Desire For More

I want to know God more. Does that mean I pick up my Bible every day and read it? No. I want to be someone that others thinks of as a prayer warrior. Does that mean I pray for hours a day? No. Does it mean I even think to pray first in all situations? No. I want to be a better wife, mom, pastor's wife, friend, etc.... Does this mean I look in the Bible to know how to do that? No.

When Paul and I were dating we started reading the book of Proverbs together. Each day we would read one chapter and each pick a verse that we liked and tell why. I'll admit, when we started it I liked the reading together, but I didn't always like picking a verse. That meant I had to show how much I didn't know about what it was saying. As we did this, I was surprised at how much it did make sense to me when I really read it. And I enjoyed learning more and growing more. Then when I left in the fall for a year of college at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa, I tried getting into the habit of doing daily devotions. I struggled then and still struggle today with doing devotions. I always have an excuse...I'm not a morning person, I have 4 kids, I homeschool, I have so much to do around the house and church, and on and on I could go. What I have learned is that if I don't make it a priority to be in God's Word then I won't do it.

We had the privilege of being at my parent's church this last Sunday. Their pastor preached through the whole book of John in one message! Paul admitted he wouldn't be able to do it. :-) Pastor White conveyed a “Portrait of God” with one point from each chapter. I have heard a lot of people suggest that the book of John is a good place to start when a new believer wants to read the Bible. I now have a desire to go through each of his points from John and study them out more. I am hoping in this next year to really commit to reading the Bible. Not because I HAVE to, but because I WANT to! I want to learn more about God. I want to grow. I want to be able to say that I am fully trusting in God to get me through whatever I am facing each day. Will you join me this year in diving into God's Word? Will you join me in learning more about Him and trusting Him more? I hope you will. I am going to be working on a reading schedule for the ladies to do together so we can keep each other accountable and grow together. I hope you will consider joining me. 

Bitter-Sweet Day

Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't like the way the text looks on this post, but it is too late to mess with it. :-)

For those of you that know me, you know that I am NOT an early riser. Paul was up between 5 and 5:30 so he could go hunting. The kids were awake before 6. I'm sure none of that surprises you, but It may surprise you to know how I started my morning. Before I got out of bed I read Psalm 107. I wanted to read some verses about giving thanks. I got out of bed a little after 6 and by 6:50 I was showered, dressed and even had make-up on. I decided instead of laying in bed blaming Paul for waking the kids up, and making myself start out grumpy, I was going to be “rejoice always”.

I was in the kitchen before 7 and started mixing up pancakes. We had pancakes, oatmeal and sausage. After all, this was a special day....Levi was turning 3 today!

While I was getting breakfast ready I found out that my Grandma was not doing well and all the kids had been called. We have known this was coming, but it was still hard to get the news. Then all day I kept waiting for “the call”.

We went ahead and started school and were actually having a good morning. The kids were working good (maybe one a little slower than I would have liked, but that's for another time). We were getting a lot done.

Paul and his dad came in from hunting around 10 because it was raining and windy. They figured the deer weren't moving anyway. His dad decided the weather wasn't going to get any better and they wouldn't be going back out so he left. He was right...about a half hour later it turned into snow and it accumulated pretty quick and stayed windy. We worked on school until lunch. After lunch we finished up some school with Michael and he even chose to do more...Science.

Paul told me he would make supper and I could relax until supper time. About that time my mom sent me a text saying they had just left the nursing home and that Grandma was still hanging on, but her breathing was shallow and pulse was slow. A little bit later we got “the call”. From the timing I'm guessing she died just after my parents left.

So, it has been a bitter-sweet day. It was sweet knowing my baby was turning 3 today, but hard to get the news that my Grandma had left this Earth. Some family members have posted some pictures on Facebook this evening of Grandma. Some were of her and Grandpa from when they were younger. It is hard knowing I will never see her again here, but it is wonderful knowing she is seeing Jesus face to face tonight and is with Grandpa again. Grandma Hirtzel was the last of my grandparents. I am so thankful I had a long time with all of my grandparents. And I am thankful that they all knew Jesus as their personal Savior and I know I will see them once again.

As one uncle on Facebook posted “I thank God for every remembrance of you” Phil. 1:3

Give Thanks

I saw someone post on Facebook that today was November 1^st so it starts the “Thankful Month”. During the month of November a lot of people try to share something they are thankful for every day. I have been reading things lately that have encouraged me to be conscious of things that God has given me and give thanks for them. According to Biblegateway.com there are 52 places where the phrase “give thanks” is used (NKJV). The first reference listed is I Thessalonians 5:18.....IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS...

It doesn't say to give thanks when we want to or only when things are going good for us. It says to give thanks IN EVERYTHING. In every situation we should give thanks. Just as when we say wedding vows we say “in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer...” we should give thanks in good times and bad, whether we're sick or healthy, and whether we're rich or poor.

The verse doesn't stop there either. It doesn't just tell us what we are supposed to do. It also tells us why we are to do it...FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU. We are not to give thanks just because it's something someone says we should do or because Thanksgiving is coming up...we are to give thanks because it is a command. We are commanded to give thanks in everything we are doing and in any situation we are in.

Now, I know this is easier said than done. You are talking to the pro of only giving thanks when it is convenient or when things are going good. Why should I give thanks when the kids are disobeying, being crabby or are sick? Why should I give thanks when my husband isn't helping me in the way I think he should or isn't home when I think he should be? Why should I give thanks when I don't feel like it, when I'm having a bad day, or I don't feel good? Why? Because God said I need to!

Some of you may be sick right now or have a loved one going through a sickness and you are wondering when it is going to get better. Some of you may be in the “poorer” state right now and you may be wondering where the money is going to come from to pay the bills this month. Some you may be just be having some bad days and you're wondering how to make them better. GIVE THANKS! Give thanks to God for the things you have, for the time you have been on this earth, for the housing and clothes and food you have. No matter how hard things seem I think we can all find at least one thing to be thankful for each day. And not just during November, the “Thankful Month”, but all year long.  

Helping a friend in need

Recently some friends of ours (a fellow pastor and wife) were sharing with us that because of some financial changes and other things that SSI was saying that they had been "overpaid" for medical expenses for their son. SSI was expecting them to pay back $11,000!!! Immediately I started wondering how Paul and I could help. How could we come up with $11,000 to help our friends out. A comment was made that if 1,000 people donated $10 it would be close. Well, I couldn't let that thought go.....so when I was able to talk to my friend again I mentioned that I would love to set up a fundraiser web site for them if they needed it done. At the time they were still trying to appeal the decision so we waited to find out what happened. After trying many times and at different levels the appeals were not going in their favor. So, I got the privilege of setting up a fundraiser web site. I tried to research to make sure we used the best one and then asked them to put it in writing exactly what had been going on (so I wouldn't get the information messed up). I received the information and some pictures yesterday in  my e-mail so today I was able to get the fundraiser started. It went online this afternoon around 3:30 and tonight when I looked at it there was already $475!!! God is so good and I know He will provide through all of our friends and maybe even some strangers. If you are interested in giving....even just $10.....please click on the button on the right....Hathcock Fundraiser. And thank you for your prayers, consideration and donations! 

Lessons from mowing

If you read my article a while ago you will remember that I learned from mowing that I can't do things on my own. Well, yesterday I was mowing again and realized there are lots of lessons to learn from mowing. First, the neighbor can finish mowing his whole yard before I'm done with the back yard. In my defense, he does have a smaller yard and was using a rider while I was using a push mower. Second, when you have a dog that you don't clean up after, you need to watch out for the fresh “bombs”! Third, dogs (at least ours) are very trusting (or dumb). She would lay down in the yard a couple feet away from the mower. Fourth, my mowing pattern is sporadic, but organized. And the last thing I learned yesterday is I don't mow straight! I also don't cut straight with scissors and probably don't drive straight! Well, with the crooked mowing it got me to thinking about the paths mentioned in the Bible. I was first thinking about the crooked and straight paths that are talked about in the book of Proverbs. But, then I thought more about the narrow path that is talked about in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” As I was mowing I was thinking about how my path was a little curvy. It wasn't real bad, but it wasn't straight. I thought about how my path of life hasn't always been straight and I haven't always chosen to go down the narrow path. I chose to follow Christ at the age of 8, but there have been times when my life hasnt' shown that. I am not perfect (I know that shocks many of you!). I have been redeemed by the One who is perfect, but He still gives me the freedom to make choices. I don't always make the right one. When you read these verses in Matthew it tells us that the broad bath leads to destruction. It goes on to say to watch out for the false prophets that “dress in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves”. These are the people that will lead us down those broad paths and to destruction.

Now as I go down the narrow path I realize my path isn't always completely 

straight. Like my mowing (cutting with scissors or driving) there are a few curves to my path. I can go days making right choices all day long, but then there are days that I let a bad attitude, wrong thoughts, or other sins into my life. That's when my path curves...I get off track just a little. Those are the times I have to turn to God and ask for forgiveness so that I can get back on the straight and narrow path. 

View of Sin

     I love when I sit down to look something up in the Scripture of how many places God points it out to me. It's like going on a reading journey! But, it does make it hard to just write one page of thoughts. I started out looking up the Scriptures my husband listed for the daily devotion today...Matthew 24:45-51 and Titus 2:11-14. Both passages were talking about how we should be living as we wait for Christ's return. So, then that got me to thinking about conversations we have had lately about sin and how we view sin. Then I start looking at the Scriptures that are listed in the notes in my Bible for those passages and then think of passages I know and look those up and then one thing leads to another and I have all these thoughts going.

     One verse that I have liked since Paul and I were dating is I Corinthians 6:9-11... “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” I started looking at the context of these verses and then ended up going back to I Corinthians 5. As I was reading through chapter 5 and looking at the notes in my Bible I noticed that verse 11 notes said that “Eating together is a key part of fellowship and closeness with others. The Corinthians were not to have fellowship with those who claimed to be Christians but whose lives were dominated by sin.” Later in the notes for 6:9 it says “Tragically, Christians sometimes deceive themselves into thinking that God does not require them to live righteously.” So, Paul then makes a list of people that will not inherit the kingdom of God because they are not living righteously. Paul is talking to Christians here who should be living righteously, but instead they are living like the world. But, Paul tells us “such were some of you”. I love that phrase because it is really saying “and such were you, Pauletta”. BUT, you have been WASHED (spiritually cleansed), SANCTIFIED (set apart as God's people), and JUSTIFIED (declared righteous by God because of Christ's work on the cross)!! All of these things are in past tense. They have already been done! Paul pointed this verse out to me when we were dating to remind me that even though during a season of my life I had chosen not to live righteously that God had done these things for me. I have the choice to live righteously for Him or to live as the world would live.

     I have heard before “When you go _______________ or do _________________ (you fill in the blank), you need to pretend Jesus is right there with you in person. Would that be somewhere or something He would want to be involved in?” As a Christian God is with me at all times so I need to think about what I'm doing and where I'm going and if it would bring glory to Him.

     I Peter 1:13-19 says “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” We are to live our lives holy because our God is holy.

     I pray that if you are reading this and you have not accepted the free gift of salvation that God has offered us through His Son, then I hope you will do that today. If you are not living righteously I pray you will make the decision today to make things right with God and choose to live in a way that will glorify God. I also pray that if you know someone that is not living in a righteous way that you will pray for them. When they are ready I pray they will come to you to keep them accountable and help them along their way.

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

I Corinthians 6:20

Love is.....

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely; does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I Corinthians 13:4-7

It seems like God is trying to really teach me something lately. Almost everything I read or hear has something to do with love and what it really is. This last Saturday in our LIFT meeting we talked about what love is and focused on I Corinthians 13 so I was thinking about it even more. I was just talking with a great friend a few days ago and expressing how I have felt like I have had the wrong attitude toward some people, including even family, because of the talents they possess. I have sometimes felt like they were just “showing off”, but I realized that I am the one that has had the wrong attitude. If I really loved them I would be happy for the talents God has given them. In our lesson on Saturday it talked about envy and jealousy. “Jealousy seems to be two-layered. The first layer is superficial. It says, “I want what you have.” The second layer is deep-rooted jealousy that says, “I wish you didn't have it.”” (Key Truths for Women, RBP) I realized what I am feeling toward people when they shared their talents is envy. I am not truly loving them. I should be happy for them and excited that God is using them in that way, not jealous because I don't have that talent.

I Corinthians 13:6 also tells us that love does not delight in evil (iniquity). James 3:16 tells us that being envious is evil. “God's love is saddened when it hears of defeats and tragedies in other people's lives. It is easy to be glad at other people's problems, especially if they make us look better. Christians ought not allow themselves to rejoice in the pitfalls of others”. (KT4W, RBP) Why does it seem so easy to talk about the failures and faults of other believers, but it is harder for us to talk about what they are doing for God, the way they are growing in Him, or using their talents to be a great witness for Him? The Bible tells us that God is love and if someone does not love then they do not know God. If we know God then we will show love to others because His love will be in us. (I John 4:7-8) We should be rejoicing when other believers are walking in the Truth. (3 John 4) “How much of our conversation would be silenced if we never talked about others' failures, faults, or sins?” (KT4W, RBP) Wouldn't it be great to know that others were talking about our accomplishments in Christ rather than our failures? Let's ask God to help us talk about others' accomplishments in Christ rather than their failures. 

ON MY OWN

Paul started mowing the yard in the late afternoon. He was able to mow the front yard, both sides and about a quarter of the back yard before supper was ready. After supper he looked at me and said “do you want to mow the rest of the yard or give the kids their baths?” I first said neither because I wanted to finish a sewing project I had started. But, I told him I would mow the yard. I used to love to do it for my dad and I miss being able to do it. So, I got my tennis shoes on and went out to finish the back yard. Not long after I started I was wondering why I had chosen to mow rather than do baths! I didn't remember it being that hard last year when I did it. I almost gave up after doing about a quarter of the yard and was going to go finish baths so Paul could finish the yard. I instead told myself I could do it, I just wasn't used to it. So, I kept going. I also realized I got the part of the yard that has the “forest”, bushes and stand alone trees, which means a lot of trimming and not just a straight line. But, I kept going. Finally, I was a little more than half-way done and I decided I needed to stop to go get a drink of water. If I didn't I wasn't going to be able to finish the rest of the yard. Oh, and by the way, I was using a push mower...just so you don't think I can't handle riding around the yard. And it is one that you have to hold the bar on the top of the handle down or the mower won't run.

Anyway, I went in and got a drink. As I got back out to the mower, I realized there was a bar on the bottom of the handle also and it all the sudden dawns on me THIS MOWER IS A SELF-PROPELLED MOWER! Wow! When I pulled that bar up the mower really went and it was much easier! If it hadn't been for that I don't think I could have finished mowing the yard. I was just getting too worn out and it was getting hard on my legs, back, arms, neck...ok my whole body!

As I finished up the yard I was thinking about how many times I try to do things on my own. I try to parent my kids without seeking God's wisdom. I want to fix other people's problems without asking God if I should be helping or just listening. I forget to ask for help when I just need some strength to make it through the day. I try to love others on my own without asking for God to show His love through me. I might think to ask for help once my ways have failed, but wouldn't it be so much easier if I would just ask from the start? How bout you? Have you been trying to “push the mower” without the self-propel bar? “Pull that bar” up and ask God to help you!

“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” (Zech. 4:6)

I'M NOT SUPERWOMAN!!

I know that title is really a shock for some of you to see. I can't do everything. Sometimes I fail at things. And I most definitely CANNOT fly! Now that last point is not hard for me to understand. I don't have wings. I wasn't made to fly. The other two points I have a hard time understanding. I sometimes, ok usually, think I can do everything and that I will never fail at anything. This is just so NOT true! I CAN'T do everything. I don't have the time or ability TO DO everything. You know that story that talks about “anybody” could do it and “somebody” should do it, but it ends up “nobody” does it? Well, I can't let “nobody” do it. I HAVE to do it, because it HAS to be done! So, then I overwhelm myself with all this stuff to do and then I FAIL because I can't do it all! Oh, what a vicious web I weave myself!

