Now serving...

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner out with my husband (Thanks, Mom!).  Over dinner I was telling him a story of how Asher tried to help me with "Kitty" (a stray cat we have taken in temporarily trying to find her owner/a new owner) by taking her water dish from the floor and moving it to the counter.  Luckily my mom saw that one while my back was turned and we avoided a soaked toddler.

My husband laughed and mentioned how much our child likes to help, and man, does he ever.  One of the most fun things about this age is that I get to see bits of his personality come through and helping is a big part of his.  I have wondered many times if this heart for service is something that is a part of his personality that will continue to be there throughout the years.  I hope so.  I also hope I can help nuture that.

Which brings me to the topic of service.  I am a huge believer that when raising children I have to be the example.  If I want them to be reading the Bible on a daily basis, I have to be in the Word on a daily basis.  If I want them to treat others in a kind, loving manner they have to see it in me first.  If I don't want their lives to revolve around television, they can't see that mine does.  You get the point.

Then we get to serving others.  I can see God in Asher's desire to serve because I don't serve.  I think that by wanting to nuture this in Asher, I am going to have to go out of my comfort zone and grow as well.  Sure I do a few volunteer days throughout the year when one is offered through work or church, we take part in the Operation Christmas Child (the shoeboxes), we give at church.  But I am persoanlly convivted that I do not do enough.  And more importantly, I think I do these things out of obligation only, not out of a heart's desire to show God's love to others. 

This is painful to admit because if you've read any of those "red" words in the Bible, (you know, those places where Jesus speaks?) you will not read long before you are being instructed to help the poor, the hungry, the needy.  Man, that hurts.  Jesus is telling me what he wants me to do and I am ignoring it.  Double ouch.

So, the decision has been made to serve.  Now I am praying for God to use me and man is it scary. I'm afraid I won't have time to commit(you know, more time away from Asher), that it will make me uncomfortable, that I have made this desire public and that I won't follow through with it.  I am also afraid that if we don't follow through that this wonderful heart for service in Asher will be lost.

Now to just find out where to begin...