38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me."
41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." ESV
For the Marthas:
Dust If You Must
Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?
Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.
Dust if you must, but the world’s out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.
Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it’s not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.
-Rose Milligan
If you still need to dust, my house could use it.
Posts
11 comments:
LOL! I have tried and tried to explain this to The General (a neat freak who delegates...in otherwords...tells me to do it LOL.)
Ah, sun in my face..forget the dust thing...I want to play..it could be my last day!
Many Blessings :)
Ace
I stress out so much everyday about getting something done that can never be "done." And I know this, but it's so hard to not let it get to you. Even during my most hectic days, I can often be found muttering to myself, "Martha, Martha..." LOL
God bless you all,
Celeste
Ace & Celeste,
I'm afraid I will never be accused of spending too much time dusting. :0 However, I could be accused of still focusing wrongly in other areas.
Thankfully my husband doesn't complain about dust. The kids don't mind writing on the furniture, either.
Berean Wife
Ok, BW, my "flesh" doesn't need to hear this :) It can come up with enough reasons not to be diligent and "just get it done"! I counter with a little children's song--this is because I am too prone to sloth, not because I didn't like your post:)--"Finish the job, finish the job, get it done; Finish the job, finish the job, then have fun! When you have some work to do, ___ ___ ___ and see it through; Finish the job, finish the job, Get It Done!" (You see I have forgotten all the words, but I used to sing it to the children.)
So, on that note, thanks for the post:)
Wendy
I enjoy reading your blogs. I read a blog the other day that disagreed with the things John Piper was saying. He had your name in his blog as giving him the information on it. I can't remember what site I saw it on and I'm hoping you can help me find it. I just signed up through your e-mail. juda
Wendy,
Well some of us struggle more in certain areas than others do. I for sure do not struggle in worrying about my house and probably should worry a little more about it. I'd rather read a good book or study my Bible.
Yet I have known some that struggle with housework becoming more important than other activities. Or at least they struggle with the guilt of not having dusted. What is the most sad is the moms that won't homeschool because they wouldn't then be able to keep the house as well. Homeschooling and being home with little ones does create some extra mess and clutter but it is worth it. :)
Now of course I encourage the children to work diligently, little risk of mine being too focused on chores and dusting. :0
It is still an interesting poem, especially considering we will turn to dust ourselves.
Berean Wife
Juda,
Hello, I'm glad you have enjoyed the website. Be sure to follow the verification email that you should have received. Sometimes it gets junk mailed. The emails won’t be sent otherwise for security reasons because it is automated.
The website I think you are talking about is
Defending. Contending.
They had a post about John Piper about a week ago. They also posted about an issue I sent them concerning Youth Groups. See if that is the site you are talking about.
Berean Wife
Yes, BW, I did love the poem! You have a wonderful way of finding just the right saying, poem, verse, etc.! And very apropos in light of the fact that we Will all return to dust! It is sad if or when anyone places the cleanliness of the home above their children. I don't think it is either/or, but both. Whenever we become unbalanced, leaning too far in one direction, it is detrimental. Looking around me, I don't think at this particular time I have to worry about being too "Martha-ish," but I would rather err on the side of being too "Mary-ish" if I have to err at all.
Wendy
Wendy,
You are right any unbalance is wrong, but actually I've found very few that were seriously unbalanced and being only a Mary, with no Martha. Even though I love to study my Bible, I must admit that all my dust isn't due to that. Some is just due to poor planning, laziness, and distractions. But sometimes I go the other way and stress myself by worrying about chores without enjoying the biggest "chore makers" as much as I should.
Berean Wife
Oh my goodness! How did I miss this?
Wonderful! I need to remember this today. Can I change it to, "Launder if you must?"
Terry,
Maybe you missed it because you were actually enjoying life like it recommends. :)
Changing it to laundry would be fine but I suspect if your house is like mine you can't change it to "Cook if you must"! That wouldn't go over well here.
Berean Wife
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