As I said, I still have a hard time understanding that I can't do it all and that I will sometimes fail. But, recently I have failed once again. I have failed at loving people. And I'm not just talking about those hard to love people. I have failed to love those that are around me daily, weekly, and that should be easy for me to love. I have failed to show them that I love them. I have taken them for granted. I have used my life and the things going on as an excuse as to why I haven't shown them love. I HAVE FAILED!

So, how do I move on from here? Well, I have to pick myself up, dust off the dirt of failure and then move on. I have to start now to show them that I love them. Can I do this alone? NO! (Philippians 4:13)

The other day Lydia said to me, “When you and Daddy stop loving me God will still love me. And if God stops loving me then you and Daddy will still love me”. Well, I had to correct that. I said “No, honey, Daddy and I will always love you, but if for some reason we are not here to love you God will always love you. God can never stop loving you because He is love!” I know she doesn't fully understand that. I don't think I fully understand it. How can God BE love?

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. I John 4:7-21

Yes, God tells us to love our enemies, the ones that are hard to love, but here He is telling us to love our brother. This means we are to love those around us. The ones we are close to. The ones that should know we love them. If we say it, but don't show it to them then do they really know that we love them?

As a ladies group we did a whole study last year on being an abiding woman and not a superwoman. I guess I still have some learning to do. I pray that as God helps me to move forward as a wife, mother, pastor's wife and mostly as a Christian, that I will continue to abide in Him and in doing so that others will be able to see His love through me. 

Keep the fire burning

Today was supposed to be “yard work” day. Since there was nothing on the calendar for today, a Saturday, I had been planning all week that we would get the big piles of brush burnt and plant some bulbs so we could enjoy some pretty flowers soon. This all seemed like a great plan, until......sometime in the week Paul made plans for the late afternoon and I realized the weatherman was calling for thunderstorms. Ok, so I could deal with the plans Paul made. They weren't till later in the day anyway, we could at least work the morning. And as for the thunderstorms, online it said they wouldn't come till later in the evening. So, we could still get the work done...or at least started!

Well, Saturday morning came. The kids and Paul were up and in the kitchen or living room by 7 am. I on the other hand was enjoying some rest. I did eventually make it out of bed a little after 8, but boy did my back hurt and I had a headache and my throat felt funny. And it was already cloudy and yucky looking outside. I just felt kind of blah and didn't feel like doing any yard work. I made myself some breakfast and enjoyed it alone since everyone else was outside. I finally made it out there around 9 and joined Paul around the fire he had started. Well, at least the brush would get burnt. The kids were playing happily together in the back yard and staying away from the fire.

We were out there about a half hour more when it started raining. It wasn't just a sprinkle anymore so we headed inside. Paul was keeping an eye on the fire, but at one point he asked me to look out on it. There was a lot of smoke, but no flames. I knew it was still hot underneath, but it looked like the rain was going to put it out. I don't know how long it rained, but it was a while and it wasn't a soft rain. But, when the rain was all done and a little time had passed, Paul went out to check on it and as he stirred it up a little he found that there were still some flames underneath and the fire started burning good again. Even with all that rain it hadn't put that fire out!

Then this thought came to me. There are times in our lives when we are really “on fire” for God. It's easy for others to see Him through us at these times. Then there seem to be times when we're not....we're just smoldering and we're not really different than the world. When we're “on fire” people see the difference. They see God's love through us. I don't know about you, but I'm glad that since I am a child of God that my flames can never go out completely! I am so glad that He is a loving and patient God that doesn't let me go! This all then made me think of a song called “Pass It On”.

It only takes a spark I wish for you my friend

To get a fire going This happiness that I’ve found
And soon all those around You can depend on Him
Can warm up in the glowing It matters not where you’re bound
That’s how it is with God’s love I’ll shout it from the mountain top
Once you’ve experienced it I want the world to know
You’ll spread His love The Lord of Love
To everyone Has come to me
You’ll want to pass it on I want to pass it on
What a wondrous time is spring I’ll shout it from the mountain top
When all the trees are budding I want the world to know
The birds begin to sing The Lord of Love
The flowers start their blooming Has come to me

That’s how it is with God’s love I want to pass it on
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll want to sing
It’s fresh like spring
You’ll want to pass it on

Lord, I pray today that you will help use the fire I saw today as a reminder to keep my fire for You burning. Help me to be in your Word daily and trust You for everything, even the “little things”. Help me not to let the “rain” come and make my fire smolder. Let others see You and Your love in me. In Your name I pray, Amen.

