Get up.

Go to work.

Eat.

Go to sleep.

Tomorrow…repeat above steps.

Sometimes this feels like our day. Repetition. Eating well, loving well, serving well.

There are days that we wonder if it’s enough. Are we doing our best? Does God notice?

Obedience takes practice; it’s a discipline.

Yesterday as I drove my five-year-old grandson, Luke,  to school, we were discussing him learning an instrument, like the piano, one day.

I said, “Maybe next year I can start teaching you to play the piano.”

Luke: “Why can’t I learn now, when I’m five? Why do I have to be six?”

Me: “Well, learning an instrument takes discipline and hard work. You might be able to do it better when you are older.”

Long conversation ensues about what “discipline” meant, since he only now knows it in the context of getting a punishment!

Discipline couples with obedience as we serve God each day and reflect His Light. We do it consciously and unconsciously some days.

Ken recently got an email from one of his colleagues who he used to travel with. Both of their roles have changed somewhat so they don’t travel together as they once did. His colleague was reflecting on their shared past service and said these words [Edited for sensitivity of our work]:

Those are good memories of our time in Nigeria, along with the many other memories of what we did, where we went and the people we worked with. I miss the travel and the opportunity to engage with you and others directly with people in other countries that are on the front lines of [deleted word] translation. You are leaving soon for another opportunity to make a significant impact… . It sounds like it is going to be a difficult trip in terms of communicating… Thank you for being willing to be on the front line and struggling to learn all you have to learn to teach others. Be encouraged, you are making a significant difference in the lives of many here and abroad.

Wow, if that doesn’t encourage our hearts, nothing else will!

I’m getting an Advent devotional in my email box twice a week this season. The title is “Stewardship: Transforming Generosity.” I was humbled as I read the devotional on Angels, and how they  can’t help but reflect God’s glory in all that they do. Is that reflected in my giving and my generosity throughout day?

Credit: Stewardship-news.org

Your gifts to us cause us to give praise and worship to God our Savior who humbled Himself and came as a child in order to give us LIFE! We try to reflect that in our work each day both here and abroad.

Thank you. Your Light in our lives makes such a difference.