Joyful Obedience

     My five kids say, "Thank you"  All of the time.  They tell me how much they appreciate me.  I like it when they say these things, and mean them.  They make me feel that what I am doing, as a mother, means something to them.
     I feel that I appreciate the things that Jesus has done for me.  I try to keep my eyes opened to all the answered prayers, in my life, and I thank Him for everything.  I have always felt that appreciation is so important.  I recently learned something else that is important, something I have never given much thought to.
     I was in my last month of pregnancy, with my son , Michael.  My son, Elijah, was just a baby.  With five kids, I had so much to do, and I was tired much of the time.  I started asking my older three kids to help me out with more than their usual chores.  They weren't used to me asking them to do so much work, and at times I would hear their complaints, "Why can't someone else do it?"
     I did know that they appreciated the things that I did for them, so when they started to grumble, I realized that along with appreciation, comes joyful obedience.  They are good kids, so they did do all the added work, but they complained the whole time, and I felt hurt.  I felt that I do so much for them, they should be happy to do something for me, when I needed them to.  Joyful obedience, that is what I was hoping for, from my children.
     I knew God was talking to me, the very next Sunday, at Church, when the pastors sermon was on, joyful obedience, to God.  Pastor Brad, talked about making a promise to God, and keeping that promise with a joyful heart.  That message touched me, and I had to examine my relationship with God.  I asked myself,  "Am I joyfully obedient?"
     Appreciating God, and all that he has done for us is important, but along with that, we should whole heartedly be filled with joy, when we have something extra to do for the Lord.
     Romans 6:16- 18,  "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey- wheather you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you whole- heartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.