Today’s Blog is short and simple! 

It’s still August, the mornings and nights are still hot and sticky. In many places the air quality prevents you from even going outside for very long. That nasty “C” word is still around and seems to be on the rise. Emotions are high and temperatures are HOT! How do we get our hearts and minds in the right place? How do we lift our spirits when there are so many reasons for them to be low?

It’s really quite simple…WE SERVE!

Jesus set the standard, I didn’t, I just practiced it, and so can you!

“FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY.”  

MARK 10:45

This verse is repeated in the gospels several times. Jesus sets the ultimate standard for living. We are to SERVE others!

If you believe that you do not have anything to offer others, you do! God has gifted each of us with different gifts so that they can be used to meet different needs for different people!

“EACH OF YOU SHOULD USE WHATEVER GIFT YOU HAVE RECEIVED TO SERVE OTHERS…”   

1 PETER 4:10a

Serving others not only fulfills the mandate given to us by Jesus himself, but it takes our focus off of ourselves and onto God and His purposes! 

TRUTH BOMB

There is no greater cure for what ails you, than to serve others in Jesus name!

I tested it out this week, myself!

In last weeks’ blog I wrote the first Hot August Nights’ Sizzler: The need to keep our eyes focused on what God has in front of us.

At that point, it was easy! I had my beautiful newborn grandson in my arms and my sweet two year old granddaughter on my lap! My older two grandchildren were on their way and I would soon be living the DREAM! All four of my children and all four of my grandchildren together with my husband and I! All of us under one roof? That is a rarity! Given the callings placed on our lives by God, we don’t have many weekends or holidays together! We cherish these priceless moments together and do our best not to take them for granted!

But as the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” And it did.

I found myself at home, lonely, and practicing my therapy, CLEANOLOGY. You can try and look that up, but you won’t find it anywhere. That’s because it can cause sore muscles, the inability to stand up straight for a time, and cracked and sore fingers from the over use of Clorox! Therefore, it has not been approved by Doctors or Psychologists. It however remains my go-to therapy whenever I am missing my family! It does however produce a very clean house with a very distinctive smell!  

Problem is, my therapy only works for a short time. I work my body physically while my emotions spin around and around. I am still left with that indescribable whole in my heart!

Enter the true therapy that works…In less than 48 hours after returning home from being together with my family, our church was taking part in a city outreach to children and their families. We worked side by side with other churches in our city setting up booths and games and providing supplies for under-resourced children to receive backpacks to begin school with, and lots and lots of fun and smiles! We served from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and my muscles were sore but my spirit had soared to a beautiful high! The kind of high that is only felt when we use our gifts and resources to serve others!

That night I went home exhausted and HOT from the August heat, but filled with a joy unspeakable! God is the only one who fills us with true joy and love, and serving others in His Name is what produces that joy and love!

HOT AUGUST NIGHTS’ SIZZLER # 2-SERVE OTHERS IN JESUS NAME!

I pray you will go out and serve others this week through the love of Jesus, I know from experience that you will be blessed if you do!

Speak Truth Love