Whatever You Do ...

Nick Saban, the coach of the University of Alabama football team insists on only the best from his players.  Those players who do not play to their best level of ability are asked to sit down and others are brought forward to replace them.  Saban’s players almost unanimously credit him with teaching them how to be men and how to approach the rest of their lives after football.

One of the things which Saban teaches the young men is to approach each event as if it is the most important event ever.  He uses the example of the professional basketball player, Michael Jordan.  Saban has said of Jordan that “It doesn’t matter how many game-winning shots he’s made in the past.  The only one that matters is the one he’s about to take.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAr6oAKieHk

I have spoken in the past that Christians should approach their lives as a quest for excellence for God. This is what the layman cook and shoe repairer, Brother Lawrence, did.  When he washed dishes, he washed the dishes for God.  When he repaired the sole of a shoe, he repaired the shoe for God.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Are You Bored With Your Life?

If we are bored with life there is something wrong with our concept of God and His involvement in our daily lives.  Even the most dull and tedious days of our lives are ordained by God and ought to be used by us to glorify Him."  Jerry Bridges, The Navigators

Every job is meaningful, every life is meaningful.  God may have you in place to perform one action in His plan for the life of one person, or numerous persons.  You may never know what you have done.  How do you know that you have not already done it?

Joseph probably was not thrilled when his brothers sold him into slavery.  He was being placed into a position in which he could save his people.  Esther probably was not thrilled to be forced to become essentially a sexual slave for a brutal king.  She was in position to save her people from genocide. Brother Lawrence was an uneducated man not suited for any monastery duties except cooking and washing dishes.  He cheerfully devoted his duties to the Lord and became known worldwide for his pious example.

The First Meal As a Married Couple

"A couple sat down to eat their first meal as newlyweds.  The wife said, "today I learned how to make meat loaf and chocolate cake."

The husband looked at his plate and said, "That's great, honey!  Which one is this?"

From the Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.

Christian Illustrators: Karen Hargett

Christian illustrators often work in secular markets.  Karen Hargett is a Christian artist (pencils and pastels) in Buda, Texas (USA).  She is a professional working artist who does nature scenes, animals portraits, and work for commission.

Karen Hargettt lives in Buda, Texas, a rapidly growing community.  In the 2000 census, Buda had 2404 residents; in 2010 the population had grown to 7295.  Originally known as DuPre, the town became Buda late in the 19th century.

There are two possible known derivations for the name of the town.  Both sound plausible.  Perhaps both sources contributed to the name.

The Carrington Hotel in Buda is popularly known as the "Buda House"because of the "viudas" (Spanish = "widows") who worked in the kitchen.

The second explanation is that the town is named for the hometown (Buda) of Hungarian refugees who settled in the area after the failed 1848 revolution in Hungary.  Budapest, Hungary was formed from the merging of the cities of Buda and Pest. 

The city name Buda may derive from the name of its founder, Bleda (Buda), the brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila.   It may also be derived from the Slavic word "вода, voda" ("water"), a translation of the Latin name "Aquincum", which was the main Roman settlement in the region

What Do You Have To Offer?

As saints indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we, each one of us, have been given spiritual gifts for use within and for the Church.  Each gift is a manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit.  Some of the gifts may be obviously supernatural (such as speaking in tongues or healing), others may seem to be more mundane (such as an always ready willingness to cook for the group or to maintain the church facilities or to lovingly tend to the small children and infants while their parents attend a worship service.)  Each of these gifts has been given to us for the good of the Christian community and for our own good and all of the gifts are equally important.  What we have been given we are expected to immediately turn and give to the Church. What do you have to offer?

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal."  1 Corinthians 12:7

"As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter 4:10

What Is That in Your Hand?

"And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent: and Moses fled from before it." Exodus 4:2-3

Moses was carrying a rod used to lean on while walking, to steady oneself while climbing a hill, and to steer sheep in the way they should go. He used it in making his daily living but it was just a stick. God said to throw it down, basically meaning "give it to me." In God's hands it became a snake, made water come out of a rock, and cut a walking path for the Israelites through the Red Sea.

God wants us to give Him what we have and let Him use it. Moses' rod was basically his means of occupation. We can do the same with ours. The seventeenth century lay Carmelite brother, Brother Lawrence. was a cook and shoe repairer who attracted worldwide attention because of his insistence on living a Christ-filled life, cooking for Christ and repairing shoes for Christ. He turned his occupations into a witness.

We may be prevented by employer policy from "proselytizing" at work but we can provide a witness by our competence, honesty, diligence, and perseverance. Christians should stand out as different. We really are different.