How’s My Heart?
For the next several weeks, we are stressing the importance of Serving and Loving our Community and God in 2025. It is our hope that through the sermons and W4W you will be motivated to step your acts of service over the coming year. To kick it off, Kim Mayes has written this week's Words for Wednesday. Enjoy!
How’s My Heart?
A very long time ago, the sixteen year old young man who now towers over me in height with his deep voice and his car keys, was just a little fellow with missing front teeth and a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. That little boy was working diligently to learn memory verses for AWANA’s and as a result, so was I. I vividly remember helping him learn Philippians 2:14-15 which reads “Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” His favorite part of that verse was at the very end, “like stars in the sky,” which he said with great inflection in his voice and a big grin on his face. That verse is planted in my heart, and the Lord brought it to my mind as I have pondered what it means to serve.
When I examine my own life looking for ways I serve others it’s easy to list things like serving with Love Bugs and volunteering for Operation Christmas Child, but if I dig a little deeper, there are some other, not so obvious and fun, avenues of service. These acts of service can seem never-ending, monotonous, and down right difficult, and if I’m not careful, they can bring out less than desirable attitudes.
How many times do I catch myself grumbling over what seems like a kitchen full of dirty dishes, or the mountain of laundry that in year’s past has seemed to only grow in size rather than shrink. Dinner time happens every single day, and there are meals to plan, shop for and prepare. How about yard work? In the spring and the fall when the weather is just right there’s much less grumbling than those sweltering days in July and August when I can’t keep the sweat out of my eyes. A conversation with a good friend several years ago helped me see that putting a good meal on the table and taking care of our home and the things in it are all ways I serve those closest to me.
So often I forget to stop and check myself to make sure I’m serving with my heart in the right place. Ultimately, serving comes down to acts of love, which is defined in 1 Corinthians 13. Verses 4 and 5 from that passage read, “Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”
The passage in 1 Corinthians, as well as the verses in Philippians, serve as a checklist to measure the condition of my heart. Am I grumbling as I’m washing the dishes late at night or do I do it with gladness? Am I resentful as I’m taking out the trash? Am I boastful or is my heart full of pride when I talk of helping with Operation Christmas Child? Am I envious of the task given to a friend, or am I content in my own? Am I patient when I help my mom…
I’m so grateful God gives me grace when I grumble and when I’m just going through the motions. I’m thankful He’s a God of second, and third, and many more chances. Today, and every day, it is my prayer that I get it right in His eyes, serving not only with my hands and my feet, but also with my heart.
These are your Words for Wednesday! Have the best day!
In His love,
Kim
How’s My Heart?
A very long time ago, the sixteen year old young man who now towers over me in height with his deep voice and his car keys, was just a little fellow with missing front teeth and a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. That little boy was working diligently to learn memory verses for AWANA’s and as a result, so was I. I vividly remember helping him learn Philippians 2:14-15 which reads “Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” His favorite part of that verse was at the very end, “like stars in the sky,” which he said with great inflection in his voice and a big grin on his face. That verse is planted in my heart, and the Lord brought it to my mind as I have pondered what it means to serve.
When I examine my own life looking for ways I serve others it’s easy to list things like serving with Love Bugs and volunteering for Operation Christmas Child, but if I dig a little deeper, there are some other, not so obvious and fun, avenues of service. These acts of service can seem never-ending, monotonous, and down right difficult, and if I’m not careful, they can bring out less than desirable attitudes.
How many times do I catch myself grumbling over what seems like a kitchen full of dirty dishes, or the mountain of laundry that in year’s past has seemed to only grow in size rather than shrink. Dinner time happens every single day, and there are meals to plan, shop for and prepare. How about yard work? In the spring and the fall when the weather is just right there’s much less grumbling than those sweltering days in July and August when I can’t keep the sweat out of my eyes. A conversation with a good friend several years ago helped me see that putting a good meal on the table and taking care of our home and the things in it are all ways I serve those closest to me.
So often I forget to stop and check myself to make sure I’m serving with my heart in the right place. Ultimately, serving comes down to acts of love, which is defined in 1 Corinthians 13. Verses 4 and 5 from that passage read, “Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”
The passage in 1 Corinthians, as well as the verses in Philippians, serve as a checklist to measure the condition of my heart. Am I grumbling as I’m washing the dishes late at night or do I do it with gladness? Am I resentful as I’m taking out the trash? Am I boastful or is my heart full of pride when I talk of helping with Operation Christmas Child? Am I envious of the task given to a friend, or am I content in my own? Am I patient when I help my mom…
I’m so grateful God gives me grace when I grumble and when I’m just going through the motions. I’m thankful He’s a God of second, and third, and many more chances. Today, and every day, it is my prayer that I get it right in His eyes, serving not only with my hands and my feet, but also with my heart.
These are your Words for Wednesday! Have the best day!
In His love,
Kim
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