1). Make the beds ...... What a waste of effort, we're only going to sleep
in them again tonight. Forget that. Scratch one.
2). Pick up dog poop in yard ....... It snowed last night, I don't see any
dog poop. Kids, do you see any dog poop? Scratch two.
3). Drop your shirts off at the cleaners ....... Duhh ... I'm on vacation,
I don't need them. Scratch three. This is easy, what's the
fuss? Think I'll go on the computer for a while.
4). Clean out Tupperware cabinet ....... Uhhhh, that's a hard one. GOT IT,
velcro on the door will keep them closed. Scratch four.
5). Mop kitchen floor ..... The dog licked up that sugar spill from
breakfast, floor looks clean to me. Scratch five. Good doggie, go play
in the yard. She just loves rolling in the snow.
6). Find something fun for the kids to do ..... That tinfoil in the
microwave thing was kinda fun. Scratch six. This is way too easy. I'll
have lots of time for the computer.
7). Vacuum the carpets ...... That's a hard one ... Hey kids, wanna have
some more FUN? Scratch seven.
8). Feed kids lunch ..... Hey kids, don't you have a friend's house to go
to? YESSSS! Scratch eight!!
9). Clean out hallway closet ...... Hmmmm ... another hard one. That's it,
take enough out of the closet to close the door. Outta sight, outta mind.
Hmmmm ... this other stuff can go under a bed. Scratch nine. Boy oh boy am
I good. Lunch time. Pour some chili into the cracker bag & eat. Taaa daaa,
no lunch dishes.
10). Do laundry ..... no problem. I can do that while I'm on the computer.
Scratch ten.
11). Fold laundry ..... Wow! Ya know, I never noticed how many pink things
this family actually wears. Gonna have to ask da little lady why she buys
me pale pink underwear?? Check this out -- a cashmere Barbie sweater, cool.
Scratch eleven.
12) Put the laundry away .... Baskets in bedrooms work for me. Scratch
twelve. This is way too easy. Wonder why women always complain about
housework?
13). Water the Christmas tree ... Ooooops, good thing the carpet is
absorbent. Scratch thirteen.
14). Grocery shopping. Buy toilet paper ....... These old newspapers will
do, besides, that's recycling & that's good for the earth ...
Scratch fourteen.
15). Pick up the kids ...... Yeah, right; we're talking about my kids
here. Parents will normally pay to drop them back off. They'll be
back. Scratch fifteen. Wonder who's on the computer. I have plenty of
time.
16). Make dinner ..... Easy. "Hello, do you deliver? Uhhh, double that.
Ya know, we will need more dinner tomorrow." Scratch sixteen.
17). Clean out the dog house ...... Duhh, the dog sleeps in our bed. Like
that needs to be done. Scratch seventeen. WOW all done. Still
time for some more 'puter and a nap ... Man, this is sooooo easy.
--Author unknown. Selected from Sunday Funnies Weekend Issue at Net153.com.
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews
12:11).
"A peach tree stands in our back yard," wrote K. Marshall
Strom.
"Unpruned, the tree grew big and leafy. It was loaded with
peaches, although the fruit was disappointingly small and
tasteless.
"The year my husband, Larry, was out of work, he went to
work on the tree. When I came home from school one day and
saw how far back he had pruned it, I stared in shock.
'You've killed it,' I cried. 'Now we won't have any peaches
at all.'
"I was wrong. That spring the pruned branches burst forth
with a beautiful blanketing of pink blossoms. Some little
green peaches replaced the blossoms. 'Leave them alone,' I
begged. Larry ignored me and thinned the fruit.
"By the end of summer the branches were so heavily laden
with fruit they had to be propped up. And the peaches ó how
large, sweet and juicy they were! There was no denying it:
the tree was far better off from the painful cutting it
endured."1
I like to constantly emphasize that God's goal is not to
make us good but to make us whole. The result will be that
genuine goodness will be the outcome of being made whole.
But to be made whole usually takes a lot of "pruning"
(discipline) by God. Speaking personally, the only time I
ever take a look at myself and break through some defense I
have been using to hide some sin or fault, is when I am
hurting bad enough. I mean, who wants to change when
everything is going great. Not me! I may not like the
"pruning" process but I certainly appreciate the result . .
. fruit!
So, if you are going through a rough time right now, ask God
to help you see if there is some lesson he is teaching you,
some issue he is wanting you to deal with, or some change he
sees you need to make.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that your goal is to
make me whole. Please help me to accept and submit to your
pruning and discipline and, because of them, please make me
a better, more whole person. Thank you for hearing and
answering my prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen."
1 Cited on KneEmail.
--From
Daily Encounter (c) Dick Innes 2002. Subscribe
from: http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.htm.
