every time i get a freelance assignment i think, 'this is easy money, i need to do more of these ...' but when i'm in the thick of it i realize you totally earn what you're paid. writing is hard. sure it comes fairly easily for me, but it is such a process.
they name the payment and i think, 'easy, i'll do it in one hour.' (hence the figure sounding large in my mind.) that never happens. especially when you have to interview multiple people. people who generally do not seem to grasp the concept of deadlines, which adds to the procrastination.
someone shared at my new "women in the word" lunch group about how convicted they feel about not being outright lazy, but being slack.
"slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism." [proverbs 18:9, the message]
"one who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." [proverbs 18:9, niv]
it so resonated with me, as she talked about how she can get by in most things with putting them off and not working as hard as other people might. that's me. which makes me think - if i put 100% effort into this, how much better could it have been? how much more could i accomplish in life if i gave 100% instead of being lazy or holding back?
i don't think of myself as lazy. but slack definitely hits it.
i get involved in things, get things done, and i feel like i've accomplished a lot by 25. but at the same time, i know there is so much more i could do. i know i have so much more talent and potential to maximize and i need to. i want to do the best work i can do and not slack.
of course on the opposite side of this, there is the importance of rest. but believe me, i get that. i am pretty great at resting. (such a skill to brag about, i know.) now is a time to kick my butt into gear.
which i am doing a fabulous job of as i write a blog post instead of finishing my work. (to top it off i got a phone call while i was writing this and accepted another freelance article opportunity - can you say irony?)
but blogging helps me to get my thoughts, word vomit, whatever you want to call it, out of my system. it gets my wheels turning and writing juices flowing. so this is like a stretch before a workout, if you will.
the ladies lunch group i joined at my church is nice and laidback, and every week i am totally energized when i leave. which is funny because i kind of drag myself there like, 'oh do i really feel like going to this and being around all of these new people?' which is totally the devil, because he must know that when i go i get majorly encouraged and leave praising the Lord for how awesome He is.
each woman has an amazing testimony. there is someone with aspergers, an ex-stripper, someone struggling with depression for years, one whose first husband was abusive to the point of holding her at gun point, someone from south africa - it's just wonderful.
and each week someone new shares their "story."
stories are one of my favorite things in life, right up there with God, Lance, family, good food and the beach. mmm. half the time i tear up listening to the person sharing. it amazes me how God reaches each of us. it is different for every person, but always powerful and life changing.
we serve a mighty God who is able to reach every person on earth, no matter where they are, where they have been or what they have done. nothing we do can make God love us less. that's amazing! that's something to not only rejoice about but to be constantly grateful for! who wouldn't want to serve a God like that?!
i also love that the group is mixed ages. some of the women who have been married longer dished out advice today - i am a sponge for that stuff, listening and soaking.
so here is my takeaway ...
- if you can, stay home with your kids. it is exhausting, but that time goes by in a snap. no one takes care of your babies better than you. and you can't "do it later" when it comes to stuff with your kids. when they go to college you can't say, "well now we can go to the park every day" or have play dates. you want to be able to look back at their childhood and think about how much fun you had together.
- let go of high expectations for yourself and for others. don't expect it and you won't be disappointed. particularly when it comes to your in-laws. accept that they may not think like you, or have the mentality you wish they would. don't try to give them advice or fix things they complain about - just listen. remember that they brought your spouse into this world, so there really is something good there. and they are his people - he knows how they are and he doesn't need you to tell him.
- "families who pray together, stay together." apparently one in four marriages in the united states fail, but of couples who pray together, that number drops to one in 10,000. if you're praying with someone on a regular basis, it is difficult to stay angry or fighting.
now she wants to be the best mother-in-law possible to her new daughter-in-law, "because she is the best thing that ever happened to us." um, wow! who wouldn't want to be loved like that?!
the cycles we are capable of creating when we love others are incredible. perhaps her in-laws came from a long line of great family and in-laws who treated their children and in-laws with respect and love. or maybe they were the first to go above and beyond in doing so.
either way, they made a huge impression by loving.
that impression, their love and respect, has set the bar for someone else, who now wants to go above and beyond that.
it reminds me of going from glory to glory, and from character to character as we grow - we can go to greater depths as we build upon those who have gone before us, or as we set new foundations. let's not stay in shallow water, let's go deep!
"but we all, with open
face beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the
same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
[2 cor. 3:18 kjv]
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