God, you and the work you do …….

WORK ….. for some people this word represents drudgery and the mundane.  Work can easily be a daily grind full of monotonous and thankless tasks.  For others, work is an idol to be served.  But sometimes the job is not the problem, we are – because we refuse to attach any significance to the work we are doing.  And so our work becomes dull and tedious because we allow it to be that way. We may not be thinking Christianly about that job we are doing, and our lack of joy in doing our work is a direct result of the lack of significance we attach to it.  Tim Challies writes a great article on our attitudes to work and how they can shape the work we do.  http://www.challies.com/christian-living/work-that-makes-a-difference

Consider these questions:-

• Can we glorify God by engaging in work and business?;
• Can we integrate our work and weekend life to live fruitfully for God?;
• Can we successfully connect our Sunday worship experience to Monday morning work?
• What does it mean to be a Christian business person in the workplace?
• How can I know what I am supposed to do with my life?

CBD has a selection of books covering the topic of our Christian vocation in all of our lives, not just on Sundays.  So weather you are teaching a class full of kids, fighting for justice in a court of law, welding a gate post or ironing your kids clothes, God is interested in the work you do.  He can transform it and use it for His Glory.

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Candice is a busy wife to Matt and mom of Noah (5) and Tyler (3 going on 21).  Candice also works part-time at our Rosebank Store of Christian Book Discounters.  In her spare time Candice writes for her own blog and is a travel consultant.

The liberation of “me” time …….

Last week, I was at home alone for just over an hour, before I went to the dentist. Ok, that’s a big deal for me. I think since my kids were born, I’ve been home alone maybe 5 or 6 times in four years! Look, it felt weird, and strange that the house was quiet but I decided it was time to let it all out.

I turned on some music, blasted it at full volume and danced around my house ~ and not dancing while I’m mopping, or dancing while I’m washing dishes ~ dancing like no-one was watching, dancing like it mattered, and JUST dancing, not doing anything else house or mommy related! (I hope no-one was watching that is because that would be slightly embarrassing) Let me tell you ~ IT WAS LIBERATING. It has been christened my Mommy Dance Jam.  For about an hour there, I was back to my twenty-something , carefree self and it was glorious.

I then drove to the dentist and BLASTED my music so loud, played air guitar, head banged and sang at the top of my lungs to Timbaland! Very entertaining for the traffic? Maybe, but seriously, it was the first time I’ve driven alone for maybe 6 months, without one of my little ninjas in the back.

Now before you all think I’m gone a little crazy…

I wrote a blog a little while ago for my friend Brett’s blog series about parenting small children and one of the things that I mentioned on there, was that in the middle of trying to survive without sleep in the beginning stages of your motherhood journey (and as you mature into motherhood), you can forget who you are.

I can tell you out right ~ for the last, going on now, 5 years, I’ve forgotten who I was before I had my babies. It is like when I had my first baby, I was automatically all-consumed as a mother and everything else was lost in the black hole of eternity of what had gone before and who I was before.

For example, I really love to dance. I’m not that good but ever since high school, my down time was to put on a tune (or seven) and groove around the house, and sing my heart out. I didn’t remember that until I did it for the first time, for a long time, the other day.  I dance with my kids all the time but they have preference on what the music choice is (right now, it’s one of three on repeat ~ The Lumineers, Maroon 5 or Bruno Mars.) Of course, there are times at home when my kids are napping that I could possibly put on a tune or two, but firstly, I don’t want to risk waking them up and secondly, the couch (ok, I’m lying, the ironing or the washing or the cleaning, but let’s pretend: couch) calls me and my time out is really not a time out at all.

Another thing I love to do is read. I NEVER get time during the day to sit with a big glass of Coca Cola and tuck into a great book. Again, down time isn’t really down time at all. Read when I get into bed, you say. Well, great idea except once I’m horizontal in bed, I can only manage to keep my eyelids open for about three paragraphs and then, I’m asleep. I remember reading well into the early hours of the morning, really getting stuck into good books. Now I’m awake in the early hours of the morning still, but there ain’t no reading happening besides trying to see the markings on an Avent bottle when measuring my daughter’s nightly drink.

