11 Lessons Learned This November about our Calling & Christ’s Love

I stood in the kitchen reviewing our new routine.  Hubby gave the kids a pep talk about keeping our home clean and tidy.  It is something that we must all work together to achieve.  So we print a chore chart as a helpful reminder pinned to the refrigerator door.

 

But that chore chart won’t clean the house – we will when we obey what it says. Right?  We all need to catch the vision of what needs to be done.

 

The end game is the house gets cleaned.  So, we give the kids some more pep talks and we ask them to follow their jobs so that everything gets done.

 

Without fail, all it takes is one of us not doing what we are supposed to be doing to mix up our routine.

 

And so it is in the Christian walk.  We are given instruction.  We are given commands.  Sometimes it is specific to us – but it is always part of the larger vision. God wants our eyes to be fixed on His vision — His heart.

 

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26

 

How many times do we think that this isn’t for us?  How many times do we decide someone else can do it?

It’s not about obeying the chore list and checking them off so we can back to our real life.  It is about our heart changing and catching the vision for what the Father desires.  He wants our heart to love what He loves.  He wants our heart to break for what breaks His.

 

And if we love what He loves – don’t we want to follow Him?  Don’t we want to pursue what He does?

 

Perhaps this is too simplified or the metaphor doesn’t work if you explore it more deeply.  I just know that God wants to use us in powerful ways.  “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27

I’m so thankful for this wonderful month of November.  We finished up a series of posts on God’s call on our lives in the areas of service, sacrifice, and orphan care.

 

We started off by looking at God’s call on our lives

 

We explored the orphan crisis in America and globally.

 

We talked about the ways we can help right now (even if we can’t adopt).

 

We even explored our purpose along with Orphan Sunday.

 

We heard from a mom of 12 and how she adopted internationally (5 times!)

 

And another mom showed us how God used her and others throughout her adoption process

 

One mom talked to us about why she and her husband chose to adopt from foster care

 

We found out about orphan hosting and how it changes lives

 

We saw how one mom felt God’s call to start a clothing closet and to share Jesus with the community

 

We learned why volunteer work is important & how being in the right place with open ears and a discerning heart can save a life

 

And lastly, we found out how mom’s like us can help the poor in practical ways

 

I’m sad to see this series come to an end but hopefully, it leaves you will something to think about as we close out our year.