It is time to share our experiences and struggles with being a servant. Sharing these experiences and struggles help to encourage one another. Please comment below with your own experiences and struggles.
.jpg)
Debi, For the month of April I have tried to be aware (my personal word for the year) of areas where I should be serving. My youngest daughter is getting married this next week and I have been trying to avail myself to her. She works full time, owns a home and lavishes her nieces and nephews. So, I have been trying to help when and where I can to lighten her load during the stressful time of planning a wedding. Prayerfully I have been able to accomplish this.
Mandy, For the month of April I have been more aware of my need to ask for help. Asking God for help, my friends for help and my family for help. I am someone who will NOT ask for help, no matter what, I will find a way to do it myself. One day my friend said "please do not take this blessing from me, it is a blessing for me to be able to help you!" So from then on I started praying, God remind me to ask for help when I truly need it. We are putting new siding up on our house, my husband would have done this project on his own, we are not a family that likes to ask for help, but a friend came up and said you can not complete this on your own! If you need help, ask for it...there have been many more instances than just these few that God has clearly instructed me to lay down my pride and ask for help so indeed I have been trying to do that very thing for this month of April. Not only should we serve as Jesus served, we should also ask for help when we truly need it!
Jenifer, This past month I have focus on serving my family. {Now I know this can be a controversial thing. I posted on my own blog once about serving my husband and was attacked at every turn. I truly enjoy serving my family. Please do not criticize.} I am not talking about being my family's doormat. I am not talking about being their maid. I am talking about serving them as Christ served. Christ washed the feet of His disciples! What makes me think I am better than Him!? No, I am not washing my husband's and children's feet. But I am trying to serve them. I have always, even before we were married, packed my husband's lunch for work. I do not mind doing it in the least. I used to wake up early and cook him a fresh breakfast, too. However, he cannot eat right away or he gets sick. So we started doing frozen meals for his breakfast. He has done that for many years and has come to the point where he is just tired of them. They all taste the same. They are not at all healthy. He wanted a change. He asked me, very nicely too, if I would please make homemade breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches then freeze them. For a split second what ran through my mind is "no, sorry, but I just don't..." But God stopped that thought before it could finish! I knew that I needed to serve as Jesus served. My husband wasn't asking me to move a mountain. He just wanted food that was fresh and better for him. So, with a smile on my face, a real smile not a fake one, I made a week's worth of homemade breakfasts and froze them for him. It took me less than thirty minutes to do. He has a healthier breakfast. He has a fresh breakfast. And I served with a joyful heart. I praise God that I can be a servant for my family in the same way Christ served others.
How did you experience servant hood in April? Did you struggle? Did you step outside your comfort zone? Comment below and share your own experiences.
Link up time! On the first Sunday of each month we will come together here at Woman to Woman and talk about our word, serve, and how we have committed to serving throughout the previous month. Our prayer is that you join with us on this journey. Throughout the month, in your own life, we encourage you to serve, then come here and tell us how you have done. We greatly encourage you to comment on the posts telling us how you are doing, your struggles, your successes, and your thoughts. If you are a blogger, we encourage you to also write a post about serving and link up with us.{The link up will only be for blog posts about serving.}
A good reminder. The one thing I did was baby sit a 1 year old for some friends all day while they were at work. Their day care was having plumbing issues and they needed some one. I LOVE kids but have never been one who likes babysitting. I had a lot of fun doing it!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Jenifer, you are a true servant!
ReplyDeleteI have served on the Ladies Ministries committee for the last two years and we had our conference this week and I did not get to go in and just soak it all up, I had to continue to make sure every one was registered, but what a joy to serve those ladies! I loved every minute of it. If we serve with a joyful attitude, we receive far more back from it than we give. That I have found over and over again.
I always pack my husbands lunches and make muffins and I'm sure to shop for whatever else he asks for, and it is a true joy to do it for him.
This weekend I spent two nights and 3 days at a friend's house watching her five children while her and her husband attended a family wedding about 6 hours away. I am exhausted, my own home is a mess and my children (although one of them tagged along) missed me, as did my husband. But my friends were so grateful. It feels good to have been able to serve them in this way.
ReplyDelete