a ministry

Welcome November!  This month we shall enjoy hot cider and falling leaves.  We shall see frost and warm gloves.  We will give thanks and enjoy home.

We spent the last evening of October safely at home.  I made hoagie roll pizzas which we ate while watching Indiana Jones.  We ate candy and popcorn and candy.

I've been doing some studying and was challenged this morning on the subject of serving my family.  My family is my first ministry, although not my only ministry, and they deserve my best, not my leftovers.  They get to be the first recipients of my love, creativity, and handiwork.  Make sure their needs are met and go beyond that and treat them well.  I was thinking of individual little things to make them feel individually special and loved.  This could be a little gift for no reason, or a favorite meal, or a "date".  It is my privilege to not only nourish their bodies but also their souls.  By my love and service may they see the love of Christ, be called to a higher plane, and be encouraged.

My family is my ministry.  And my family has a ministry.  "Let us beseech Him to give us grace to shine before men to the glory of His name."  (Charles Spurgeon)

I have been encouraged lately by the sight of my eldest son's Bible on the dining room table each morning.  He is out the door before 6 each morning (100% on his own) but not after he's read God's Word.  There is some working there by a Mighty hand in a teen heart as this is done not to please the parents and not by any provocation of the parents but only as an obedience to the leading of the Heavenly Father.

As I step into this first day of November I am thankful for a day at a home.  Thankful for a long list of to-do's to make my home a restful haven for my family.  Thankful for time with my boys.  Thankful for the coffee my husband made me before he left for work this morning.  Thankful for some words of inspiration to glorify Him by loving those around me.  Thankful.