5 Ways to Serve in a Selfie-ish World

September 19, 2016 by MaryK 3 Comments

Short & Sweet: Me, Myselfie, and I!

What is wrong with these vacation pictures? I asked myself as I was scrolling through the news feed on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. These vacation pictures don’t seem like vacation pictures. They seem more like … more like selfies.

When I was growing up, we took vacation pictures like every other family—beautiful vistas of Lake Michigan beaches, rolling sand dunes and ancient forests. Sometimes, a few small, barely recognizable people were also captured in the photograph. Lovingly tucked in photo albums, the pictures have faded and yellowed with age and love. Vacation photos were all about where we went, what we did and who we were with. Not anymore.

We live in a selfie world.

Now a days it’s all about how I feel and how I look. Modern vacation pictures are often just another version of a selfie. No longer can we vicariously enjoy the beautiful scenery others capture on their vacations because landscape is just a backdrop for another selfie or a groupie (is this a word?). Whether you vacay in The Alps, Disney, or CoCoa Beach doesn’t matter. The destination is unrecognizable. Imagine the money families could save. Forget the pricey getaway—just take selfies at your local beach or campground. Me, myselfie, and I.

Love your neighbor as yourself-ie.

How does all this selfie-ishness line up with God’s word? It doesn’t. God says the first shall be last. Galatians 5:13 reminds us to “serve one another humbly in love. “Romans 12:1 says, “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Luke 6:38 states, “Give and it will be given to you.” 1 Peter 4:10 offers this selfie-less advice, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

You see it’s not all about selfie, its about serving. Selfie-ness leads to emptiness. It drains, compresses, and stagnates our heart, soul and mind. As we constantly tend to our every want, need and desire, we become so myopic that eventually we only see our selfies and miss the needs of others.

What can we do to combat selfie-ishness?

Plan Think of a current situation in your life. Purposely plan a way you will be unselfie-ish in this situation and serve others.
Sacrifice. Today, or whatever day you choose, let everybody else go first, choose the restaurant, set the temperature on the AC, pick the movie, dessert, or activity etc.in everything you do. Ouch.
Deny. Give up a favorite food, drink, activity, or dessert etc. for a specified amount of time. Double ouch.
Ask. Ask God to change your heart; to give you a heart like His. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart to your own selfie-ishness and the need of others.
Hide. Hide God’s word in your heart. Memorize verses such as the ones posted above and pray them into your life.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you do with your resolutions to lose your selfie-ishness. I will be struggling right along with you.

Copy right 2016

Lent: empty to full, service

March 21, 2016 by Jane VanOsdol Leave a Comment

Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Luke 12:35-36

Welcome to the final week of our Lent: empty to full study. We are so thankful for each one who has made this journey with us. For our final week, we will be looking at service.

Service can be a spur-of-the-moment Spirit-led prompting to help someone, or it can be a longer commitment that you make, perhaps as a volunteer.

Your season of life will influence your acts of service. Parents with small children often find most of their time is spent serving their families. As your children grow, your schedule may allow for more time for you to serve others outside of your home as well.

The most important way to determine where God wants you serving in this season of life is to of course pray about it. Seek His plans and be alert to opportunities He brings your way. Enjoy this week’s Sway and be sure to let us know some of the different ways you have served others in your life!

Have a blessed Easter!

Jane Vanosdol and Mary Kane

7 Days of Freedom, Day 7: Serve

July 4, 2015 by MaryK 1 Comment

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5: 13

serve [surv]

verb

to act as a servant
to render assistance; be of use; help
to have definite use
to render active service to
to perform the duties of (a position, an office, etc.)

Independence Day is the celebration of the birth of the United States of America. It marks the day our founding fathers declared the colonies to be a free and independent nation apart from the rule of England. Freed from service to England, the colonists could enjoy “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

As Americans, the freedoms bestowed upon us by our Constitution allow the opportunity to live and work as we choose. Freedom is what makes our country great. God has also given us freedom, but according to our verse, we haven’t been freed to live for ourselves. We have been freed from the tyranny of sin and self to serve God and others. Please read the verse above again and notice the connection between liberty and serve. What is the basis for the giving of self through service? Love.

In the Greek, serve means: to be a slave (a very unpopular term for Americans), to serve, to do service, to zealously advance the interests of anything; devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.

As Christians, we need to devote ourselves to serve God and others, and to the advancement of His kingdom on earth. How can I serve my family? How can I help my neighbors? How can I use my gifts to share the Gospel? How can I give to the hungry? By asking these questions, and praying for God to bring us opportunities, we can live a life of service.

Action Points:

Take a walk through your neighborhood or town and ask God to open your eyes to the needs of others.
Today, identify and act on a way to serve a family member, a coworker and a neighbor.
Ask God to show what selfish attitudes or habits you need to be freed from so you can serve others.
Please take several moments to pray for our service men and women who serve their country and put themselves in harm’s way that we may be free.

God Bless America.

“serve.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 02 Jul. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serve>.

Short & Sweet: Use It or Lose It, by Mary Kane

April 3, 2015 by MaryK 1 Comment

Short&Sweetjpeg — Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

“Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” James 5:3

On my earring rack hangs one lonely silver hoop earring. I lost it’s partner three years ago during Christmas play practice. It fell out of my ear, rolled across the floor, and was crushed beyond recognition underneath the size 12 tennis shoe of a 6th grade boy. Since they were sterling silver, I couldn’t bring myself to throw the remaining earring away. I hung the lone hoop back on the rack and forgot about it … until the other day. [Read more…]

The 12 Days of Thanks Giving: Day 6 Service

November 21, 2014 by Jane VanOsdol 2 Comments

Day 6:Service

“There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the main peace offerings. So the Temple of the LORD was restored to service.” 2 Chronicles 29:35

Service [sur-vis] noun

an act of helpful activity; help; aid: to do someone a service.
the supplying or supplier of utilities or commodities, as water, electricity, or gas, required or demanded by the public.

verb

to make fit for use; repair; restore to condition for service: to service an automobile.
to supply with aid, information, or other incidental services.

[Read more…]