Am I ok with who I’ve become and the responsibilities that comes with? Of course! I’m loving being a mommy ~ it’s an immense blessing. I understand it’s a life stage ~ I’m walking through, as a parent, some of the most intense (time-wise) ages in a child’s life right now and I’m game for that. I’m so proud and grateful to be a mommy. My little impromptu solo dancing session just made me think about my life and how it’s evolved. Who was I before I defined myself as a mommy and had my babies? What did I like doing before I had kids?

I’m encouraging you mommies out there to take time every once in a while, to return to and identify with who you were before motherhood ran away with you. Go and do something that you did before your life was being chief bottle washer, head of the laundry department, executive chef of all things pureed and keeper of hours of non-existent sleep. After all , the person you were before is part of the journey that made you the mommy you are today.

I don’t do it often enough and hey, I get that my kiddies are young and I might have more time as they head to school etc. BUT this little hour I had this past week to really check in with my pre-mommy self, was refreshing. Try it. If I see you in the traffic, jamming, believe me, I get it. I’ll hoot in support! The off duty mommy moments are rare … sometimes, a mommy has to turn back the clock and let it all out. I’m right there with you, sister….

For some Pre-Mommy books & novels to read during your “me” time, visit our online shopping cart,
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How to run your family finances to God’s Glory ……

How we manage our family finances is always an important issue.  As Christians our lives should demonstrate different values to those of the world around us.  Are you teaching your kids to be financially prudent and responsible?  Do you involve them in the budgeting of your monthly family income or do you choose not to burden them with such matters?  David Murray writes a witty and enlightening article on the subject of financial openness with our kids and teaching them good stewardship of what God has given us.  http://headhearthand.org/blog/2014/01/09/so-dad-how-much-do-you-earn/

We have 2 great books on the subject of family and church finances.  In the book Family Money Matters, the author establishes biblical principles of home finance and then gives practical advice in areas such as debt, choosing a home, buying a car, insurance and pensions.

The Book Make your church’s money work  helps you to achieve financial integrity in your church congregation.  The finances of a church are a concrete expression of its vision, its priorities and its commitment to doing things decently and in order.  Written in non-accountancy terminology, the author examines the basis of sound biblical stewardship as applied to the practical aspects of budgeting, reporting and control of expenses in a church. A must read by church leaders & anyone who spends any of the church’s money.

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“The Gospel Project”

When is the last time you or someone in your church said, “it’s been one of those days?”

Or maybe you are battling with how to communicate with your son or daughter the beauty of the Cross in the midst of everyday mundane life? Maybe you are a youth worker wanting to share these same great truths with your church group?

One of the themes in my life recently is the fact that the Gospel not only has saved me, but it sustains me in those “one of those days” days! And the prayer for my four boys is the same – that the Good News of the Gospel sustains them through new experiences – studying in a foreign town and continent; entering the pressures of matric year while at the same time looking for that “perfect” university to attend; and working through what is means to be a young man in a blended family.

So often we think of a “Gospel Project” as a short-term missions trip or an outreach activity in a local community. But the reality is that each one of us are first and foremost a “Gospel Project” in which God is encouraging us that the beauty of the Cross is sufficient enough for us to thrive and not just survive in those difficult and challenging days, weeks, months, years or even decades in some circumstances. If you have ever been on a short-term missions trip, you have probably experienced that the trip often changes the one going to a foreign land just as much as the people being ministered to in that foreign land.

In other words, revival always starts in the heart of each individual. Be encouraged! God’s great plan of redemption is sufficient for not only salvation but also for sanctification. At the end of each and every “one of those days,” we can agree with the apostle Paul that God’s grace has been sufficient.

Be willing to be one of God’s “Gospel Projects.” It may be painful at times, but there is purpose in our pain. Be willing to let God teach you what that purpose is in your life – it will glorify God and be of ultimate benefit in your walk with the Author of your “Gospel Project.”

If you are interested in learning more on how to be a “Gospel Project” or sharing these truths in your ministry, CBD offer a Gospel Project Resource that is available on order for pre-schoolers, kids, youth, and adults.  Please contact us for more information or click here for details of the Gospel Project www.gospelproject.com

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