Saturday Story Time – Jimbob and Chores No More

Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. Proverbs 12:11 NIV

But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. 1 Corinthians 14:40

Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Psalms 100:2

In our story today, Jimbob learned so much about chores and doing house work. It’s always waiting to be worked on, it piles up when left unattended, and it never ends. Oh that sounds way too familiar.

Hopefully, these following points can help you with teaching your children and perhaps put a pep in your own step regarding the unrelenting tasks of housework and more.

• Work is worship. Colossians reminds us that whatever we do, we do it for the Lord. That would include, work, play, housework, school, service projects, teaching at church and so much more.  All of it is for the Lord, so work is an act of worship, even housework. Would your attitude and actions be any different if Jesus were with you as your guest of honor? He IS – with you always.
• Work is first. Tommy the Turtle learned that even as slow as a turtle can be, he was most effective at the beginning of his day, his chores. He found that when he tackled the hard and unfun stuff first, he enjoyed the rest of his day.  You can’t do everything first, but the routine of doing somethings first opens time for other things to be enjoyed without the weight of the undone resting on you.
• Work is orderly. Take the time to plan your work and then work the plan. Cut the plan into smaller pieces so that you can enjoy the small wins along the way. You can’t bite into a large piece of food. First cut it up and it becomes enjoyable. Make every step smaller, they still will lead to a glorious conclusion. Smaller steps keep you from becoming discouraged and quitting all together. Order helps you find what you were looking for…embrace order – it is fitting. Taking the extra time to find a place for every thing means that EVERYTHING has a home. That is orderly.
• Work is joyful. In Psalm 100:2 it states “come before Him”. It means there was a moment prior to the coming. So, as you approach God, as you approach the worship of work, straighten up your mind for the task. Let worship, joy and singing move to the front of your mind as you begin. As you start, put on a worship playlist, smile, laugh, remember a great moment of joy. Serving and working are never as hard, or shall I say, easier to endure when your heart is experiencing the uplifting joy of the Lord.

Your children model what they see you doing, BUT they need you to require them to join in the work. They may be slower at getting it done, but they are learning that work is worship unto the Lord AND a fruitful harvest comes by doing the hard work first.

You can’t inspect what you don’t expect.  Take the time to teach your children the “how to do it right”. Keep your heart happy while you are teaching them again and again.

Just watching you do a task is not enough, just telling them to get it done is not enough, just showing them one time is not enough (I don’t know the magical number of times that you will have to repeat the same thing – but it will click at some point) Each child is on his own time table of learning – that makes them wonderfully unique.

Have a great summer with your kids and let the joy of the Lord lead you as you train your children.

Blessings Love y’all

Pastor Greg