work for His glory

Back to the grind stone.  That's what they say when you get back to work, especially after a vacation.  Does it always have to feel like a chore?  I suppose it depends on who you work with and what you do.  One thing I try to remember is that I am working for God.  I happen to love my colleagues and get long with them great, but it doesn't matter unless I am glorifying God with everything I do.  Everything includes my job also!  

Sometimes there are paperwork things or parts I'm not a huge fan of but I am thankful I have a job and that God has allowed me to be able to speak to so many people.  I pray that He is able to show Himself through me to everyone I come in contact with from co-workers to patients and clients.  We aren't allowed to bring up the topic of God or religion but hopefully from my work ethic and the way I do my job everyone knows who I really serve.  It definitely isn't a clock or a grind stone!

I hope that we all can remember that in the end it's about Who we serve and that we do it with joy because others are watching.  They notice when we complain or grumble about our jobs or anything for that matter.  Personally, I am not always amazingly upbeat but I pray that I am a good example of a Christian who is a work in progress-trying to love others like Jesus does instead of judging them or pointing fingers.  One day at a time.  No matter what I'm doing, I choose to praise Him.

- run for life

perception

We all have our appointments we don’t look forward to.  Oddly enough, I love going to the dentist!  I found out that they have cookie dough flavored tooth polish and request it every time now.  J  I love the squeaky clean feeling of my teeth after I’ve gone and try to keep it that way as long as possible.  The hygienist laughed when I told her how much I loved going to the dentist and mentioned that I didn’t understand when people didn’t like to brush their teeth more often.  She said for those who don’t brush their teeth multiple times a day there is a saying “brush your teeth in the morning to keep your friends, brush your teeth before bed to keep your teeth.”  Sounds good to me, I love brushing my teeth and flossing!

Today, however, I had that appointment that I don’t look forward to.  The OB/GYN.  It actually wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating since they didn’t do a pap smear this time.  Whew.  I have that to look forward to next year!  I love getting to appointments early on the way to work to get it out of the way and not worry about traffic or stress of getting there on time after work.  (Well, let’s be real, I live in Knoxville, TN and there isn’t really any traffic unless there is an accident.  When you grew up in the Bay Area of California, other places that aren’t big cities can’t really boast about the traffic.)

This all just made me think of my attitude toward things I’m not necessarily looking forward to.  Often we need to do things that we don’t like or don’t enjoy – for me that would be putting away laundry and dishes.  I don’t mind doing the laundry (all you do is throw it into the washing machine and then move it to the dryer making sure to pull out the clothes that need to hang to dry) or the dishes.  Or coming across a person who isn’t in the holiday spirit and cross or cranky.  I try to remind myself that they may have had a bad day (or month, year or life) and try to be extra nice to those people.  At another job one of my co-workers said something that stuck with me: “when people are mean or angry, it’s good to remember we only have to deal with them for 5 minutes/an hour/a day, but they have to deal with themselves 24/7.”

It’s also good to remind myself that God loves everyone and everything.  Whether I’m doing dishes, laundry, working, playing with my baby or cooking for my family I need to do it with joy.  I don’t always have to be smiling but I should be thankful I can do them.  I talk to patients every day that have issues and pain and I am blessed to not have too many problems pain wise.  I am a work in progress and working on my attitude and how I perceive things.  I am always blessed and doing better than I deserve thanks to God and His sacrifice for my sins.  I just hope others can see that I’m trying!

-run for life

what is important

I was thinking about priorities and importance since I wrote about it yesterday.  I ask patient's what their goals are when they come to see me. I think any goal is good whether you want to run a 5k, walk to the mailbox or play with grandchildren.  My goal for all my patients is that they are able to do what they want to do and don't have to give excuses for why they can't play with their kids or grandchildren or go for a hike or walk with their friends.

I mentioned that my priorities were God first then family and then others when it came to people in my life.  I thought that was pretty vague so I wanted to be a little more thorough today.

As a Christian my first priority is to glorify God.  That means in what ever I am doing whether it's cleaning the kitchen, making dinner, working or hanging out with friends I want to do my best to be a good example of a Christian - a follower of Christ. I hope others know I love them, I try not to judge others and I try to pray for everyone regardless of how they treat me.  I think those who seem to be mean or angry on the outside are usually hurting the most on the inside.  They probably need the most prayer.

My family: husband, daughter, parents, sister, cousins, in-laws, etc. are also very important to me.  However I know many who make the mistake of neglecting themselves and say they are taking care of everyone else and don't have time to take care of themselves.  I believe it is important to also take care of yourself too. Now I'm not saying leave your children alone to go exercise or do quiet time when your baby needs you, but I am saying its important to do those things.  I often remind patients that I understand they want to take care of others but they also have to take care of themselves so they will be able to care for others more effectively and for a longer duration.

Everyone is different. I personally fit those things in usually by multitasking.  Exercise usually consists of baby lifts (Norah loves being lifted in the air so I do sets of baby reps), walking or jogging with my BOB stroller my sister got us when Norah was born, jogging in place while cooking or walking around the house while wearing Norah in her Ergo pouch.  My workouts aren't are intense as they used to be, but I am still getting my 30+ minutes of exercise a day and aiming for at least 10,000 steps/day.  (As a bonus our dog Blitz appreciates going for walks with us too!)

Of course others are also a priority and I do my best to cook healthy food when we have guests, invite friends for walks and be open with others so they feel welcomed and hopefully loved.  I may not always say Jesus loves you every time but I am sure those who know me know Jesus is the most important person in my life and I need grace just as much as the next person.

Well, I'm sure I could say more but the baby is sleeping and it's time to get some cleaning done (and more steps!).

- run for life