|
|
|
3-D Living Newsletter - May, 2010 Issue
May 1, 2010
Welcome to the May issue of the 3-D Living newsletter. I want to wish every mother a most blessed Mother's Day. I no longer have my mother or mother-in-law here on this earth, but I am blessed to be the mother of Christopher, Matthew and Elizabeth - for which I am eternally grateful.
This will be a special Mother's Day edition - slightly different than the usual monthly newsletter. I hope it is a blessing to you. Please share your thoughts - I would appreciate it.
I would like to share something I have written as a special Mother's Day gift. If you are not a mother, feel free to pass it along or share it with the special moms in your life if you'd like to.
In this issue:
Ann's article: Entrepreneurs for Eternity
Featured product: Women's Defense
Word to the Wise: Patience
ANN'S ARTICLE: ENTREPRENEURS FOR ETERNITY
WANTED: Stable, energetic, multi-task oriented individual for highly responsible, diversified and demanding position.
Must be skillful manager of time, talents, temperaments and
resources; able to lead and motivate while retaining ability
to submit to authority and take direction. Employer will
provide continuing on-the-job training and support to the
candidate who is committed to following Company procedures and demonstrates consistency and desire.
Right about now you’re either thinking a position demanding that much responsibility would easily command a six-figure salary, or good luck finding one person who can do it all. Ordinarily you’d be right on both counts. The odds of finding one individual who naturally possesses every one of these qualities is astronomical. Any human resources manager will attest to the fact that one person can very effectively handle people and personnel issues, yet lack the ability to manage time and resources efficiently. Some are born leaders, but find it next to impossible to submit to authority.
However, as you’ve probably already guessed, this is no ordinary position and the Employer is no ordinary employer. If you are a Christian wife and mother, you are already fulfilling this job description.
The dictionary definition of an entrepreneur is, “one who organizes and directs a business undertaking, assuming risk for the sake of profit.” Isn’t that exactly what we as moms do each and every day?
So much of what a wife and mom does on an everyday basis is repetitive and seems almost trivial. After all, how deeply meaningful is doing laundry or making meals, apart from the obvious fulfillment of physical needs? If you are willing to take a moment and look a little deeper, you’ll see that there’s so much more involved than just the actual task itself. For instance on the surface laundry may not seem that big a deal. However, by taking pride in keeping her family looking neat and clean so they can present themselves well, and making it her priority, she sets an example of commitment which, in turn, becomes a powerful, wordless lesson in diligence.
When you think of a powerful and influential person, chances are you think of a CEO, world leader or even a famous evangelist. Where else can one person so profoundly impact the lives of those around them? Consider the possibilities! A mom has the opportunity and privilege on a daily basis of modeling forgiveness, mercy, diligence, integrity, joy, peace, faithfulness, generosity, trust – the list is as inexhaustible as God’s limitless nature. At the moment you are only directly impacting your own child. He or she however will go on to impact countless others in their lifetime – and it all begins with your influence.
Sad to say, to much of the world these things not only go unnoticed, but lack value and prestige. If you’re not contributing financially, your time is not considered as valuable by the world’s standards. Sometimes, even our own families don’t seem to appreciate our contribution and may even take it for granted. This assault on our worth causes a great deal of pain and insecurity because of the world’s perception of what is worthwhile and what is not.
Thankfully, that certainly is not how the Lord views it. If He’s blessed you with a husband to love and support and children to nurture, He’s entrusted you with the most sacred and important job in His Kingdom. Next time someone asks who you are and you answer, “Oh, I’m _____’s wife,” or they ask what you “do,” and you reply, “Oh, I’m ‘just’ a mom,” stop and think about that job description.
A woman committed to raising stable, moral, well-adjusted, productive children in these last days, determined to provide a peaceful, Christ-centered home for her husband and children to find refuge in, is certainly providing something money can’t buy.
Before you are completely overwhelmed, don’t ever forget for a moment that He never leaves you on your own to handle this awesome responsibility. He is more readily available than the most hands-on employer you could ever imagine. All that He requires is that you stay in constant contact with Him and seek Him for every need, big and small.
He promises He will never let you down. He’ll provide the wisdom, patience, sensitivity, creativity, discernment, humor, energy and anything else you need. You see, He not only wants you to succeed, He is committed to your success.
When you get a revelation that God, Himself, lives in your husband and children, that knowledge will govern not only how you respond to them, but also how you perceive them. It is incredibly humbling to realize you are comforting or correcting a container of God’s Holy Spirit. It gives fresh insight into Matthew 25:40 NKJV “…Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you did it to Me.”
