"What My Feet Pleat!"

My two older boys love art and I try my best to allow them to enjoy that. I hate the cleaning up afterwards. Although they clean up most of it, I still have to make sure there are no paint drips or open markers laying around for the baby to grab and paint the walls. Hahaha! Yesterday was no different. The boys were doing some finger painting. Being the trouble-maker that he is, Boom-Boom got paint all over his shirt, mixed blue with yellow, and dripped paint all over the floor AND stepping on them! I ordered him to go to the bathroom so we can wash his feet. A few seconds later I heard this conversation:

Boom: Manong (big brother), can you wash my feet?

Jojo: What do you say?

Boom: What my feet, pleat! (Boom language which means "Wash my feet, please!")

Jojo: OK.

How many of us are willing to wash our sibbling's feet? At age 8? Not me.

^{John 13:4-8 [Jesus] got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." NASB}

^{These two boys are not even biological brothers but they are inseparable and they always help each other. And partly because of that, they learn to love and appreciate each other. Of course, they do argue and fight just like other kids but they do serve each other on a regular basis. I was going to wash Boom's feet and I probably would have done it with matching yelling at Boom-Boom for being so careless. Jojo did it with a willing heart. I even heard the two boys giggle in the bathroom. What a good example Jojo was to me about servanthood and humility.}

My Life is Service

It's been a month since my last posting. What a busy month June had been for our family - travels, guests, English camps at two schools, and as I am writing this we are hosting a team of thirteen people. We've had plenty of ministry opportunities - ministry ministry, ministry to friends, ministry to my family, etc. It seems like the whole theme was on service. Funny... because right when I was at the point where I was so emotionally and physically tired of serving other people, I saw this sign on a law firm door: "My life is service." It was like God giving me a slapping reminder on the face. "Darlene, your life is service."

Serving God by serving others is joyful and easy when we are full of energy and are vibrant in attitude. But what about those times when we are exhausted, fed up, selfish (what about serving ME this time?), and being required by God to do an extra act, an extra task, an extra hour? Are we still joyful? Am I still joyful? Much as I hate to admit it but there were a few times this past month when I wasn't a happy camper because I had to serve more than I was willing to.

Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." (NASB)

When we willingly obey God about serving others, He gives us joy and contentment in serving even if there wasn't a fanfare appreciation for our deeds. That's when God is pleased with our service!