Friday, January 22, 2010

Up to My Elbow in Suds of Worship???

I was reading a book the other day, feeling a little guilty because there was a mountain to climb of laundry and a sink full of "UGH" to wash up, and here I was READING. And, I have to be honest, it wasn't the Bible either. Yet, I have to believe I was doing what I needed to be doing at that exact moment in time, for I literally felt God speaking to me.

There I was reading along, enjoying a few minutes to myself, when a paragraph of words seemed to dance their way of the page and into my heart. It was like the light bulb in my "mommy heart" went "ding ding" and I finally "got it." God, had my face in His hands and with His Daddy voice said; "Look at me Mich, and listen."

Several posts back, I talked about having the "blahs" and being so excited about going to church...to worship. Nothing wrong with that, right? Worship is why we are created. I love it and I crave it. Nothing makes me feel better than a little praise and worship time with my Lord. Yet, my problem is my perspective.

So many times I limit my worship time, to that hour every Sunday that I am with my church family. I then feel guilt, because of busy schedules at my lack of worship time during the week. Oh, I catch my 15 minutes of devotionals there, prayers in the car here, conversations with the Lord in the shower, etc... but, it often leaves me feeling rushed, guilty, and unfulfilled. Why?

My perspective.

Somewhere along the line, I got the idea that I had to "carve" out some time for the Lord, to worship. Instead of being something I looked forward to, it became just one more thing on my busy calendar to try to accomplish. It became a burden for me to worship, except on Sunday mornings, when I felt I was given permission by the world to let down my guard and praise the Lord. I started looking forward to Sundays, which is great, but then the rest of the week I felt "Blah!!!"

Then I read these beautiful words... "HE wants our songs that we sing on Sundays, but He wants us to live out those words every other day of the week... real worship is a God-attitude of the heart."

HELLO!!! This whole time as a wife and mother I felt like I had to put God on a schedule. I didn't mean too. It just happened. I mean, I had to cook dinner, vacuum the floors, potty train, drive the kids to school, bake a birthday cake, buy groceries, pay bills, go to ball games, help with homework, go back to work, etc..etc..etc... didn't I?

Yes, to be a good mom and wife, we do have plenty of responsibilities. Living up to Proverbs 31 can take a lot of work. Yet, I have been missing something for a lot of years. The "meaning" of worship. True worship isn't just a song we sing, it is in the life we live. We were created to worship our creator and we were created for a purpose. If our purpose is to be a loving wife and mother, in this lifetime and we do that job to the best of our ability, then isn't that a form of worship?

I believe "YES."

"Every mom faces the challenge of keeping a God-perspective in everything she does. However, when we are able to let God define us, mold us, and transform us we'll never see what we do everyday as a mom in the same way. "

In other words, I have been looking at my chores everyday with a horrible attitude, never seeing the opportunities before me...serving my family. I just looked at the glass as being half empty, instead of a half a glass of possibilities. I thought I had to put God, in a little block of time on my planner, so it would be full of "quality," but it ended up mostly being just a "quantity" of empty minutes.

I have said before and I will say it again... I had lost my perspective.

Does that mean that all of a sudden I will "love" housework and that climbing Mt. Laundry is my new favorite past time? No. But hopefully a new perspective will change my attitude a little. That doing my "chores" will not always leave me overwhelmed, tired and frustrated. And hopefully, the devotion time I do set aside will not be filled with guilt and tears, because of feelings of failure as a mom.

Because I want to try, with the Lord's help, to see every little piece of motherhood and marriage as a way to serve and worship the Lord. The good, the bad and even the ugly.

"When we do laundry with the right attitude, it's worship. When we prepare meals for our family with a right heart posture, it's worship. when we drive ten miles out of our way to take our husband his cell phone that he accidentally left at home and we do it with a heart of grace and forgiveness, it's worship.

Jesus lived a life of worship. His heart had a God-filter on it and HE saw the world through God's eyes. May we, as moms, worship God with our hearts and our lives everyday."

Well, friends, I don't know about you, but I have a load of laundry to put on and a few dishes to wash. I think I will turn the music up loud, and make a "joyful" noise... want to join me?

***A few days ago I received a lovely surprise in the mail. It was a package from my dear bloggy friend Kat, from Heart 2 Heart. It was a book called "Real Moms... Real Jesus," written by Jill Savage. All the quotes from today's post are from that book.
Thanks Kat! I needed this little "kick in the rear" to get out of the "blahs" of motherhood. ***

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those are great quotes! Sounds like a very good book!

