the store. "Bob, Bob. Come quick. You won't believe this."

Well, you can imagine the scene. I filled Bob in, introducing him to the one and only Marge, from Marge's School Store. Her husband Frank died years before and she was with her second husband, who moved her from frigid Illinois to Arizona.

We all were stunned. My husband animatedly recalled a part of his childhood, telling Marge's husband about his frequent visits to her store. I was amazed and Marge had tears running down her cheeks. After all those years and thousands of miles, two people re-connected.

As they left, Marge shook her head and said softly, "I always thought no one cared--that I really didn't make a difference."

Oh yes, Marge. There are many grown men, and maybe even some women, who remember Marge's School Store. You helped create childhood memories for all of them. That's delightful.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Welcome to AZ



Snowbirds: we’re glad you selected our state for your winter residencies. While you’re thawing out, consider this:

Diverse cultures make Arizona a great place
Latino
Native-American,
African-American
old-west cowboy influence

Add modern visitors or transplants from Canada and other parts of the U.S., and you have a culturally rich population. Each contributes in food, music, dance, art, and entertainment.


Diverse housing is available in Arizona
unique historical bungalows in the Arcadia District
tiny homes built for tuberculosis patients in the 1920s in Sunyslope
large estates in north central Phoenix
new developments in outlying areas
high rise condos in the growing downtown
sprawling ranches in the desert all across the state


The friendliness of Arizonans draws visitors 
 Ask a question of a stranger, and you most-likely will get a courteous, helpful response. Not so in some large cities in other parts of the country.
  • Phoenix is a small large city
  • Tucson is even more welcoming
  • small towns throughout the state welcome visitors

When my husband and I moved here in 1969, we planned to return to the Midwest in five years. That was 46 years ago.

Arizona is a great place to be!

 


Thursday, February 4, 2016

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

A mirror can be our friend or foe. We all need to check our reflection from time to time to:
  • Make sure we're socially presentable
  • Make sure we're not harboring some sneaky disease
  • Keep track of our weight
  • Etc., etc., etc.........


Think back to your junior high and high school days. Remember how much time was spent tracking your development, or lack of, in the mirror? Was it painful? Let's not go there.

As we get older and wiser, we come to the freeing realization our outward appearance means (or should mean) NOTHING. It is what's inside that counts and the sooner we realize that, the happier we become.

The Bible has some words to guide us on this:
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)
When we reflect God's glory, we are transformed into his likeness.
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV)
 The image is one of polished metal, perhaps bronze, that reflects a foggy reflection. In time, we will know and understand God completely, as if looking at a sharp, clear image.

These are two magnificent concepts

Reflect God's glory
Come to know and understand God fully

Remember this the next time you're looking critically at yourself in the mirror.