Double, double toil and trouble...

...Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

There's a few things that get really old.  Day to day stuff that will never end.  Laundry, cleaning, dishes, paying bills, etc.  No matter how organized you are, those things are still there.  Sometimes I just sit around feeling all defeated and whatnot.  It just seems so lame to do the same stuff every day.  Why bother?  It will just come back again... as I dig through the baskets of clean laundry for school uniforms, and field questions of "When should I expect clean underwear again?"

Here's the thing.  I can't stand chaos.  That goes for a mess around me or too much noise, etc.  I do refuse to work myself to death to make sure it's never there.  I mean, there's other things to do in life (besides paid work, there is napping and Facebook), and although it bugs me that the dining room table is covered with bills and crayons and whatever else, it seems I prefer to be short tempered and irritable than to deal with it.  BECAUSE, whenever I clean it up, it lasts about 30 mins before people pile their crap all around again.

I was just talking to a friend about this today.  We agree that we don't bother with fancy, expensive furniture and "accoutra-mah" because it will cease to exist with any dignity.  In a house with kids and dogs, stuff is going to be messy, dirty and thrown around.  I refuse to stress EVEN MORE trying to make everyone not touch anything.  That would be worse.  As I mentioned before, I have other things to do.  Can we leave the pillows on the couch for 5 minutes, at least?  We are looking at getting some laminate floors put in our house soon, so we got some samples.  After we figured out what type we wanted, we got out a steak knife and took to scratching them... they have to be tough in this house!

So, what's my point?  At the risk of sounding like I'm complaining, I'm really not.  I'm quite content.  I just don't want to feel sick of the daily grind.  I'm trying to put in perspective that this life IS about toil and trouble.  Life is work.  Philippians 2:14 says, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."   Thankfully, salvation is free through Jesus.  If I had to work for that, I'd give up even before I failed miserably.

Are we not thankful for the provisions that have been given to us?  I am.  Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  This applies to the most basic and menial tasks.

So, now it's time to teach my kids to do all the work around here :)