Making Ready

I am most relaxed when I am crocheting or doing needlepoint, but I also used to enjoy sewing.  Last spring I realized that it had been almost 20 years since I regularly had sewing projects and I decided to rediscover the art.  My mom and I attended a class on European pattern making.  The pattern pieces were based on Leonardo daVinci's theory of the Proportions of Man.  Ah, proportions, math, fun!  Mom just looked at me and said, "I knew you were going to buy that when he started talking about math."  I just smiled.

Over the last six months I've purchased fabric, thread and other sewing notions at estate sales and yard sales.  This weekend I found a sewing machine and cabinet that was perfect.  I have all I need for my sewing projects, except for a place to work. So before I begin, I must make ready my sewing room. 

Luke 1:16-17. And he [John the Baptist] will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

As a believer in Jesus Christ we are to share the gospel of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.  We cannot save a person, but like St. John we can do our part to "make ready a people prepared for the Lord."  What can I do and, more importantly, when do I need to step aside for an expert to take over?  Here are some thoughts on "making ready".

Making Ready a Sewing Room        Making Ready a Person for the Lord
1. Planning for the room                    1. Praying for the person
2. Filling in nail holes                         2. Helping with their hurts
3. Sanding the walls                            3. Have them attend church with you*
4. Painting the walls                            4. Show great things God has done for you
5. Step aside for the ceiling/lights    5. Step aside for God to touch their heart
6. Finish with the floor                      6. Help support a firm foundation in Christ
7. Smile and start the sewing            7. Rejoice/Make Ready another for the Lord

*Getting someone to attend church with you is often difficult, so here are a few ideas to engage them.

• Invite them to special events at your church (holidays, baptisms of people they know, concerts, kid's programs, etc.)
• Give them a recording (cd or dvd) of your pastor's most recent message
• Invite them to accompany you to dinner and a Wednesday night service
• Offer to take their children to church with you
• Ask them to help you with a church project (Christmas boxes for kids, backpacks of food for families, helping with a kid's group outing, helping with a maturing adults excursion, etc.)

Busyness

My days this past week seemed to blur together.  Where did the time go?  What have I been doing during the last 168 hours?  (Make that 169 hours since daylight savings time ended today.)

When I have weeks like this one, I realize that I took on too much.  But I've got to keep going: people are depending on me, things are piling up, I'm falling behind, the laundry isn't finished, the house needs cleaning, I've got major projects waiting at work, I need to finish all of the home projects I've begun.  What should I do?

Mark 6:30-32  The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

Now this is the point where I tend to stumble.  I see so much to be done, but Jesus is telling me, "come with me to a quiet place and get some rest."  I'm thinking, ok I just need a little rest.  But that's not what it says.  It says to go with Jesus to a quiet place and get some rest.  Perhaps that is the key to finding rest, because burning the candle at both ends just turns into a great big waxy mess!