With ALL of Your Heart

Whenever I'm working on homework I'm often tempted to do a half job.  Homework is very boring and repetitive and sometimes I don't see the point (well, most of the time).  Lately I've been reminded of the verse from Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."  God is the boss and he gave me the talents that I have; I am to use them to the best of my ability for HIS glory.


This next piece is taken from "Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons From Napoleon Dynamite"


"King David was Israel's greatest king, but he was on his deathbed. For the longest time, he had wanted to build a temple, a permanent home for God, but because of war and unrest in the kingdom, he was never able to achieve this goal. Instead, the task fell to David's son, Solomon. 


Once Solomon's throne was established, he set about making his father's dream come true; he started to build a temple. Here's a sampling of what he did:

• He contacted a neighboring king to ask for the best in materials and labor that the king had to offer.
• He conscripted tens of thousands of people from Israel, the best craftsmen in the land.
• He covered the interior of the temple with cedar and overlaid it with gold.
• He commissioned intricate carvings to decorate the temple inside and out.

Are you starting to get the picture? He was dedicated to making this temple the be-all/end-all of houses for God (1 Kings 5:1-6:38).

Oh, by the way, he spent seven year on it.

Seven years. 

And in that entire time, Solomon never wavered (that we know of) from the goal of building the temple. He was focused, and nothing was going to stand in his way. He and his people just went about doing the task, and when things got rough (and you know they did), they just kept on doing their task.

Dedication.

What do you do when you're, say, painting a room? Do you tape everything off to make sure the paint doesn't get everywhere? Do you properly prepare the surface? Do you apply the paint with nice, even strokes to make sure you get even coverage? Do you allow the paint time to cure?

What about when you talk to a person about something important? Do you really make a point to listen to what they're saying? Do you think about the problems they're telling you? Do you put your own life on hold so you can offer some assistance to this person in need?

God wants you to give life your best, and if that mean taking the time that something- or someone- needs, then take it."

Update on "the man"...apparently he has scared quite a few people since I moved him to the fridge!

Hanging out with the milk ;-)