Are you Ready to be fed

 

Yesterday, before school, the kids and I read a devotion from the Upper Room called Rattling Feed Buckets. It talked about a man who owned horses and how they recognized him and would respond when he called their name.

I loved the imagery that came to mind and it reminded me of experiences with some of our own late pets. While we've never had horses, we have always had cats and dogs.

We used to feed our pets in the morning when we first woke up. Eventually, we had to change their feeding time to the evening because they drove us crazy.

More specifically- a cat named Zoe and a dog named Carson.

Those furry kids were always about 30 minutes ahead of our alarm clock.

The cat would mew and pace. The dog would lay his head on my pillow and stick his nose almost in my eye and blow hard through his nostrils. Occasionally, he would also whine and paw.

If we relented and fed them earlier, they just woke up even earlier the next day. They knew it was feeding time and they were ready to be fed.

Similarly, Psalms 107:9 tells us:

The Lord satisfies the thirsty and he fills the hungry with good things.

Our first devotion was indeed thought-provoking but it led to another prompt and discussion.

Do we go to God with that same hunger and anticipation, as if to rouse Him, eager to hear his voice?

Are we ready to be fed [by His Word]?

Oh, how my heart stirred with that vision of hunger for the Lord and the difference that it could make for all of us, each morning if we were...

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Take it from here
If you would like to start a daily devotion, I can recommend a few that are free. The Upper Room is one of them. You can sign up online and they will email you daily. You can also bookmark the site or make it a shortcut and check it on your own. If you prefer a paper copy, you can pick one up at a Methodist Church near you.

Practice Hospitality

I'm going to bet that depending on your season of life, most of us have some thing that holds us back from opening the doors of our homes more frequently, in terms of hospitality.

If you're a parent, particularly of young children, it could be the evidence of an active life scattered around your home. Even when chores are kept and everyone does their part, it doesn't take much for 'disorder' to creep back in. Forget cleaning! You spend most of your time, just trying to pick things up.

If it's not a struggle to keep a clean house, maybe it's a shortage of time or space to host a get-together. Or instead, an issue of funds to plan an event or dinner the way that you'd like to. I mean, if you're going to do something, go all the way- 'give God the glory' right? Well maybe....

What if all of the things that we hinge 'hospitality' on, aren't really about hospitality at all?

Check this out
I've been submersed in the book of Titus lately. It talks a lot about the characteristics of Christian leaders. What I found in terms of hospitality stopped me in my tracks.

Titus 1:8 says 'Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.'

We can see verses like that and think 'Yeah, when I get 'x' (like discipline, I'll have a clean house) and THEN I will be more hospitable. Right now I don't have the time, the means, or the proper space.'

It's a lot to keep up with, isn't it?

But as I broke down the words in the verse and began to study them, I found my way to the verse in Romans (shown in picture) and then the commentary. It reads:

‘Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host- The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests. Their needs-whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance-are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Don’t hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain.’

Pretty thought-provoking, huh?

William Barclay said that being hospitable means to be 'a lover of strangers'. Then he said that no one needs a fellowship more than a stranger in a strange place.

You and I may not have the time to slip from our routines to meet new faces. But this era that we're in, seems to confuse 'being connected with others' and our screen time. Trying to connect for more than a second, beyond the glass, or even face to face can indeed feel 'strange' and harder to manage. -Especially, if we're waiting for our conditions to line up first.

You know what else?
When I pause to consider where Jesus fits in, I am reminded of fish and loaves, mud, and His acceptance of two copper coins. Over and over again, He is shown using only what He had and accepting the same from others. At any opportunity.

-And if you'll remember, He even told Martha to put the vacuum down. (Okay, so maybe not the vacuum but I think you get it.) ;)

Now seriously, in the Bible, He said love God, then love people. Not our stuff, our food, our schedules, or glorious to do lists.

Our Jesus- HE is the real lover of strangers. Our being 'hospitable' (by this new definition) might be a better way of emulating His goodness and His acceptance. After all, we seldom accept our own best efforts. Where is the witness or the freedom in that?

When Jesus made it a point to show his disciples the widows offering (the two coins), it was because it cost her something. Not from her wallet but from her heart.

