Labor Day Musings

Labor Day always makes me laugh. Why do we take the day OFF to celebrate WORK? Well, I worked. I trimmed all of the trees and hedges that I could reach, weeded the front garden area that was completely overgrown, and got rid of the poor cucumber plants that died due to lack of warmth this summer. I refuse to admit that we did anything wrong. It's the sun's fault, I say! I also broke a lawnmower. I didn't realize that you had to check the oil. This summer, while my husband has been gone, I have been mowing/weeding diligently to bless him. Wow, what a blessing! He gets a new lawnmower! :)

September always makes me smile. School starts, colors start changing, apples are in bloom (great apple pies), and the smell of fall is in the air. It's a great time of the year! Caylea was baptized September 1, 2002. She waited a very long time. She began asking for baptism around 4 years old because, as she said, "Jesus has always been in my heart and I love Him. I want to show everyone that I love Him. That's what baptism is....showing everyone." We waited until we thought she truly understood, and then waited some more for her Daddy to get home from a 3 1/2 month school so that he could see her baptism too.

Chloe, too, asked for almost 2 years before we let her get baptized. We have waited with all 3 kids until we see the "fruits of the Spirit" abundantly in their lives. It's one thing to change behavior...it's another thing to change it because you want to walk in obedience to God. We were at my parent's church and they were baptizing someone. Chloe started very quietly crying (6 1/2 years old) in the middle of their church and when Joe asked her what was wrong she said, "I just want to show everyone that I love Jesus too." For the first and only time I can remember, my husband stood up in the MIDDLE OF A CHURCH SERVICE and said, "Pastor, do you have room for one more?" They took her and within 10 minutes she was getting baptized. It's the sweetest picture, too. Someone caught her just as she stood up out of the water. I'll have to scan that one later. We got home to our "Denominational" Church and they said, basically, that her baptism didn't count because it wasn't at "Denominational" Church. So, we let her get baptized again, in front of "them." She didn't mind. She wanted to show everyone she knew that she loves Jesus!

Joshua started asking at 5. He's my slower to speak, slower to anger, slower to everything kid, so I was a little surprised. He's also VERY shy around groups of people. When he asked what baptism was, I explained it as telling everyone that Jesus lives in your heart and that you serve Him...that you go before the church and get "dunked," and that's what Jesus did to show everyone that He was obedient to God. (Of course I explained it much better at the time...this is just my paraphrased version.) Anyway, Josh said, much to my utter surprise, "I need to do that." We waited a while, again, to see the fruits of God's Spirit manifesting in Josh's heart. The funny thing is that I say that, but God has blessed me with fruitful children. They have always been kind, loving, considerate people....so watching for evidence that GOD was the root of their behavior and not the paddle that I consistently applied, was a little tricky. I don't want children who want to please Mommy and Daddy for fear of discipline. The goal is to raise children who want to please God because sin is detestable to Him. On September 6th, 2007, Joshua was baptized in "Denominational" Church.

I guess the point of this entire email is this: "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1

Don't labor in vain. Don't do anything that you do for you or for anyone else...do it for God. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the LORD CHRIST whom you serve!”

Setting an example in this is a daily undertaking that requires a constant crying out to God for His wisdom, His strength, and a lot less of Tori, but that's okay. The more of her I can get rid of and replace with Him, the better for everyone around!