The Gift of Work

Good Wednesday morning!

Going back to the Power Cooking Class, we had the teriyaki chicken last night, and it was delicious. I poured the contents of a thawed bag into an ungreased baking pan, popped it into a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes and, "Darling! Dinner is served!" Good stuff. Good stuff.

The Gallery pic is just one of my favorite things in the whole wide world... candles! I love them. And this was one of my CVS deals I bought on Sunday. See how huge these candles are? Normally, they would be $10 each at CVS, but they had a buy one, get one free which made two of them $5 each. AND I had $8 CVS extra bucks so TWO OF THESE GINORMOUS CANDLES COST ME A TOTAL OF $2. Did I do good, Lana? Did I? Huh?

I also added a couple of puppy pics to the Gallery. You can never have too many pictures of the beagles.

Wednesday Wisdom - Winnie the Pooh: (to his reflection in the mirror) Oh, hello. Am I glad to see you. It's more friendly with two. (Why do I love Pooh? Because it's simple AND true.)

Topic of the Day - Compassion, Compassion, Compassion

I was talking to a woman I knew many, many years ago, and she told me, "I'm just not a compassionate person." She said it in a very matter-of-fact tone. Not apologetic or wistful. I've always remembered that statement, and wondered... Does that mean you're off the hook, and you never have to show compassion to people who need that particular trait at one time or another in their life?

When I looked at the definition for compassion, it said, "Literally, suffering with another." I love how the word "literally" is used here. It says to me, "I'm not kidding. Get over there and feel that person's pain. It's going to be messy. It's going to be uncomfortable. It's going to take some time. It isn't going to be easy."

Showing compassion may or may not be a trait you're born with, but I certainly hope it is one that can be taught to our kids. "Were you kind today?" "Did you ask the new kid to sit with you at lunch?" "Did you laugh when one of your classmates fell down?" "Did you join others when they teased someone because they weren't wearing a pretty outfit?" "Did you stick up for someone who was weaker than you when they were getting picked on?" "When you saw someone crying, did you ask them if they were okay?"

Oh. And here's the kicker! "Did you put yourself in that person's shoes for even a few minutes to imagine how they were feeling?"

Unfortunately, I have come to realize that the woman who willingly admitted that to me many years ago is not alone. Parents AND kids fail to show compassion each and every day when confronted with someone's suffering. I, too, have been very guilty of this.

So today is just a reminder and a challenge to us all. There are so many people around us hurting for so many different reasons. It would probably take all of five minutes for us to find someone to offer a little gift of compassion. I doubt the gift would be turned away.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14.

The Gift of Work

This idea was taken from one of the books that started it all for me... Let's Make a Memory by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson.

To help your children appreciate the gift of work, make arrangements ahead of time to take them to your place of employment on a regular work day. If that is impossible, collect materials, pictures or artifacts that will demonstrate the work you do. (For me, the "artifacts" would be laundry baskets, dust rags and my Swiffer!)

Begin the day by talking about the gift that work is to our lives and the joy we find in contributing to other people through our skills.

Take an outing to your place of employment. (If both parents work, include both places of employment.)

Show the facility, your special place of work, and introduce the children to some of the people in your workplace.

Let the children learn about the end result of your specific job. You may want to eat together in the plant cafeteria, office snack shop, or nearby restaurant where you often go for lunch. If you take your lunch, pack a lunch for each person in the family and eat together at your usual place.

At the end of the day, discuss the jobs each person in the family does to make the home run smoothly. Thank God for the health, strength and intelligence to work.

Work... God's Perfect Plan

Work was always a part of God's plan. The first thing God gave to Adam was a job: to name all living things, and "to dress" and "to keep" the garden. Work was a gift and was intended to be a joy.

On seven index cards matted on brightly colored construction paper, write the following "work" verses, and hide them around the house:

1. "The firmament showeth His handiwork." Psalm 19:16

2. "We must do the work of Him who sent Me." John 9:4

3. "We are workers together with God." 1 Corinthians 3:9

4. "The people had a mind to work." Nehemiah 4:6

5. "Be strong... and work, for I am with you." Haggai 2:4

6. "He is the Rock, His work is perfect." Deuteronomy 32:4

7. "Be a workman who does not need to be ashamed." 2 Timothy 2:15

Hide the brightly colored cards all around the house. Before you sit down for dinner, set the timer and give the kids two minutes to find as many of the verses as they can to bring to the dinner table. Take turns going around the table reading the verses and talking about what they mean.

Oh, and make sure the kids clean the dishes off the table after dinner, wipe the table clean, load the dishwasher, etc., etc. depending on their ages and abilities (WITHOUT COMPLAINING).

Give Labor Day and the word "labor" new meaning. Help teach the children "work" is not a dirty word!

Have a fantastic Wednesday. So far this week, the challenges have been to (1) STOP and let your kids see you take time and be still with God; (2) LISTEN to someone's story who needs to share, and in turn, SHARE your story with someone; and (3) SHOW compassion to a person who is suffering. That makes for a busy week, but I do have one more challenge for us tomorrow. (And please remember, I always include ME in the challenges. I have to work at all of these things DAILY.) I'll also have Weekend Family Fun as well as a date for you and yours. Check back if you get a chance.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda