Let's face it. We all have them. Family stories that only 'the family' gets. Or funny stories that only friends who have known you a long time can truly appreciate. I just had some of the most wonderful friends leave the house, after a 'work party' day. Guys with tool belts and saws and power tools. Man, there is nothing like it. My old Phillips screw driver just wasn't getting the job done, and I had some 'fix-it' jobs that were way beyond my pay grade. I'll do all the food and refreshments and freebies from the closet, if you can handle the rest and play Tim the Tool Man. What a good trade. So my good buddies and their wives (my very good buddies) came over to the house today, Sunday, and we rocked it for 7 hours. Why is it you feel more motivated to work if you are not doing it alone? There is something about about a group project that makes the work go so much smoother. I loved it. I feed people, and they work. It's so me. I love the es prit de corps, the funny stories, a full table with fresh bread and a salad with everything in it but the kitchen sink, grated extra-dry cheddar sharp cheese, homemade pasta and my secret recipe spaghetti (paired with a good dry red wine of course), and talk and jokes and hands flying in the air, pets hanging out under the table hoping for a morsel, and people laughing. Getting hungry yet? For me, it doesn't get any better than this. I was made for this kind of evening. I don't know if this is what heaven 's wedding feast will be like, but if it is even close, I don't want to miss it. (Revelation 19:9). Enjoying each other, enjoying the food, enjoying the stories, enjoying life; makes the day feel good, the weekend even better, and it promises the week will start off right. (And for me, knowing there are 2 craftsman at the table who actually know how to use all these tools and fix things, and not having to figure out how to do it myself, made it all the better for me). Let the guys do it. I'll cook and do the dishes. Love having a house full of people and laughter and full bellies at the dinner table. So eat already!
Happy house guests bring a joy to the home like few things can, and I am loving my home and my life in a big way today, all because the table is full and the plates and glasses are empty, and no one wants to leave. I don't care if you want second's or third's, just don't leave hungry (in your belly or your soul). That's my motto). We are having too much fun at this table. There is no place I'd rather be than with people who don't want to leave the kitchen table after 3 hours because we are having that much fun. Love is ripe, laughter is present, stomachs are satisfied, and new friendships are happening, all because of the good bounty the Lord has provided. Pinch me, am I in heaven?
"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works." Ecclesiastes 9:7
I remember not along after I got married, my husband Ben and I (who were living on a military base overseas); decided he wanted me to take the night off and relax after dinner, and he would clean up the kitchen. I went for a walk, only to come back in the kitchen and see that there were plastic sandwich bags all over the glass ware and in the dish rack hanging upside down. He had emptied out the drawer full of plastic food bags and had hung them up over everything. I looked at him and asked him "what are you doing. Why are there sandwich bags all over everything?" He said he noticed that was the way that his (Czechoslovakian - 'me' ) wife always did the dishes? He knew I was a bit of a clean freak, so he thought maybe us Czeck's made the glassware extra clean by putting a bag over them to keep the germs out? After laughing like a hyena for about 10 minutes, I explained to my darling groom that I didn't take out new, clean bags to put over glassware, I just happened to be washing the already used dirty bags and hanging them upside down to dry over the dish rack or glass. Well, I think that was the last time he volunteered to do the dishes for a while. But we had a good laugh over that one. (Proverbs 17:22).
So in the midst of all the hard and not so easy places in life and in the everyday mundane things we do over and over, every now and then, take a minute to enjoy some good friends, some good food, and have a good laugh. This is every bit as holy and good as any other measure of virtue you will ever spend. Enjoy your God, Enjoy your life, Enjoy one another. If you do it well, you will have wonderful stories to tell and remember, even in the hereafter. As they say in Italy when facing some serious pasta on the plate before you. "Manja, Manja" So Eat already!
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