I am excited. I am anxious. I feel like a kid again. I just want school start. With less than a week before school begins, I am putting the final touches on my classroom theme, bulletin boards, and layout...not to mention waiting patiently for the go ahead to get into our classrooms due to our high school remodel project. I get to go to school again!
Throughout the summer, I ponder and brainstorm various themes. One day when I was running between our daughters’ softball games, I couldn’t do anything but smile. I get to spend my day at two softball tournaments watching my daughters play the sport they love. I get to as apposed to have to. And that made me smile.
What is that makes you smile? What are you passionate about? When you get up in the morning, do you think “I get to do…” or is it “I have to do…” Two little words that can have completely different attitude outcomes. Many times I tell my students and children there is a difference between a job and career. Using your skills and talents in a career that you love, will never seem like a job.
This applies to each of our daily routines. I will be the first to admit, most days I love cleaning my house. Yes, I said that...I love cleaning. (Sidenote: I loathe--not sure if this is a strong enough adjective--folding clothes.) I like the smell of a clean fresh house, but what I don’t get is that I really don’t have four other family members that LOVE to clean like me. The kids always say “We have to clean again.” Or even, “We have to go get groceries again.” We have to exercise. Yes...all those “we HAVE to things”.
What would it look like, if we took the approach “We get to clean. We get to go get groceries. We get to exercise. We get to go back to school/work. Colossians 3:23 states, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
What would our days look like, if we worked willingly for the Lord rather than for people--or even ourselves. How would we feel? What would our outlook on the day be like? If we took the approach to work willing for the Lord, we would be smiling in all we do--even those “have to” tasks.
It is easy to find our smile when we are doing what we love to do, it doesn’t seem like a job. It doesn’t seem like a task. It seems like a blessing. However, how do we find our smiles when we are doing those “have to” tasks. Here is where we can place Colossians 3:23 on our hearts. In these moments, we can also be thankful we get to do those things. Yes, even for me, I can be thankful I get to fold clothes! Willing work for the Lord with a thankful heart while folding clothes. What a difference in attitude that is!
So I challenge you, in those “have to” tasks/jobs how can you work willingly for the Lord and turn those “have tos” into “get tos”.
Throughout the summer, I ponder and brainstorm various themes. One day when I was running between our daughters’ softball games, I couldn’t do anything but smile. I get to spend my day at two softball tournaments watching my daughters play the sport they love. I get to as apposed to have to. And that made me smile.
What is that makes you smile? What are you passionate about? When you get up in the morning, do you think “I get to do…” or is it “I have to do…” Two little words that can have completely different attitude outcomes. Many times I tell my students and children there is a difference between a job and career. Using your skills and talents in a career that you love, will never seem like a job.
This applies to each of our daily routines. I will be the first to admit, most days I love cleaning my house. Yes, I said that...I love cleaning. (Sidenote: I loathe--not sure if this is a strong enough adjective--folding clothes.) I like the smell of a clean fresh house, but what I don’t get is that I really don’t have four other family members that LOVE to clean like me. The kids always say “We have to clean again.” Or even, “We have to go get groceries again.” We have to exercise. Yes...all those “we HAVE to things”.
What would it look like, if we took the approach “We get to clean. We get to go get groceries. We get to exercise. We get to go back to school/work. Colossians 3:23 states, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
What would our days look like, if we worked willingly for the Lord rather than for people--or even ourselves. How would we feel? What would our outlook on the day be like? If we took the approach to work willing for the Lord, we would be smiling in all we do--even those “have to” tasks.
It is easy to find our smile when we are doing what we love to do, it doesn’t seem like a job. It doesn’t seem like a task. It seems like a blessing. However, how do we find our smiles when we are doing those “have to” tasks. Here is where we can place Colossians 3:23 on our hearts. In these moments, we can also be thankful we get to do those things. Yes, even for me, I can be thankful I get to fold clothes! Willing work for the Lord with a thankful heart while folding clothes. What a difference in attitude that is!
So I challenge you, in those “have to” tasks/jobs how can you work willingly for the Lord and turn those “have tos” into “get tos”.