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Week 22

I’ve really struggled with this blog entry and I’m not really sure why? I’ve written a few versions and have deleted all of them. So here goes nothing… 

Recently I had the opportunity to spoil my husband. Which is rare, he’s usually the one spoiling me and the boys. It’s not very often I get the opportunity to nurse him back to health. However, recently he had some dental work done and was pretty out of it. I took this as my opportunity to make sure he was well cared for, because he deserves it! As you’ll see in the pic below, not only did he get spoiled he got flowers that week. 

I’m quickly learning if I want my marriage to improve, I need to be better about serving my spouse. Maybe the key to a happy marriage is excellent customer service? Maybe that’s the key to happiness in life, in general?  I mean have you ever met an unhappy Chick Fil A employee, yeah me neither! Probably because serving their customers is their pleasure. Maybe if society chose serving over complaining, maybe in general we’d be happier? 

Maybe if couples opted to serve each other they’d be happier?  

Maybe if moms embraced servanthood, they’d be happier moms? – Ouch! This one is going to hurt, because it hurt me to write it. I know several women (myself included) who complain more about their kids than they do thanking God for them!  

Maybe if employees stopped complaining about their job and started asking, “how can I help?” Would they be happier employees? 

If we only do life for ourselves are, we really reaping the rewards? Instead of asking what will I gain from this relationship or opportunity, maybe we should start asking, “how can I help?” 

How can I help my marriage? 

How can I help my kids? 

How can I help my employer/co-workers? 

How can I help my community? 

How can I help my church or my pastor? 

How can I serve today? 

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

If the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to serve instead of to be served, why would our purpose be any different? I know in my own life when I shift my focus from myself and spend more time serving others, I am much happier. Maybe that’s the Phillips gene in me, because growing up in my home service was a normal part of life… (I would like to note, you can’t be everything to everyone. You can’t help everyone who needs help. You will meet people who need help but don’t want help. Boundaries and margin are a healthy aspect in servanthood and I’ll touch on those in my next blog, maybe). Making an investment and serving the people who matter most to you are worth the sacrifices you will make. Just know with servanthood you probably won’t get a gold star or the recognition you deserve, and if that’s why you are doing it; you’ve missed the point. You can’t serve to gain, you must serve to give. 

To Oscar, thank you for always serving me and the boys so well. You never complain (at least not to me), you never ask for recognition, and we can always count on you. I have loved you since the frosted tips and our crooked smiles. I loved you through the long distance and the late-night conversations. I have loved building a life with you, a dog, 2 boys and now our dream home. I’ve loved you then, I love you now, I always have and I always will. I look forward too many more great adventures together and other bad hair choices (but hopefully we’re done with those). As long as we are together, I’ll have more than I ever dreamed. Thank you for giving me a life I don’t always deserve. I pray these flowers remind you to, “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.”


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