{Its like Beth Moore Says, "No Amount of Success at Ministry is Worth Failure at Home."}

Thought I would share some good stuff I read today. . .

Becoming an Everyday Missionary at Home



I cooked this dinner. Why is it that I have to clean it up, too? I grumbled to myself as I rinsed chicken bits and peas down the disposal. I turned to grab the pan from the stove and rammed my shin into the dishwasher.


“OUCH!” I yelled, but there was no one to hear me. My husband and children were playing tag in the backyard in the early evening sun. Every so often I’d hear the squeals of my daughter over the running water at the sink.


I sighed and tried to keep my attitude in check. You told them to go on out, I told myself. But part of me wanted them to decline the offer and insist on helping with the dishes.


“What if this were a homeless shelter and you were washing the dishes there after you’d already cooked the dinner? Would you complain then?”


I knew immediately the Holy Spirit’s voice inside my head and stood still at the sink, the garbage disposal gargling in front of me. Would I? I wondered. No. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t complain if I were doing the dishes at a shelter. Not only would I not complain; I’d be doing them with a happy heart. I love ministry.


“Guess what, Carol? This family is your ministry – the ministry I have specifically given to you.”


It was a light bulb moment. Aha! Eureka! My family was my ministry. I needed to serve them with the same joy I served the men at the prison or at the food pantry. But, I’d been treating them like a cumbersome part of my life that I needed to tolerate in order to get to real ministry.


I wanted to rush outside to join in the game of tag, to kick up my heels and say, “I love you! I will serve you!” Instead, I walked over to the table and put the butter and ketchup away. But as I neared the window, I looked at those precious people the Lord entrusted to me and with a happy heart, I whispered, “I love you. I will serve you.”


____Carol Hatcher _______________________________________________


Good stuff, huh?