Rewards @ MindSay 
"What's the point?"
"You know, I try and try but no one's listening."
"I do my best, play by the rules, but I'm still stuck here!"
Any of this sound familiar? For some, it may. We live in a world that succors instant gratification. Sitcoms solve marital problems in less than half an hour. We can get movies "On Demand" instead of waiting for them to show up on the regular schedule. At a furniture store, we can get an entire room of furniture now and pay nothing for a full year. Some people believe more in the efficacy of cosmetic surgery than in the work of diet and exercise.
It's a world that does not cater to commitment to a cause over the long-haul. It's a world that says if it's not working now, throw it away and get something new. Something better. Something easier.
It's hard to keep working at doing what one knows is right when all a body hears is that they're working too hard ... and for what?
There seems to be no immediate reward for doing the right thing. There isn't a lot of attention paid to that kid in the middle row with the perfect attendance and consistent effort in his schoolwork. The lady who comes in every day to change the trashcan liners rarely even gets a smile for her work.
And don't get me started on the honest, faithful, hardworking people who provide services every single day!
It could be tempting to abandon the duties we know we have in favor of something more exotic, maybe. I do not believe that the occasional adventure is a bad thing, certainly, but doing what you should be doing, no matter how boring or thankless or seemingly unimportant is VITALLY important to someone, somewhere.
What will the reward be for faithfulness? Sometimes, the rewards are external. Other times, internal. If the work being done is for God, then there will be a reward. A harvest and a well done from the Lord of All. There is nothing worth more than that.
Sometimes, life seems to stretch out endlessly, in days of mindless repetition where we see little if any fruit for our labors, where "thank you" comes rarely, where choices seem rote and uninteresting. Life is not meant to be boring, though. If you think yours is, look around you for the hidden smile lurking around the next corner. It's there. I've asked many folks, over the years, to find one... and everyone always has.
In the meantime, keep the faith. It's worth it.
Enjoy and have fun!!
You can play unlimited times daily
Yay. I was real productive today! I got up at 6 am. Got the kids off to school by 7:15. Went back to bed till Randy got home at 10:30. Then I fixed some breakfast for me and sat in chat most of the day because my head hurt and I was cramping.
I looked at the clock and it was 3 pm and then the phone started ringing! My sister was procrastinating also. She came home and got the kids off to school and slept till 2:30 and didn't want to do anything before work. But while I was on the phone with her I got dishes going, a load of laundry going, and started preparing dinner.
My girl got her lil ass in trouble again this week over her behavior at school. I knew she was going to be our problem child just because she has that devil may care bitchy look in her eyes. And she is a looker even at almost 8 years old. She brought home her first shitty grade from her advanced reading class earlier this week. Got her ass chewed up oneside and down the otherside by me and then daddy woke up and he did it also. So she is grounded from the tv until we see her next reading grade on Friday. And we have been working her lil ass off with her homework. Finally got out of her what the problem was in advanced reading........she is bored in class........she can do the work.....she likes doing the work........but finally it came out she gets tired of going over the same thing constantly in class. She is still struggling with the 2 sets of vocab words.....one set from reading and one set from her normal class. She knows them but something isn't connecting when she has to put them down on paper. And now we are going to make mommy's life irritating because she is upset she lost tv for the week and is trying to say she is bored in her regular class and then won't do her spelling words for us at night. So lets take all our frustrations out on the bus. So I got to talk to the bus driver today. Luckily this bus driver is very understanding about her being mean to her brother....the whole sibling thing. But she now has lost computer for a week over her crappy behavior on the bus. So we ravamped how we are doing homework and if at the end of the semester she is still struggling because she is bored and just being down right nasty towards the whole school process........I will drag her lil ass home and she can be homeschooled which she has figured out this week alone that having Mommy as a teacher is probably going to be worse then going to school. She is a smart girl and we have figured out she is a very hands on learner in some areas and in other areas it is best to read her the directions and help her.
She knows if she brings home any more crappy grades she looses soccer on top of the tv and comp. We debated about taking away ju jitsu but decieded that martial arts will help calm her butt down and it wasn't fair to the entire family if we took her out because Monday's and Thursday's is family night doing ju jitsu.
Oh and get this shit..........she asked me if she brings home A's and B's how much she will get. So I want to say thank you all you lazy ass parents for paying your kids to bring home good grades. It makes the rest of us parents, who explain to our kids that their reward for going to school and learning is bringing home those A's and B's and that we aren't going to bribe them into bringing those grades home that it is expected of them, want to come out and strangle your asses. So we sat her down yet again this year, and explained to her that no she will NOT be paid to bring home good grades! And if she wants to be paid for good grades, keep getting them and when she is old enough to work she will be allowed to get a part time job. And that her good grades in the long run will pay off by getting her a good job.
Don't get me wrong we do celebrate the kids' good grades but I am not paying them a dime for them. They might get a lil something something that they have been bugging for or we may take them out to do something fun but I will be Good Gods Dayumed if I pay my kids to do well in school!
On the up note, my boy is doing very well in school and making a lot of friends like his sister. He is also being complemented on his behavor. Which Randy and I know dayum well is the result of his sister taking his normal spot of making us pull our hair out! So yes to the newer parents out there, your lovely children will play role reversals while they are younger from time to time. Just go with the flow! There is nothing wrong with them, you might get frustrated, and have to change up parenting techniques but everything evens out in the long run. Just like I know this current behavior of my children, will go back to daughter being a prissy goody toe shoes and son will go back to hell raising smart ass.
In the end, I think this applies to most aspects of life, but I've noticed it being especially present in recent days in my own ministries: the most difficult aspects of the job are also the most rewarding. Shocker, I know. But seriously... I notice it especially in children's ministry. Working with kids can be so incredibly tiring, so frustrating, so utterly draining, yet some of the most incredible moments have come out of it. On Thursday I led music for a day camp at another area church in the afternoon, then went to my church to close our regular week of Vacation Bible School. By the closing session that evening, I was completely exhausted, but the heartfelt honesty and innocence with which those kids were singing literally brought me to tears. Friday morning I received a (pre-planned) phone call from my friend Michele. We did an arrangement of "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" for a couple of camps this summer (we did it at Kirkmont a few weeks ago). She put me on speakerphone and let me hear the kids sing it. Again, a powerful experience. It made all the work of creating the arrangement and accompaniment track completely worth it.
Case in point... Ashley and I each ended up getting about 2 1/2 hours of sleep on Saturday night due to the afformentioned car trouble and the late night that ensued. Driving to the church on Sunday morning, we really weren't sure how we were going to do it. I had given the praise team the week off (because it was impossible to schedule rehearsal during VBS), so it was just going to be the two of us. We struggled through our soundcheck (which was rather rough), and got everything ready for church, then prayed rather desperately for strength. I think it may have been the best we've ever played. The spiritual intensity in the room during the music set was something I've absolutely never experienced in that church before. God meets us where we are and gives us the strength we need. Sometimes the most difficult tasks yield the greatest results.
Our pastor has shared with us a quote about how ministry is usually a chore, but those rare moments of grace make it all worth it. I think that's true. Praise God for those moments like the ones I've mentioned above.
I'm hoping to check in sometime midweek... but until then, have a great week, Mindsay. I'll be back next Tuesday for sure.
Showing 1 - 5. [ Next ]