Park Message today - Why do we work?

The girls - with their social life that I live vicariously through - are at a sleepover tonight.  The dear hubby and I had a date night.  He suffered through a night with his prego wife who had strange food aversions such as "nothing that is edible tastes good or looks good." 

We used our Groupon coupon to Barrio and decided we were glad it was a groupon coupon.  Sigh - while the food was different and they gave nice little portions, the service lacked a lot!  I had the opportunity to visit the bathroom (d/t the pea size of my bladder that the silly baby seems to think is his water bed) three times from appetizer to desert and wished I had before we left.  That was how long dinner dragged out.  Perhaps God was trying to get us to enjoy the time alone together - all a part of his master plan that we totally ignored. 

We came home to look over the Message from Park Church for Sunday, knowing we would enjoy the service to ourselves with our kids away.

I really liked this short theme - it has me thinking deeply about what work means to me.  I wish I could say I enter every work week with a renewed sense of purpose but find myself longing for something better as soon as I am five minutes into the Monday work day.  While work does give me a sense of purpose and I enjoy what I do - minor (and some major things) often irritate me so that I am not who I should be.  Sigh - I have a lot of work to do on this front. 

Ecclesiastes 1:3 :: Your Work Matters to God, Pt. 2

Ecclesiastes 1:3 ESV
What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 :: Your Work Matters to God

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 ESV
And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

What does work mean for you?   

What is the MAJOR reason you work?

Today's Message at Park was utterly profound yet so basic and simple. 

Genesis 1:28 ESV

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

I've never been the "lazy" person at work.  I might go through seasons where I feel blah about work but I always try to put my best work forward.  I don't think of work as an idol but after today's message I have to think twice about how I work.  I rarely have a "sabbath."  Rarely.  I am always checking email, even if it is just for personal emails.  You know how that ends up - you look for personal emails and then there is an email from work and you just have to read and possibly answer.  Then there are the charts I must go through, and often times, go in on the weekend to gather.  I always feel like things need to be done now, as opposed to later, well as opposed to just done and turned in and I always feel like I need to look for new things to tackle or improve.





I need to make a few changes in my life - which perhaps - would make me happier about my job, a better mom, a better wife and in turn a better woman of God.

1. I need to keep a sabbath - totally disconnect from my email/twitter/FB and VPN access to work?
2. I need to not push the envelope of time at work - do what's reasonably expected of someone within a normal work week and stop bringing work home, checking email at dinner and working on "work" at the dinner table.  
3. I need to learn to say "no" at work.  (I am not the only one that can do a task and do it well)
4. I need to give my career over to God.
   

At the end of the service there was a CHALLENGE  -  One sentence mission statement for MAKING YOUR WORK WORSHIP Just one sentence to summarize what you want to see happen in your life.

I have thought about it all day, and while I was going through charts as well, and came up with this.

I want to make an impact at work from the skills and calling that God has given me while showing my co-workers, and others I come into contact with, Christ's Love.

So what is the MAJOR reason YOU Work?

It is done!

After much running, praying and knitting I have updated my resume, created a cover letter and officially "popped" on the position.  I have taking a leap of faith, relying on God's direction, that this is the path i should take in my career.  This will either mean the rapid relocation of our family to another city looking for a completely different job or a step up to a new career. 

I am unbelievably at peace with this.  As a matter of fact that moment my hubby and I decided I should pop on this job back in December I was at peace.  I have not been this at peace in a long time. 

I look forward to the next few weeks and what it can only bring to our family!