March Pearls of Encouragement for Christian
Working Moms
Welcome
Blog
Article – Are you Listening to God in the Mundane
Tasks?
Final Note
If you have children online you often
worry who they are talking to and what they are doing.
You may also find that they are spending too much
time online. Do you have a spouse who has problems
with online pornography? If any of the above is true,
you may want to check out http://www.Bsafeonline.com/?314851.
You can get a weekly report of every website visited
in your home sent to your email, you can also limit
how much time your children spend online, and you
have a filter that blocks out questionable websites.
This internet filter is through the American Family
Association so you can trust the quality of the filter.
Welcome
I hope you are having a good week. I
want to encourage you to visit www.christianworkingmom.com
and check out the Resources page, new books and links
have been added to help you in different areas of
your life. Also, if you are ready to consider coaching
on your timeframe and totally online, check out CWMU.
You can find more information at http://www.christianworkingmom.com/cwmu_sales.htm.
Also, feel free to email me any comments about the
website, newsletter, blog, etc. I really enjoy getting
email from you. You can email me at Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com.
Blog
Please visit the Christian Working Mom
Blog at http://kimberlychastain.com/my-journal.
There is a post section for open comments for you
to ask questions or start new comments. I will be
posting a new topic about this month’s article,
please visit and make a comment.
Article – Are You Listening to
God in the Mundane Tasks?
I am currently working through a Beth
Moore Bible Study and came to an interesting find.
In Luke 2:42, we learn that Jesus was 12 years old
when he went to the feast at the temple. In Luke 2:52,
we learn that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and
in favor with God and men. In Luke 3:23, we find Jesus
started his ministry when he was 30 years old. Do
you realize the Bible was silent for 18 years of Jesus’
life between 12 and 30? We have nothing in Scripture
to let us know what was going on.
Here are a few ideas of what Jesus was
doing during that time. We know he was the oldest
of at least 5 children, maybe more. We know that Joseph
died sometime during Jesus’ adolescence or early
adulthood. We know that as the oldest, Jesus would
have to help take care of his brothers and sisters
and run the family business. So, during those 18 years
as Jesus was growing in wisdom and stature he was
probably doing some fairly mundane things. He was
working in the carpentry shop, possibly helping to
support or be the sole financial support of his family.
Some Biblical scholars think that Jesus did not start
his ministry till age 30, because he had to wait till
his siblings were old enough to take over the family
business, only Jesus knows that for sure. He probably
had to help take care of his siblings from time to
time. He may have had to mediate fights between his
brothers and sisters. Jesus was doing the daily tasks
of living, day in and day out. He was dealing with
cranky customers and working hard. I don’t think
it is out of line to imagine he was talking with his
Heavenly Father as he was working daily and taking
care of family.
So, what does all of this have to do
with us? Jesus modeled for us how to do the mundane
and still grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with
God and man. He spent 18 years working in a carpentry
shop, taking care of siblings and probably his Mother.
Nothing spectacular or earth shattering, but oh so
important. Do you talk with God in your mundane tasks?
Do you grow in grace as you are washing the umpteenth
load of laundry; especially the clothes that your
child put on for 5 minutes changed their minds and
put in the dirty clothes? Some weeks to me feel like
I’m just going from one day to the next, just
trying to survive. What is the next thing on your
to do list? Jesus I’m sure had a to do list
as well, but we know he spent time with his Father.
Do you share with God about the cranky customer or
co-worker you really can’t stand? He has been
there, he wants to know. In all honesty we can’t
expect that all of the customers that came to Jesus’
carpentry shop were nice and wonderful. Truthfully,
our lives are often lived in the mundane; laundry,
car pooling, work, dishes, groceries, baths, changing
diapers, sports, etc. Can you allow Jesus to be with
you in the mundane?
Jesus’ 18 years were so mundane
there is nothing said in the Bible, absolutely nothing.
I imagine we feel very unappreciated as we complete
our daily mundane tasks. The mundane does not excuse
us from spending time with God. Jesus spent time doing
the mundane and found wisdom and favor.
What mundane tasks do you have this
week that you could look at with a different lens?
Jesus cares about the mundane; he cares about everything
in our lives.
Final Note
I think there must be a law of some
type, like Murphy’s law, when children get new
clothes they must either get a hole in them or stain
them. Does that happen to anybody else besides me?
Till next time,
Kimberly Chastain
Kimberly Chastain, MS, LMFT is the Christian Working
Mom Coach and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
She is the author of 2 ebooks and an online coaching
program entitled CWMU – Becoming the Woman God
Wants You To Be. All of the above can be found at
www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session send an email
to Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com.
