What an exciting weekend!
On Saturday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate the 6th birthday of our beautiful firstborn daughter. Like usual, Ali was full of life and excited to socialize and play games. Yesterday, like every other day, she reminded me of how lucky we are to have such a smart, kind, and loving child. In the same breath, however, I must say that I also realized we have a long way to go when it comes to teaching Ali gratitude. Early in the day (and before any presents were opened), I talked to Ali about being thankful for whatever she receives, regardless of whether or not she wanted the gift. So, needless to say, it was especially bothersome when she muttered something about not wanting one of her gifts AND about not having gotten that much. (Really, kid?!) While I DO understand that she's only 6- which necessarily makes her self-centered and at least somewhat greedy- it scares me to think that she has learned her propensity to covet from yours truly. By the simple fact that she had already gotten a "be thankful" preemptory speech that day, I can only conclude that my actions must be speaking more loudly than my words. Thus, not only must I point out my appreciation for any act of generosity, I must convey- through actions, not just words- my gratitude for others' kindness...because clearly I haven't been doing a great job in this department.
Needless to say, I was pretty worn out by Sunday morning. Therefore, I was seriously lacking the motivation to get up and dressed for church at 7:30am. Plus, Megan slept in...and far be it for me to wake a sleeping baby. So when 9:00 rolled around and we were finally all conscious, I had to decide whether or not to attend the later service. My flesh (and the growing pile of laundry) said, "Heck no! (You could get so much housework done.)" but my spirit quietly urged. So we went. And boy was I glad. Orlando delivered a monster of a sermon--you know, the kind that gives you the chills and makes your arm hair stand up? Yeah, that kind. I can't quite put into words how powerful it was, but I encourage you to go to insidesummit.com (University Campus--5/16/10) to listen to the audio. Anyway, after the service, I kept thinking, "Wow, I almost missed that because I wanted to 'get stuff done'." That series of events really reinforced the mentality I've been trying to adopt as of late--that the day can be a total success- regardless of how much I've accomplished- as long as I spend it listening to God and using His activity in me to treat others well. At the end of the day, not much else matters.
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