His very Presence gives everyday tasks and conversations new and deep meaning and eternal value. You learn to let the Lord determine the value of your work according to His standards, not the world’s. You are willing to work behind the scenes and receive your reward from Him. The heavenly scale by which God measures your success and importance is very different from the way the world rates you. Consider the following:
You determine to sow seeds of blessing for your family daily by obedience to God’s command to “be mindful to be a blessing.” You perform acts of kindness for others – neighbors, friends, strangers – whether large or small, in their names and trust God to provide the blessing just when they need one.
Every mundane job you perform becomes an opportunity for prayer and worship. As you change your child’s sheets, you pray that they enjoy peaceful, refreshing sleep and that the Lord would reveal His will for them in those night hours. As you wash your kitchen floor, you thank and praise the Lord for providing your home and for the strength and energy to keep it clean. Your home is then filled with His peace and Presence in the midst of buckets and brooms.
You determine to let your children see Him in you, regardless of how tired you may be, whether you feel well or not, even when just about everything has gone wrong that particular day. Every chore may not have gotten done, but you are determined not to dishonor your Father before these little ones He has entrusted to you.
You desire to become a vessel for His mercy, grace and power. You are thrilled at the privilege of being a showcase for His love, joy and peace. Daily, you trust that God has put you in the specific place where you can best serve Him by taking care of your family in a way that honors Him. How could you possibly put a price on this?
Whether you work outside (or from) your home, part-time or full-time, or not at all, if your priority is to honor God and take care of your family, realize that you are fulfilling a sacred calling. There will be times at the end of a day when you stop and think about all you’ve done in utter amazement at what the Lord enables you to accomplish in one 24-hour period. Your heart will be flooded with gratitude for His faithfulness and love.
Now we get to the compensation part of this job. This is where there seems to be the greatest degree of misunderstanding. You don’t earn money for what you do as a wife and mom. There are no $1,000 bonuses or paid vacations. Successfully raising a wonderful human being from birth to young adulthood doesn’t earn you a gold watch or a big pension and retirement villa. Your compensation cannot be measured in dollars and cents. However, there are definitely perks along the way, as well as immeasurable rewards. For instance; your 14-year-old comes home and begins telling you how all the lockers around his were broken into, except his. He says it was “by the grace of God” and sees the value in speaking positive confessions over himself each morning. Your 11-year old makes a point of noticing whenever you do an errand for an elderly neighbor and assures you that you’re “sowing a seed” each time. Then he goes out of his way to help and encourage a classmate who is struggling to keep his grades up. Your 7-year-old sees you don’t feel well and her first thought is to come over and pray for you.
These are evidences of God’s Presence in them and His influence in their lives through your example. These ‘random’ remarks they make or things they do are a concrete measure of your success as surely as a paycheck is. The Lord graciously gives us these gifts just when we’re most exhausted and perhaps discouraged by the seeming lack of results, to encourage us to keep pressing on. We have to operate daily in an attitude of expectancy, looking for these gems, or else even we will miss them and the inexpressible blessing they’re meant to bring. In these small ways He assures us that the time, effort and love we invest is indeed paying divine dividends.
Your bank balance may not be increased by the years you tirelessly spend raising your family. In fact, just the opposite most likely will be true. To the casual observer you may not have “accomplished” much in your life. But rest assured that in God’s economy you are considered the richest and most influential of women. In the final accounting, isn’t that what really matters?
FEATURED PRODUCT: WOMEN'S DEFENSE
This is a comprehensive supplement that contains a powerful combination of natural plant extracts that are proven to build a woman's natural defenses in this toxic world. What a wonderful, thoughtful gift for a special woman in your life!
To order, call 1-888-747-6733 and use sale code 11379 to receive your 20% discount and be set up as a preferred customer. Subsequent orders can then be placed online by visiting http://www.phporder.com/11379. You'll then receive the same 20% discount on ALL subsequent orders!
WORD TO THE WISE: PATIENCE
How appropriate that we consider this fruit of the Spirit as we celebrate mothers! I don't know about anyone else, but it is the one I've had most difficulty developing. Patience is described as the supreme quality and backbone of consistency. This sinful world presents obstacles and sins we must conquer and overcome in order to be consistent. Another way to describe that trait is "steadfast endurance." We will be confronted with every manner of trials, opposition, temptations and fatigue - but by exercising this fruit, we can rise up and face them head on. And we can stay sweet and good-natured as we do. That's real patience.
If you enjoyed this issue of the 3-D Living Newsletter, please forward it to anyone you know who will benefit from it. They'll love you for it! If a friend forwarded this issue to you - just go here to get your own free subscription: http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com/Home.html.
Until next month, I wish you health, peace and unspeakable joy!
And I wish you abundant blessings this Mother's Day.
Ann
|
|
