Midweek Motivation
Starting Your Day Out Right
Scripture, Short Devotion
A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34-35 (KJV)
Jesus was preparing the disciples for His death. He, who had so often been needed to intervene in the disagreements and conflicts of those who literally followed at His heels, was leaving. And He repeated this new command He was giving not once, but twice. “Love one another.” The way Christ loved them. He’d just taken the most humble of positions and washed their feet as a servant.
Love one another. As. Servants.
Why?
“By this, all men will know you are My disciples.”
In other words, “Folks, the world is watching you.”
It’s a solemn reminder for us when we want to argue. To gripe. To vent. Today, let’s resist that temptation. We can take the “high road” by crouching low. By washing the feet of our brothers and sisters instead of fighting with them. By serving them. By making less of ourselves, and more of Him. By loving one another.
Is your house in order?
Cleaning, parenting, marriage, organization tips, etc.
Last summer, a friend and I scheduled a weekly “date” to declutter at one another’s homes. Each week, the “hostess” picked a project we could complete in less than a couple of hours while her baby slept and our daughters played. One week, for example, we decluttered her kitchen cabinets. I would encourage her to consciously decide what she would keep and what she would toss. I’d ask questions like “How often do you use that tin?” and “If you haven’t used that plate in two years, would you like to give it away or store it somewhere else? Maybe?”
Working together in this way had several benefits. We kept one another “on task” and we worked quickly since we had a “deadline”: the baby waking. It met real social needs for mommies and daughters alike. Of course, we also had one project completed that otherwise may have been put on the backburner. We’d finish out the morning by sharing a casual and easy-to-fix lunch together. Decluttering was never so much fun!
Afternoon Pick Me Up
Writing Inspiration
We receive so few notes and cards in our actual walk-to-it mailbox these days. One of my favorite uses of the writing craft is handwriting personal letters and notes of encouragement. Not e-mails, but handwritten, stick-a-stamp-on-them cards and letters. The audience is small. The stamps cost money. The time could be spent brainstorming an article or editing a novel’s chapter. But our gift isn’t meant to be used only to reach large crowds. In fact, just one note of encouragement used by God may well have far greater reach and eternal consequences than even the greatest novel.
What’s For Dinner?
Pork Chop Bake
This is a recipe from my childhood. Greatly loved then and now. It is one of a handful of meals the entire family enjoys, and it is really so simple to make!
Ingredients
- 6-8 pork chops
- 1 package dry onion soup mix
- about 3 Cups beef broth
- 1.5 Cups white rice
Preparation
- Brown pork chops and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add enough beef broth to onion soup mix to total 3 Cups. Heat.
- Place rice in casserole, pour liquid over rice, place pork chops on top and cover.
- Bake for one hour.
(In a quest toward healthier eating, we revised this recipe to use organic broth and we have been trying to adjust the time and temperature for brown rice. It hasn’t worked so far! If I am ever successful, I’ll come back and add the revision.)
A Restful Night’s Sleep
Scripture for a restful sleep
These things I have spoken to you,
so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage;
I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (NASB)
Tribulation.
My dictionary defines tribulation not simply as “affliction, trial, or distress; suffering,” but as “GREAT affliction, trial, or distress; suffering.” (emphasis mine)
Do you resonate with that concept today? GREAT affliction? Tonight, as you lay your head on your pillow, have you GREAT trials you will be reviewing in your mind? They are an all too common characteristic of our lives in this world.
Taking courage doesn’t mean we deny the depth of our sufferings or that we ignore the gravity of our afflictions. Rather, we remain steadfast in their midst. We face them with confidence and moral strength. How do we come by that courage, though? Do we muster it ourselves, somehow? Through inner resolve? No. We focus on this: “I have overcome the world.”
At Calvary, Christ overcame the world. In the end, our tribulations will have lasted only a short time compared to eternity. Admittedly, though, that can be of little comfort when we are going through the valley or wandering through the wilderness. But because Christ went to Calvary, because He went away, the Holy Spirit came in His stead. Jesus even said it was to our advantage that He was going and the Holy Spirit was coming, and He doesn’t seem to be speaking about the eternal consequences of His sacrifice.
To our advantage?!
The Holy Spirit is to our advantage! Our Helper. Our Comfort. The Spirit of truth comes as a helper and comforter, which is good news when we find ourselves in the midst of GREAT affliction, trial, distress, and suffering.
Cry out to the Lord tonight. Let the Helper and the Comforter minister to your soul and fill your heart with His courage and His peace.
