Mary vs. Martha

A while back I was sitting in the living room of a pastor's home for his weekly house-church service. Attempting to be polite, I kept offering to help get things ready. The pastor said that he didn’t think there was anything that needed doing. I replied, “But you know me, and you know I can’t sit still – I’ve got to be doing something!” He looked at me with a smile and said, “Well, then, it looks like you need to sit down and listen, Martha!”*

Ouch.

That was a very simple lesson, only one sentence long, but it was profound and it has changed my outlook on how I approach being helpful. I’ve discovered 4 Rules for Christ-Honoring Helpfulness:

1.     If being helpful stops you from hearing about the needs of others, you’re doing something wrong. The Lord says to listen to others and be empathetic (Romans 12:15; Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.)

2.       Don’t use being helpful as an excuse to distract yourself from a real priority. You can help yourself into sinning if you’re too busy being helpful to hear the lesson the Lord is trying to teach you. This is the lesson Mary knew and what Martha had yet to learn.

3.       Being helpful can hamper your {emotional, spiritual, and physical} health. If acts of service is your spiritual gift, then this is most definitely something to watch for. You can so easily wear yourself to the bone helping others that you neglect yourself and your family. Make a point to learn how and when to say no, and then stick to that decision.

4.       Frankly, being helpful can annoy other people and you can get in their way! “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is not just a quaint saying, it’s the truth. Sometimes, staying out of the way is more help than you could ever imagine.

I’ve not gotten this down pat yet, but I sincerely am trying to learn. Any thoughts on helping?

*Luke 10:38:42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Hush Yo' Mouth

Perks of dating a Northern Gentleman (sometimes known as a “Yankee”, but he’s better than that): he holds the door for me, doesn’t flinch when asked to hold my purse for a minute, and he is in love with Jesus, sweet tea, home-cooking, and Southern Summers.

Non-Perks: He makes fun of me for complaining about the cold in the winter (Like, 5 degrees Fahrenheit one night, y’all), and he doesn’t understand me half the time I’m speaking.

I’ve discovered that, though my Southern Accent isn’t very strong thanks to living in a large metropolitan area, I am easily able to toss in most Southern phrases without thinking about it. I didn’t even realize that half of my vocabulary was made up of these phrases until I started dating The Gentleman.

For example, I was describing an evening in which, while playing a game at a friend’s farm, I ran, “full tilt” into some tractor equipment. The Gentleman, bless his heart, looked at me with concern written on his face and asked me to repeat the statement. “You know, ‘full tilt’ as in, ‘full speed’.” “But then why didn’t you just say, ‘full speed’?” “Because that’s not what I meant. I meant, ‘full tilt’!” “But you could have just said, ‘full speed’…….” And on and on we went.

I’m curious though – has anyone else had the problem of communication mishaps with people not from this neck of the woods? And what’s the strangest Southernism you’ve heard?

Oh Hi There, College. (Part 1)

This was actually supposed to be in video form (I was going to be a famous vlogger, but alas College doesn't allow me to have the time to vlog when my room is clean and I've had a shower, both important parts of being A Successful Vlogger.)
Instead, I present you with:

Questions from the Public + Things I Thought Were Important

Part 1

• Things College Kids Say:
• "Have you studied for this test?" "Psh, no."
• "Is it free?"
• "Want to go to Wal-Mart?"
• "Huddle House at 3am is the best!"
• "Wait, there's homework for today?"
• Things Professors Say:
• "I go, "No!" and I show them my Chacos." ~ Dr. Bushhaus, referring to trying to convince people to save endangered bats.
• "And then it peed on the side of the road and was like, "Screw you!" ~ Dr. Bushhaus, while flipping off the entire class to demonstrate a sassy Red Wolf's reaction to almost being hit by her car.
• "Come near me and you die." ~ Dr. Smartt, threatening a wasp
• "You need to color the butt-crack of the heart." Dr. Greenwood, referring to a fern gametophyte's archegonia.
• "No, I'm Senora. I lost my youth getting my PhD." ~ Dra. Morin, in response to being called Senorita.
• Things overheard in school:
• "I was psych tested. Not for depression, but homicidal tendencies!" (Maybe not something to brag about in the cafeteria, dear.)
• "Oh my gosh! I got to castrate a pig today!" (Perks of a redneck school, y'all.)
• College Parties, what are they like?
• Let's put it this way, I drove past a frat party the night after Halloween and watched a 6' tall Captain Underpants run across the street, away from the frat house.
• Freshman 15 - is it real?
• Yes, if you don't eat healthy and don't take care of yourself. But I actually have ended up losing weight due to stress, working out, eating healthy, and a schedule that has me walking several miles a day.
• Funniest thing that's happened to me so far:
• I was using my phone to write an email to a professor, inquiring about a travel-study trip to Ecuador. Instead of putting, "I am interested", my phone autocorrected the message to, "I am undressed". That could have been BAD, y'all.
• Homeschoolers adjusting to "real school"
• Adjusting? I'm too busy with classes and my social life to worry about adjusting.

♥ sHe