My Table is Back!

It's been a long time since I've seen it, so I'm sooooo grateful to have it back!  For the past four weeks, our big dining room table has served as "Craft Central".  Before school started our four children began working on crafts to enter in our local and county fair.  Since three of them are in 4-H, those crafts are a little more time consuming and sometimes very difficult.  Also, because there are other activities they are involved in, it takes several days to complete some of the projects.  That's why the table has been out of commission for eating for all of this time.

Well, the kid's hard work paid off.  They won lots of ribbons, will win some prize money, have several 4-H crafts and some cookies that will go on to the state fair this week.  But mostly it is neat that they have learned to make some new things.  In fact, as I type this, my son is making another recipe of sugar cookies.  He's gotten pretty good at making them.  They'll sit in the fridge all night and he'll roll them out and bake them in the morning.  I think they will be taken to the Oklahoma State Fair on Wednesday and hopefully they'll have a ribbon on them when we go to the fair this weekend!

It's good to learn new things.  It's good to try new things.  I'm glad that my children enjoy getting involved in the fair and like entering their creations, but I'm always to get the house back in order after the chaos.  I'm especially grateful to see that big dining table again!  We were finally able to sit down for a family meal around the table yesterday after worship.  It had seemed like forever since we had done that! How nice it was! 

While my big table was still in the house and still being used, it wasn't being used for it's original purpose.  It was being used for crafts.   It had paper covering it up.  It had paint, tape, scissors, markers...all sorts of things just sitting all over it.  It was a mess!

This makes me think of a Bible.  What if it isn't being used for it's original purpose?  What it it's being left on a shelf in your room, just to collect dust?  Or what if it's being taken to worship each Sunday and maybe even on Wednesday, but it's not being used in your daily life.  It's there - it's sitting there, but it's not being used to help you daily.  It's not being used to help your family.  It's not being used to guide your life.

It was such a great feeling to rip the paper off of the table yesterday so that we could eat lunch sitting around it.  It was so nice to all be able to sit comfortably and visit around the table, after squeezing together for weeks at our small bar area in the kitchen.

Think of how it would feel to open up your Bible daily - to take it off of that shelf or maybe unzip it from it's cover - and read it for a certain time each  morning or evening.  Maybe make it part of your family's bedtime routine.

Just like my table's purpose is for our family to sit around and eat.  The Bible's purpose is to direct our lives in the Way. 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

This post is linked to Gratituesday, hosted by Heavenly Homemakers.