Jim said...

Sis,
It's very obvious to me, dear daughter, that you and your sister are two of the most encouraging and affirming daughters a Dad could have. To hear you take the daily "grinds" of life and put them into God's spiritual blender of grace is a truly inspiring and practical menu for spiritual growth. I commend you and Amb for your willingness to share some very real struggles and your pilgrimage in dealing with them under the banner of the Cross.

Keep on keeping on!

Jim-Dad

He & Me + 3 said...

That was a beautiful post Mich and so fitting for us all to read because there are days when being a wife and mom are more like chores than joy & a blessing. I needed this.
Hugs,
Mimi

Kristin said...

What an awesome post!! And one that I needed to hear too. It's something I have been hearing the Lord say to me in my heart all week, that I have plenty of things to work on right here in my own house that would be considered serving Him. I love reading books for that reason too....almost always something will jump out at me that I really needed to hear.

Katie said...

I commeted on your kids blog.. I meant to put it here.
Blessings,
Katie

Stacie, A Firefighter's Wife said...

So glad you found me! I read your profile, it looks like we have tons in common!

I'll come back and read some more later today!

Stacie, A Firefighter's Wife said...

I just worshipped the Lord as I did six loads of laundry. A year or two ago, I would have been resentful to have to tackle that all on my own. Instead, I chose a thankful heart! I am thankful for the abundance of clothes and a washer and dryer to wash them in. I am thankful that I am physically able to serve my family, that I can walk, bend over and do the physical tasks that need to be done.

I worshipped! Great post, Mich!

Angela said...

amen amen amen girl...

sigh..this was good.

I remember when I was doing laundry awhile back..I stopped folding and just brought the clothes close to my face and inhaled...what a sweet smell. I began to thank God for His goodness, for having a washer and dryer, the clothes for my family, to be able to do this for my family and as I folded them, I thought how blessed I was...

I've been praying for many years that I would have a right heart towards serving my family instead of the shrew and martyr I struggled with NOT being.....It DID not happen overnight, just like when a seed is planted, it does not sprout instantly...sigh (oh I wished it did at times..lol)...

The good work that God STARTS in us, He DOES complete..that gives me hope!

Angela said...

I thought of you today! YES I did!

You know why?

I was on my hands and knees washing my kitchen floor and had to stop and raise my hands, literally crying in worship to God as the music In The Presence of Angels played.....

You came to my mind and this devotional....((hugs))

Blessings sweet little sister.

Jill said...

Mich,

I think this is the most beautiful post about my Real Moms...Real Jesus book that I've ever seen. I'll be sending moms from my blog at www.jillsavage.org over to yours to read it. Keep on worshipping, girlfriend!

Blessings, Jill

Gretchen said...

What an encouragement this post is and you are to me, Mich.

I have another encouraging friend who happens to be a mother of 7. Yes, you read that right. And, she's an AMAZING mother.

One day she was asked how she keeps her perspective/gratitude with all that she has to do. She said something to the effect of: "When my knees start to ache because of the millionth trip up and down the stairs to do laundry, I start giving thanks for my ability to walk."

Perspective, indeed.

Terri said...

I really enjoyed your post! I am so glad Jill S. recommended to read this. I can so relate. I am a SAH/homeschool mom. I remember years ago hearing about taking our SAH resposibilities as "God givin" . They really are... we are called to be SAH moms by God. When I do a load of laudry or unload the dish washer( my absolute unfavorite) I thank God that I have a family to take care of. When I get clothes out of the washer to put in the dryer, I thank God for the laundry because that means that I have a family to take care of! It took a while for this to be a joyful task but I am thankful that I have a family to wash clothes for :) I enjoy keeping up with your blog... you have a beautiful family !

Shelly@Sweet Journey said...

I followed the link from Jill Savage's blog. Nice to meet you! What a great reminder! I read that book too and it was eye opening for me that I needed to change my attitude toward all the mundane I find myself in. I needed this today!

Ronel said...

What an amzing post and such a great reminder of how I should be doing with a joyful heart of praise!!!

Becca~CapturingSimpleJoys said...

I wish I could write tons and tons here but I just want to say that this post really spoke to me. Thank-you!

BrandonMarie said...

A friend shared this post with me. What a great read. Right now I am teaching a 10 day class on Marriage and Mothering and was wondering if I had your permission to read this to my class of mothers. My email is mariemullet@windstream.net. Also if you want to know more here is a website that will give you more info about who i am. http://fbep.org/personnel/brandonm.html Thanks, Marie