Seek to Serve

Employees at a fast food restaurant I enjoy smile at every customer and say, “Thank you for choosing Chick-fil-A. How may I serve you?” 

As I reflect on that, I realize that the “How may I serve you?” question is an excellent one you and I can ask as we encounter people throughout the day. What does this person need? Assistance? Encouragement? Rest? Money? Am I able to provide that? Do I know someone who can?

Although choosing to serve others requires something of us, it is the right thing to do. Jesus taught us that. He temporarily gave up the glories of heaven to come to this earth to live among needy and sinful people like you and me in order to show us how to love and serve while we're here and to provide the way for us to live eternally in Heaven with Him. 

The Bible says, “He came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

His mission was to serve others, and He did. So should we.

I Can. I Will.

The "woozies" and "wobblies" have slowed me down for over a year. For many days, I've gripped my cane and/or held onto the walls and furniture. Finally, I'm feeling better. Along with the improvement in my balance has come a surge of hope that I just might be able to resume normal activities again--or to become more active than I've been for a long time.

Thus, when I opened an email that contained a link to a blog post entitled 71 Ways to Exercise More in 2018, I didn't delete the message, as "hopeless me" might have done before starting to feel better. 

As I looked over the long list, I noticed there were many activities I am not able to do. Yet, I continued to read on. (Hopefully, you, Dear Reader, may be able to do them; so, I will list a few for you to consider.)

• Do pushups or sit-ups when commercials interrupt your favorite TV shows.
• Ride your bike.
• Take your dog to the park.
• Sprint to and from the mailbox.
• Run a 5k or a half-marathon. (I can't, but my daughter can--and does! I'll cheer her on.)

Rather than despair over the ones I can't do right now, I made a list of several I can do, while inside my house. 

• Do calf raises while I brush my teeth.
• Stand up and walk around a few minutes each hour. (Increases heart rate, burns a few calories, and improves circulation.)
• Use resistance bands. (I'll use the set of training tubes my daughter gave me years ago.)
• Repeatedly lift and hold both feet off the floor when I'm sitting at my desk and checking e-mails. Doing so will strengthen my core, as well as my leg muscles.
• Vaccum.
• While sitting anywhere, point my toes and flex my feet.

And I noticed activities I used to do that I can now resume.

• Do an exercise video. (I have some of Leslie Sansone's in-home walking workout DVDs and have enjoyed them in the past. I'll start using them again even if I can't walk a mile right away.)
• Set a daily step goal on a fitness tracker. (I'll walk throughout the day, accumulating steps as I make "laps" inside the house and as I do my housework. Hopefully, soon I'll be able to walk for extended periods in the neighborhood again.)

I know I'll experience good results if I choose to think about what I can do (and do it!) rather than let what I can't do discourage me to the point of doing nothing at all. 

.

..whatever things are true..think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

Searcher of Hearts

Yesterday at church, the congregation sang a song I’d never heard before. As I haltingly sang along, most of the time off key, I realized that the words were “keepers” even if I couldn’t sing them well. So, today, I did a Google search for the hymn (Searcher of Hearts, From Mine Erase) and found the lyrics and the music here: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/h/shfmeras.htm

 I’ve printed myself a copy of the words so that I can sing along as I listen to the music. Whether or not my singing improves, I’m going to memorize the words, much like I would a poem, and use them as a prayer.

I’ve learned several songs/prayers this way: As I walk (one to three miles daily) round and round inside my house (because it’s too hot and humid for me to do that many miles outside), I hold in my hand the copy of whatever I’m trying to memorize. As I make my laps, I repeat one phrase at a time until I get it right, without looking at the sheet in my hand, and then I learn the next one. Once I feel comfortable with the second one, I say out loud the first one and the second one over and over until I can do both correctly. Then, I follow that pattern with the rest of the phrases until I’ve learned the whole thing. 

Each day, I review my recent memorizations. Then, if I have a new one, as I will have today, I begin on it. I’m never concerned with the speed with which I learn a new message. But I do focus on learning to practice, to “live by,” the words I’ve stored in my inner being. Otherwise, the memorization is only an exercise for my brain rather than a “life changer.”

I’ve always had a hard time memorizing “word for word” poems, Bible verses, and so forth. Thus, I’m excited that my new routine is helping me to exercise my mind, as well as my body, while also enabling me to store good thoughts in my mind and heart. It’s a win-win activity! I encourage you, Dear Reader, to try my new habit and see if it works for you.

(c) 2014 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill