Got my first bacon, tomato, swiss cheese on toasted sourdough bread last night.

    There is just something about home grown tomatoes, much more flavor – of course they aren’t being transported by trucks for thousands of miles, sitting in warehouses until they can be shipped to the stores – those tomatoes have to be grown to go through all of that and, unfortunately, sacrifice the great tomato taste in the process.

    The only thing that poor Carla has difficulty in growing is zucchini!  She got an infestation of bugs a couple of years ago and she is going to war with them as they suck the juices from the plants. 

    Other than that, though, thus far she is getting good results and we are enjoying the ‘fruits of her labor.’

    The heat of the day makes us try and orient activity around it.

    Thankfully our air conditioner is working fine – Deed replaced the over head fan in the living room and that has also helped keep the temperatures down in the house.

    Since I don’t have any real skills in working around the house it is nice that we have a couple of daughters and a son-in-love that can do it for us. 

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Galatians 6:14 KJV “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

    Who among us doesn’t like pats on the back?
    We like to have people tell us that we are good, our work is excellent, we are a great guy (or gal), they are encouraged by our work, lots of compliments and we enjoy them.

    But, many of these are hollow, or appeasement.

    In one of my many trips to the hospital a nurse was doing a very routine/mundane job, one a first week nurse could do, the doctor came in and praised her work, overly so.

    I couldn’t help myself, I started laughing, as did the nurse and some of the other staff.  The doctor left in a huff (probably not a good thing for me.)  The nurse smiled and said, “We’ll take any compliments that come our way.”
    To me it didn’t sound genuine – it could have been, but it just struck me as odd and funny.  It was the kind of thing you might say to a child, or someone who was doing it for the first time, but I thought it was overboard for a professional who obviously had years of experience.

    A lot of the pats on the back we receive are just as interesting.  Are they genuine, or just to make us feel good, or make them think they are motivating us.

    I believe in giving people compliments and try to do it often, however, I also know they must be honest or I am just mouthing the words.

    My feelings have always been that when we are trained to do a job, we do it.  We shouldn’t need pats on the back for ordinary tasks.

    If there were extraordinary circumstances, or a far better result than we anticipated then those pats are warranted.

    We can appreciate the work of those who do things for us, or our fellow employees, the clerk that goes out of their way to help us, the doctor or nurse that not only assists us but does some extra things while doing so; good reasons for giving them more than just a thank you.

    AND it doesn’t hurt to tell management about how well you were treated.

    That word, thank you, can be said automatically, or a lift in the voice can make it sound like you mean it – and should.

    As a manager it was always good to hear from the citizens that our employee(s) did a good job – and how they did it.  The complaint to complement ratio is always higher, it seems in almost any profession.

    So, don’t be afraid to show appreciation to someone, to praise or congratulate them.  As a matter of fact, go out of your way to do that.

    However, as for us, Christians, we are to be doing the very best job we can, we shouldn’t have to have pats on the back to do that.  Doing so, in part, shows our dedication to our Lord and is an effective testimony to those that are watching us because we are Christians.

    If we sluff off our work, do it haphazardly, do shoddy work, or spend time complaining about one thing or another it doesn’t paint a very good picture to the sinner watching us.

    A good day’s work for a day’s pay should be foremost in our minds when we are working; and even if not paid, should apply to our volunteer efforts.

Colossians 3:23 KJV “ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

    The same is true in our work for God.  We should be doing it out of love and devotion to Him by helping others – whether it be as a volunteer in the church or some other organization.

    It is hard though, a quick pat on the back and genuine thank you can help our desire to continue full on in our ministry.  But, we shouldn’t expect grandiose praise nor work just to receive that kind of praise.

    In this world, where the everyone expects us to play up ourselves, promote ourselves, make everyone aware of our ‘skills,’ etc. it is good to remember that God has a different standard.  

    We should not be doing things to obtain praises from man, but to serve our God in whatever task He has appointed us. 

    Boasting of our accomplishments as if we did it all by ourselves without the help of others – particularly the talents and skills that God gave us is letting Him down.  

    We don’t have to stand on a soap box, but we don’t need to ‘eat it up’ either.

    Somehow, when we do have to promote our abilities at our job – to make a living, many self-employed people have to do some of that, but it should be done with humility – as hard as that may be to do. 

    We just need to ask God for wisdom in doing that; how to write the resume’, how to answer the questions from potential bosses without sounding arrogant or self-righteous or when we apply for promotions within our companies.

    It is a fine line, but it has to be done as we realize whatever we are doing is for the Lord, and whatever skills we have are directly from Him.

2 Corinthians 10:12 KJV “ For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

    May we be wise and focus on God, not on what others may or may not be doing.  Opening our hearts to Him, not to the words or glorification from man.

Later, Art (-: