Attempting to Have a Good Attitude Even When Undertaking Annoying Chores

I have become the official mower of the household. That might change when Nathan "comes of age." I guess it all depends on whether or not we still have a riding mower at that point or not! Sorry, I'm getting off the subject. For now, I really enjoy mowing. It might take a little more concentration with a riding mower than it did with the push mower, but I can still spend some time thinking & praying while I'm making the lawn look pretty. After I mowed this past Sunday, I was walking around our yard watering flowers, weeding, planting a new tomato plant (thanks, Terri!) & really just checking out this beautiful place God has given us to live for the time-being. So far I have really enjoyed the mowing, weeding, raking, etc. I know, however, how quickly I get bored & lazy with something, & how easily I give up on something in favor of starting a new project. I am aware that in a few months or years, I may not feel so excited about the daily work that needs to be done in and around the house. I recalled a chapter in the book Purpose-Driven Life that encourages us to really appreciate what God has given us & what He does for us, & to have an attitude of sheer joy even when doing dumb little chores that we find much easier to resent. And I continued my "stroll around the house," asking God to help me to continue appreciating and enjoying the work that I need to do to make our house presentable. It is truly an offering to God to be good stewards, to take care of what we have on this earth. I am certainly not perfect, & I know that at times I will do my chores with a bad attitude, I will resent how much extra work comes with a bigger house (don't think for a second that I want to move back into our old house, though!!). But on Sunday afternoon, my heart felt so big & I was so grateful that God was helping me to realize what a gift I had been blessed with! Keep on praying & thanking God for what He's given you, have a spirit of gratitude WHILE you're doing menial chores--taking out the trash, even!--& He will bless you with a full heart, with a contented attitude. Our God is so good to us & He will help us to realize His goodness even more when we ask Him to!

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By the way, Dan & I discovered a cool little thing...I enjoy mowing more than he does, & he enjoys doing the dishes more than I do. So we kinda switched!! I might be more excited about that than he is, but I think we agree that it's a good arrangement. Isn't it neat when things work out like that?! Maybe the wording should have been more like, "Dan doesn't hate doing the dishes as much as I do, & I don't hate mowing as much as he does." But then I guess that would be contrary to what my above little article was trying to encourage. Go figure!