CHOOSE: "WHATEVER"

Whatever! Whatever? Maybe I should have been more descriptive in my choice this morning.

Choose, "whatever" without an attitude. For, I'm not talking the cynical "younger set" use as a way of negative compliance or agreement. 

To me it can be sort of a snarly word. A slang for indifference, maybe.

Even Webster's gives "whatsoever" 4 different parts of speech when used in a sentence. But these days "whatever" is a sentence in and of itself. 

Whatever varies greatly according to its usage. Whatever is complicated,

Complicated unless you turn to God's word as my All to Jesus devotional had me doing this morning.

Whatever you do.............

• Commit it to the Lord. (Proverbs 16:3)
• Work hard at it. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
• As unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)
• Do it in His name and be grateful. (Colossians 3:27)
• Do it faithfully. (3 John 5)

Whenever I choose to do "whatever I do," as unto the Lord, I've made the right choice.

JIFFY COOK

9/7/11 A gourmet cook I am not. I'm more the "easy" recipe type, especially if I can experiment without much fear of messing up. It's really just toast (of the burnt variety) that gives me such a bad name.
Lately I've had to cook to make room in my pantry. Remember my hubby is a bulk shopper, so we can end up with a couple of cases of dry goods rather than just a few boxes. Thus yesterday's "Jiffy" cooking spree. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; (Ecclesiastes 9:10) The banana bread made with the biscuit mix provided 3 small loaves to share with friends, though its texture was a little too cake-like for me. The corn muffins made enough to share with a friend & her hubby---though my favorite use for that muffin mix is as an addition to the corn pudding recipe that the kids love. I even made muffins for neighbors but their flight was delayed so......they're gone now.
All of this to say that even if one isn't a great cook or doesn't have a pantry of gourmet goodies, one can still share from her larder. Sharing pleases Him. Impressing man would mean I would have to wait until I had gourmet recipes (and the ability to follow them) with exotic ingredients on hand. (And that's probably not going to happen at this house, where creative concoctions are more of the norm, as is using whatever is on hand,---especially if there's lots of it.) And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (Colossians 3:23)

Friends take warning, if you have a September or October birthday you might see "Jiffy Mix" in your future. But.....it will be packaged with love and sent with a birthday prayer.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (I Corinthians 10:31)

Notetaker

7/14/10 I’ve been called lots of things in my day and one of the most common is notetaker. (“Spellcheck” doesn’t like that I’ve made this a compound word, but to me it is just that.) A compound word is made when two words are joined to form a new word. One who takes notes is joined with the notes she takes just by the “doing” ---the action that so defines her. I’m sure that “spellcheck” would let me get away with it if I added a hyphen but I’m in a stubborn mood today and don’t feel like being hyphenated.

Notetaking seems to come naturally to me. I leave my marks everywhere---even in my devotional books and Bible. My grandmother Gena would have considered marking a Bible a travesty, if not sacrilegious but my grandmother, Mama Davenport was at least brave enough to underline in hers. I know, because I use her Bible often---those underlines have given me great insight into her life---which feels like a great privilege to me.

Marginalia in favorite books, from “self-help” and “how-to” to inspirational books and Bible study guides and resource books, is where much of my notetaking occurs.
My calendar looks like one big notepad. This week as I’ve been packing for an upcoming trip I’ve referred to “Big Water” notes from ’07, ’08 and ’09 calendars. It’s the way I know to bring 3 nightlights, not to buy Sam’s potato salad because not many folks ate it, or to be sure and pack a Sharpie® so that those water bottles, that the kids only take a few sips from, can be labeled and refrigerated for later use. (I don’t like that kind of waste----I know because I “noted” that in a journal one time!)
Even atlases and maps have my notes on them----everything from date & “our” time and distances of travel to places to eat along the way, followed by a rating once we eat there.

As many of you know, I often try to color code may notetaking or at least keep it in some kind of order----not on torn off slips of paper that end up here, there and yon. Lately that does not have the order that I like and I’m spending way too much time looking for my “notes.”

I think I’ve gotten more obsessive about notetaking as I have aged---I feel as if it helps me to hold on to the memory that I seem to be losing. I’m sure it gives me some semblance of control---now that’s a real joke.
Sometimes I feel as if I can’t function without my notes and that’s when I know I’ve gone to the extreme. I think I need to branch out and really wing it. Nah---not yet. Nevertheless, I do need to learn to give myself permission not to always have everything together (which I don’t ---I just keep trying) Maybe a blank sheet with none of my notes/directions would allow the Lord to more fully direct my steps. Of course, then I’d probably have to write down His agenda for future reference----you know, just in case I need it.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says that "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might"----(I guess notetaking could fit there.) Though later in chapter 12 it says that too many words and writing is vanity and wearying to the body.

I think the real answer is in I Corinthians 10:13, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Even notetaking can be taken to the extreme and have nothing to do with Him----so how do I temper this? Any suggestions from a godly notetaker? This notetaker would love to hear from you.