There's an App(lication) for That!

"My friend gave me a tip on getting your children to help around the house," our son Jamie shared on Facebook.  "He said instead of saying, 'Clean up your room,' say something like, 'Each of you pick up 15 things.'" Then Jamie added a postscript. "In my case it would be, 'Each of you pick up 80 toys.'"

I had to laugh.  It was true!  I visited their third-floor playroom when we were there at Thanksgiving. It looked like a toy store!  Or a toy factory, as a miscellany of toy projects and scenarios were spread wall-to-wall in various stages of imaginative play by our granddaughters. Well, they and their baby brother, Isaac, are the only grandchildren on their mother's side, with a very indulgent Nana. (Having 21 grandchildren, my gifts, though regular, are a little more modest.)

Apparently children are more likely to be helpful if they are given specific chores, rather than being given a vague "Clean up!" I think husbands are more comfortable at doing specific chores, too (at least mine is).  He will gladly vacuum or take out the trash, but he doesn't have my vision for the big picture.

Sometimes Christians are like that, in that we think if we do certain things, such as read the Bible, go to church, give tithes and offerings, that we have fulfilled our religious duties and that is all that is required of us.  But as Jesus reminded the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23, there are "weightier" matters that matter.  He mentions things like judgment, mercy and faith.

We learn in Paul's teachings in Galatians 5:22-23 of more attributes Christians should exhibit, the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.

The Pharisees had invented hundreds of rules to go by, but Jesus said that there only two that really matter: To love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.  These encompass the whole law, and that is the big picture.

I love getting even little pictures into the lives of our grandchildren, and the things their father shares about them invariably puts a smile on my face.  The  other day he reported that 4-year-old Maddie had told her mommy, "I like it when Daddy sings."  When Tammy asked why, Maddie said, "Because my heart sings back."  Be still, my heart!  I was smiling through tears.  The Bible says God rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).  May our hearts sing back!