On my birthday six years ago, I had no party, no cake, and no presents because we decided to celebrate a week late. This wouldn’t have been so bad except that the house was a mess and it just had to be picked up; the kids had spilled Cheerios and there were toys everywhere! So there I was, cleaning the house on my birthday and feeling sorry for myself. In fact, I made sure to let Hannah know how grumpy I felt and I happily displayed grimace on my face as I was sweeping the floor. Then, in the middle of my bad mood, it occurred to me that I had power over how I viewed the seemingly unpleasant responsibility before me, and everything changed! When I purposefully shifted my mind from a place of drudgery to a place of purposeful worship, I worked in a way that was peaceful, relaxed, and joyful (not to mention the house ended up a lot cleaner than it would have been if I had persisted in my bad attitude). You see, it’s not about giving 110% of your energy to activities (because that implies that you must try harder); it’s simply changing the way that you think about them.  

Friend, no matter what you are doing, the little and big things in your life matter to God. All that you do for your church, for charity, for work, and for others does not go unnoticed to Him; in fact, the less others thank you, the more He thanks you! As you turn your heart to Him and take the small step of dedicating every seemingly insignificant task to His service, your whole experience will change. All you’ve done or ever will do matters to Jesus, and with Him, it amounts to something for greater than it could ever be on its own; with Him, one (you) + one (Him) = more! Isn’t that an amazing thought?