[caption id="attachment_1171" align="alignright" width="219"] The VA Cooperative Extension has many free programs to help VA residents w/things like budgets and meal planning. Click here to learn more.[/caption]

There's nothing wrong with entertaining unless we're spending beyond our means or if we're doing it for the wrong reasons. Even then, spending a fortune to 'entertain' or busting our rump, has never really cost us a blow to our ego. But letting people see our weakness does. -Whether it's in how little we have to give or how little we can keep up with... Boy now, that's a tender spot, isn't it?

And tender... that's where the love gets in.

...just like He commanded.

...Share [whatever we have] with the LORD'S people.

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Then our verse says 'PRACTICE' hospitality.

This one little word makes all the difference. Practice. Do you know why?

Because it's hard. Maybe not when it's on our terms but when it's unexpected- and out of our routine, it is. We have a sin nature that wants to keep things for ourselves and only do what we want to do. Even our best efforts at times can be a little stingy or tainted. But don't beat yourself up for it. Pray about it. Ask for an opportunity. Then take what you learn from it, tweak it, and do it again.

And then again.

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And finally,
It's hard being a wife, a mother, and Godly woman (or man), especially when we try to blend in our other roles and to-do lists. It's also hard to find time to get with our friends to encourage each other and/or share the Word. But following Jesus and His example, while uncomfortable at times, is freer than following our ideals.

The next time you bump into someone who needs to talk, invite them over. Even invite them to do a chore if there is work that won't wait. Listening to each other and praying together are both free but also powerful! You might be surprised to see how the Lord uses your offering and how much it touches your own heart. Be blessed!

Share with the Lord's people in need. 

Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13

7 Writing Tools to add to your desk...

If you clicked on this link, there's a good chance you're a writer or that you have to pretend to be once in a while. You may already know of these tools but I love to share a cool resource when I find one.

Here are some of my favs when it comes to honing the craft.

Grammarly - This is an online editor that goes beyond the tools in the Microsoft Office suite. Just copy/paste text to the site. There is also a Google extension and a Microsoft add-in available. It looks for things like; spelling, overly used words, past tense, the Oxford comma, and more.

There is a free version, which you can compare to the paid version. I have found that it sometimes suggests things that aren't accurate. As with any tool, you have the ability to override the suggestion, so it's not a big deal. It's a great resource if you want to go to the next level. Plus, with the add-in features, you don't have to copy/paste text to discover the suggestions.

Hemingway Editor - Grammar is one thing. The structure is another. If you're verbose or have issues breaking down a sentence, you should consider this tool. Everything is color coded. It tells you which sentences are hard to read and which words you can omit. It also highlights passive text as well as strong/weak adverbs. There's a 'Readability' score that tells you what grade level could read your post.  --The smaller the better! There is a desktop app that can be installed or you can copy/paste text right into the site. It's about $20 but money well spent.

WriteWords - This nifty site is free. Not only does it count words, it also counts phrases! There are other writing tips on the site, but I found the counting features to be eye-opening. Especially, when you're immune to your article and voice. Just copy/paste your article right on the site.

Google Translate - I once heard that reading your document out loud, will help you detect sentences that are hard to read and words that you've missed. While this is a huge help, you can still miss some errors. Especially, if you're in a hurry or have gone over your document for the tenth time. You know what you mean to say and sometimes your mind still goes with that, even when it's different on the screen. Google Translate has a feature that will read your text back to you. It's free. Yes, it is slow and sounds like a robot. But it has helped me hear how something sounds and I found it to be more helpful in a voice other than my own.

Adobe Spark - All blog posts need a little something to look at. If you'd like to create a graphic but you don't have access to special software or know how to use it, this app is a lifesaver. It's free! There's also an app for the iPhone. You can browse a library of stock images or use your own.  You can customize the text, layout, and colors. There is also a style dial that automatically shows you different options as you turn the dial.

Now about the content-

If you're looking for classes on Digital Marketing, the 'Marketing Writers Bootcamp' by Marketing Profs has been very insightful. The sessions by Jimmy Daly have been my favorite! You have a year to take them and you can stop and start at your own pace as well as retake a class as many times as needed. If you're able to grab a pro-membership, you'll gain even more access to ongoing classes and resources.

For personal writing & speaking, check out Andy Stanley's Book 'Communicating for a Change."  Andy has a gift with getting right to the point and simplifying a lesson. In this book, he gives you tips on how you can do the same.

What about you?
I hope you found a new resource that you can't wait to try. If there is a 'go to' that you use that is not on my list, let's swap notes. I love to check out new tools myself! Comment below. :)