September 24th will always be a hard day for me.. My niece Melissa was born on this day 26 years ago and a day does not go by without missing her tremendously.. I miss them all.. the pain eases, but never fully goes away.. Memories sadly fade a little.. I wish I had written down all the good ones.. especially for my kids..
Today we volunteered to help clean up a ball field. One of our Team Leads that opened our store and transferred to Canton to open that store lost his son tragically the beginning of the year and they are dedicating and naming the field after him.. I am so happy that their community is rallying around this family and doing this.. I know it means alot to them..
That has been my morning.. and now I am tired.. fever is up and sinuses all clogged and unhappy, which means.. I am going to make me some kick-ass Chicken Noodle Soup.. :)
This was one of my devotions yesterday morning.. I loved it and wanted to share..
~I Can't Please Everyone~ Glynnis Whitwere
"Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant." Galatians 1:10 (NLT)
I started texting four years ago when we hired Kortney, a 21-year-old, to help with our business. On the way to work one day, she texted me and asked if I wanted a coffee. I received her text, but labored to respond. Before I could finish typing my answer, she texted me a second and then a third time.
Finally I just gave up and called her. "Kortney," I said. "If you would stop texting me I could respond!" We laughed about it for weeks. Actually, I think she was laughing at me, but I enjoyed it too
.
In our current culture, people expect us to respond to their requests with increasing speed and efficiency. Whether it's a call, text, email, instant message, or Facebook comment, there's an understanding ... no, an expectation ... that we will respond.
I'll admit I fall into this as well. It appeals to my need to be needed. Someone wants my opinion or my help. At the very least, they want to connect with me. If they are willing to share their lives with me, my desire is to respond. Promptly. With creativity. And a bit of humor, if you please. But honestly, it's exhausting.
Dealing with the expectations of others is especially hard for us as women. It's impossible to meet everyone's needs. There are no firm lines between our private and public lives, and it's turning some of us into people-pleasing maniacs. Sadly, this is self-sabotaging behavior.
Jesus identified a similar people-pleasing tendency in His disciples. They were torn between obligations to others and obedience to Him. They wanted to follow Jesus, but on their terms. Jesus challenged this line of thinking, and called them to a new level of obedience, one that forced them to choose what was most important. Here are some examples:
• "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.'" (Matthew 16:24-25, NIV)
• "Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:61-62, NIV)
When the demands of others threatened their immediate obedience, Jesus called them back to Himself. He challenged them with the same unspoken question He asks us: Who are you going to please first?
Without settling our hearts on the answer to this question, we end up with an over-whelmed and over-committed life. Our lives operate like a bumper car, crazily racing in one direction, only to crash into an obstacle and wildly turn another direction.
My life has felt that way at times. But my heart gained clarity and direction when I declared Jesus Christ to be my leader. Now, please know that even though I believed those words in my heart and spoke them with my mouth, it took years to bring every area of my life into alignment. It is still a process, and at times I have to check my reality against my intent.
Declaring Jesus as our leader breaks our bondage to the approval of others, and helps clarify our motives. Plus, it reduces stress as we accept the fact that we can't please everyone, and God never expects us to try.
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 bone in chicken breast
water
salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary
Place the chicken breast in a large stock pot and cover with water. add the salt and pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. cover and cook on medium heat for a couple of hours.
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, cut in half, sliced and washed
4 celery ribs, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ginger, grated
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 carrots, sliced
1 bag whole wheat egg noodles
In a 2nd large stock pot heat olive oil, add the onions, leek and celery and cook for about 10 minutes. add the garlic and ginger and cook another 2 minutes, add the sliced mushrooms and cook another 10 minutes. Take the chicken breast out of the other stock pot and put to the side, strain the broth and then add to the vegetables, add about 4 c water and more salt and pepper. let simmer for about 30 minutes, add the sliced carrots and shred the chicken and add to the soup and cook another 10 minutes, add the egg noodles and cook until done. taste to adjust seasonings.
