Finding Joy In Your Present Work
Dear Sisters,
So often I read of ways to get out of the kitchen faster, or clean quicker, or wash more speedily. Always with an emphasis of doing something in the home faster and smarter. While I like doing things more efficiently just as much as the next woman, something inside me bristles at the thought of doing it with such speed that I might be out of my home and on to something else that is obviously more worth while. I truly don't believe that anything is more worthwhile than doing just what I am doing. And what is that? Well, building up my home. Or more commonly called: homemaking. The blessed calling of making a home a special place on earth for one's family. A place that no one else can duplicate. It will draw children and grandchildren back to it time and time again.
What is the heart of this special home? I truly believe it is the kitchen. Now I know a lot of you did not grow up in a home where you learned to cook. Neither did I. I have been teaching myself to cook for years now. And I am still learning. This week I tried seven new recipes. The only way to learn is to keep trying new things and stretching myself in the kitchen. By the time my grandchildren come around, I want to be the best cook for them and for the pleasure of my children who bring them to our home.
So I don't do things faster that I might be out of the kitchen and on to better things. Rather, I ask the LORD what He would have me cook today, and that I might enjoy the whole process immensely. Meals build such memories in our homes, with their special scents wafting down the halls, drawing those we love to our tables.
When we sit down to eat, I always serve us on nice dishes. All of them were bought at the thrift shop, but they are so pretty and festive. I have blue and white dishes that are old fashioned-looking. I have dishes with sunflowers on them. I have some heavy brown and cream dishes that come from a restaurant. Oh, I love to set my table with different plates. I had a friend who use to laugh at how I liked to set my table with pretty plates. She said it was easier to use paper plates and throw it all away after dinner. True. And paper plates have their function, but nothing tastes as good as it does on a pretty plate. Tea tastes better in a delicate cup. So I have lots of them bought from a thrift shop. Coffee tastes better from heavy mugs. Again, I have lots of heavy brown mugs bought years ago at a swap meet before I married my husband. He has been drinking out of those same mugs for eighteen years. The taste only gets better.
My meals are not fancy. I really favor simple homecooked meals. But I love to serve it special to my family with a little dinner music in the back ground. Often we will have a candle or some fresh flowers on the table as well. They are small things that say so much. And I find that as my children get older, they tend to linger longer with my husband and I at the table. It is a special place where we talk and laugh over a great many subjects.
I never tire of cooking for this family. They are my treasure, and I love to pour myself out for them. Are they picky eaters? Nope. Not a one in the bunch. Why is that? Well, my husband and I had our children eat everything that was put before them since they were little tikes. I have cooked meals from all around the world. And they've eaten them. I think because I use so much variety in my cooking, they tend to have well-rounded palates. There is not one ingredient, that I can think of, which causes anyone undo stress. If they start to pull certain items off their plate (usually when they are young), my husband will tell them, "We don't do that. You must want some more." ~Smile~ This has been our method for years with our four children, and so far, it has worked. They eat everything that I make.
I think it is far more important to ask the LORD for joy in what you do, than to try to get it over with faster and faster. It is a gift from God to enjoy one's work as taught in the book of Ecclesiastes.
"To receive reward and to rejoice in his labor, this is a gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart." Ecclesiastes 5:19b-20
Yes, it is a gift from God to enjoy one's work. One tends not to look at the clock so much when there's that much enjoyment going on. The days pass blissfully by. And since a great part of my job is cooking, I have asked God for the gift to enjoy it. He has given me this gift; and it gets richer and richer with each passing year. May I pass it on to those I love. For without a doubt, they will be probably be eating most every day for the rest of their lives. Let their cooking be done with such joy and thanksgiving to the One Who created it to be so.
Love,
Laine
So often I read of ways to get out of the kitchen faster, or clean quicker, or wash more speedily. Always with an emphasis of doing something in the home faster and smarter. While I like doing things more efficiently just as much as the next woman, something inside me bristles at the thought of doing it with such speed that I might be out of my home and on to something else that is obviously more worth while. I truly don't believe that anything is more worthwhile than doing just what I am doing. And what is that? Well, building up my home. Or more commonly called: homemaking. The blessed calling of making a home a special place on earth for one's family. A place that no one else can duplicate. It will draw children and grandchildren back to it time and time again.
What is the heart of this special home? I truly believe it is the kitchen. Now I know a lot of you did not grow up in a home where you learned to cook. Neither did I. I have been teaching myself to cook for years now. And I am still learning. This week I tried seven new recipes. The only way to learn is to keep trying new things and stretching myself in the kitchen. By the time my grandchildren come around, I want to be the best cook for them and for the pleasure of my children who bring them to our home.
So I don't do things faster that I might be out of the kitchen and on to better things. Rather, I ask the LORD what He would have me cook today, and that I might enjoy the whole process immensely. Meals build such memories in our homes, with their special scents wafting down the halls, drawing those we love to our tables.
When we sit down to eat, I always serve us on nice dishes. All of them were bought at the thrift shop, but they are so pretty and festive. I have blue and white dishes that are old fashioned-looking. I have dishes with sunflowers on them. I have some heavy brown and cream dishes that come from a restaurant. Oh, I love to set my table with different plates. I had a friend who use to laugh at how I liked to set my table with pretty plates. She said it was easier to use paper plates and throw it all away after dinner. True. And paper plates have their function, but nothing tastes as good as it does on a pretty plate. Tea tastes better in a delicate cup. So I have lots of them bought from a thrift shop. Coffee tastes better from heavy mugs. Again, I have lots of heavy brown mugs bought years ago at a swap meet before I married my husband. He has been drinking out of those same mugs for eighteen years. The taste only gets better.
My meals are not fancy. I really favor simple homecooked meals. But I love to serve it special to my family with a little dinner music in the back ground. Often we will have a candle or some fresh flowers on the table as well. They are small things that say so much. And I find that as my children get older, they tend to linger longer with my husband and I at the table. It is a special place where we talk and laugh over a great many subjects.
I never tire of cooking for this family. They are my treasure, and I love to pour myself out for them. Are they picky eaters? Nope. Not a one in the bunch. Why is that? Well, my husband and I had our children eat everything that was put before them since they were little tikes. I have cooked meals from all around the world. And they've eaten them. I think because I use so much variety in my cooking, they tend to have well-rounded palates. There is not one ingredient, that I can think of, which causes anyone undo stress. If they start to pull certain items off their plate (usually when they are young), my husband will tell them, "We don't do that. You must want some more." ~Smile~ This has been our method for years with our four children, and so far, it has worked. They eat everything that I make.
I think it is far more important to ask the LORD for joy in what you do, than to try to get it over with faster and faster. It is a gift from God to enjoy one's work as taught in the book of Ecclesiastes.
"To receive reward and to rejoice in his labor, this is a gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart." Ecclesiastes 5:19b-20
Yes, it is a gift from God to enjoy one's work. One tends not to look at the clock so much when there's that much enjoyment going on. The days pass blissfully by. And since a great part of my job is cooking, I have asked God for the gift to enjoy it. He has given me this gift; and it gets richer and richer with each passing year. May I pass it on to those I love. For without a doubt, they will be probably be eating most every day for the rest of their lives. Let their cooking be done with such joy and thanksgiving to the One Who created it to be so.
Love,
Laine
Comments
Post a Comment