Martha vs. Mary + Jesus

The passage of scripture that talked about Mary and Martha prepping dinner for Jesus and his disciples and Mary was not pulling her weight.always seem to prick my conscience. I seemed to always identify with Martha . Always running around trying to "get things together" or preparing for company or serving house guest and not seeming to get any help. I know why Martha was Mad and annoyed at Mary. In Martha's eyes, she wasn't doing anything. And Martha was doing everything! Wouldn't you be MAD? I often used to resent well meaning individuals who would try to shed some spiritual light on Martha and Mary and Martha always seemed to still look like the bad guy. Here is my light: Jesus saw Martha's heart as well as Mary's. He wasn't trying to say don't cook, clean and prep. He also wasn't telling Martha that those things were not important. He also wasn't saying from the moment you get up, til the time you go to bed neglect your daily duties, jobs and children and pray/read/study for 12 hours a day. I believe that during the course of Martha's busy day, she did not posture her heart in a position of worship and adoration. From changing diapers, to teaching, to cooking and flat out working hard, our hearts must be bent toward Jesus. Our eyes, our focus, must be Him. Talking to Him, Singing to Him, Praising Him. We must constantly be inviting Him into our daily lives. Invite Him in while washing dishes. Invite Him in while we are wiping snotty noses. Invite Him in while doing laundry. Invite Him in while scrubbing floors. Every act we do commit it to be Holy unto Him. It will eventually erase the resentment of duty and drudgery. I never understood this until now. He wants to know us. Let's invite Him in.

At the Home of Martha and Mary
Luke 10:38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But 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!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Another pet bites the dust.

Back to the Hermit Crab Saga. Dylan is gone. Not because he crawled out of the tank but, I think Sammy got tired of him. And jumped him. Yes, Dylan caught the beat down. Once again I found little legs in the tank- not attached to Dylan and his shell was upside down, and he was not in it. Now, do I just chuck the shell and the pieces of legs and body in the tank or do I give him a proper burial? The heat is on to get a dog. Hah ahahahahahh hahahahhahahaaaaa. That really makes me laugh. Part of me wants one. The other part prefers Sabretts.

The long road home

Yesterday I drove home from my birth state two my home state. I call it my home state because this is the place I call home, I call the place where my extended family is, my birth state because it is the state in which I was born. We managed to spend 7 hours in the car! We made to stops to change diapers and dvds. What goes on in one's mind during 7 hours behind the wheel? Well several things. Here's a wonderful compilation of the statistics that I pondered.

-From 2004-2007, I spent well over $1400.00 alone in gas and tolls driving to see my family
-During that same 3 year period, we put over 10, 000 miles on our minivan driving there.
-Each trip is 500 miles there, 500 back, equaling 1000 each trip.
-After the majority of these trips I do not take long road trips for months.
-I realized that the cost of plane tickets, and minivan rental once we arrive is not worth the expense.
-If we were to fly we would have to carry luggage, 1 infant carrier, 1 car seat and 2 boosterseats-Not worth the hassle.
- We managed not to hit any squirrels.
-I only drove home twice.
-One of those trips I was the only adult in the car.
-I prefer driving at night.
- I can count on one hand the number of times I thanked my husband for doing all the driving on the majority of those trips.

In light of all that, Thank you to my husband who has driven countless hours, checked the tire pressure, filled up the tank, had the oil changed and got us from point A to Point B in 6 hours.

Hats off to all of us that drive the miles to keep in touch with our relatives and friends.. Kudos to those that know the value of reciprocity.