HOW TO USE A DISHWASHER

Sorry, I hope the title wasn't too deceiving, but this isn't really about giving you the proper ways to use a dishwasher. I'm sure someone has already written about that! No, this is more on how NOT to put motivation into what people say or do. Let a comment be just that, a comment or observation. Let me explain.

Paul and I were married on July 3, 2004. In August of 2004 we moved from IL to PA. We lived in a one bedroom apartment in the basement of my sister-in-laws' parents' house. The kitchen had a dishwasher, but it was one of those that you had to hook the hose up to the sink each time you wanted to run it. The way the kitchen was set up, the dishwasher was not close to the sink, so we had to load it up and then roll it over to the sink and hook it up. We had only been living there a short time when my in-laws, Wayne & Carole, came to visit. I didn't really think I was nervous about them visiting, but I realized later I was. One day while they were there, I pulled the dishwasher over to the sink, hooked it on, and flipped the lever up to turn on the water. Then I started the dishwasher. Carole then walked over and turned the water to hot while making a comment that it needed to be on hot to run properly. Here I had just been turning the water on wherever this whole time because I thought the dishwasher would heat up the water. How dare she tell me how to run this dishwasher! It's not like it was my first one! Ok, well it was my first one, but still she didn't have to make me feel like I didn't know how to clean my dishes! I guess she thinks I can't clean a house or cook or take care of her son! These were the thoughts I had....all from just her changing the setting of water temperature. Fortunately, I married a great guy that was able to calm me down and talk me through this time. It wasn't that big of a deal and he really didn't think his mom meant anything by it. And you know, to this day I still don't know if it matters where the water temperature is set!

I am so thankful for a husband that was able to tell me to just calm down and not to give motivation to something said. Oh and did I mention that years later, when Carole and I had become good friends, I mentioned this incident to her? And guess what? She didn't even remember making the comment!!! Here I had hung onto this for years (not bitter, but just remembering it) and she hadn't even remembered saying it! Now we laugh about it, but I am so glad that my reaction to her comment didn't ruin the relationship that we were able to establish and that has grown over the years. I could have become so bitter about that and thought that every comment she made had some other meaning behind it. If I was offended by the comments, then I would definitely be offended that every time she comes to my house she cleans! But, I'm not offended, because I know that cleaning and doing things for me is her way of showing her love to me. I love having her come and help around the house! But, our relationship could have gone different if I hadn't realized her comment was just that, a comment....an observation.

Now, fast forward a few years...I found myself this past weekend at my in-laws house once again having a discussion about dishwashers. And as I think about it, I think almost any time we are together and the dishwasher is loaded, a conversation about it comes up. This weekend the conversation turned toward if you should put sharp knives and cookware in them. I have always been told dishwashers dull your sharp knives and can ruin your cookware so I don't put either in there. At the time of the conversation I was laughing to myself because I was thinking how funny it is that our conversations seem to always go to the dishwasher. But, later as I was thinking about the conversation and about that first incident, I realized that I may have done the same thing as Carole. You see, my newest brother-in-law was a part of the conversation. He was the one that said they put their knives and cookware in the dishwasher. Here I was telling him what WE do. I was just sharing information...making a comment. Now, I know he is a guy and probably didn't think twice about it, but he could have easily taken my comment as offensive.

As I thought about this all more, I thought about how many times Paul has told me I put motivation in things people say or do.....a lot. How many times have I taken a “little comment” or “observation” that someone said and thought they meant something mean? It's not the person speaking to me that is at fault, I am. I am the one adding things to what they said and then get upset or bitter over it. I am the one with the wrong attitude. I am the one that suffers then. As I use my dishwasher each day I hope it will be a reminder to me to remember what I've learned.

“Love...is ever ready to believe the best of every person...” 1 Cor. 13:7 (Amplified)