The Comfort Zone
It annoys me sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night with a thought provoking post. Last night was one of those nights. 1:30 am rolls around and WHAMO, I'm wide awake and the brain is in high gear. I had promised to leave these kind of posts to Laura Lee lol. They come so much more easily for her and it just makes more sense coming from her mouth lol. But here we go anyway.
We are having company tonight for dinner. Now I love to entertain but for some reason when my "comfort zone" is interrupted I start to panic. I don't know what to make for dinner, my house seems messier then normal, the dog needs a bath, I need to pave the driveway, the lawn is an inch to long, the house is the wrong color....etc...Then I realize (I need to get out more) that Satan would love for me to give into my fears and just say forget it. But not only would that family not be blessed but I would miss the blessing of serving them and being a servant of Christ.
It annoys me sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night with a thought provoking post. Last night was one of those nights. 1:30 am rolls around and WHAMO, I'm wide awake and the brain is in high gear. I had promised to leave these kind of posts to Laura Lee lol. They come so much more easily for her and it just makes more sense coming from her mouth lol. But here we go anyway.
We are having company tonight for dinner. Now I love to entertain but for some reason when my "comfort zone" is interrupted I start to panic. I don't know what to make for dinner, my house seems messier then normal, the dog needs a bath, I need to pave the driveway, the lawn is an inch to long, the house is the wrong color....etc...Then I realize (I need to get out more) that Satan would love for me to give into my fears and just say forget it. But not only would that family not be blessed but I would miss the blessing of serving them and being a servant of Christ.
Romans 12:13 it says, "Share with God's people who are in need, Practice hospitality."
Now I could do this but with a bad attitude and it would mean nothing.
1 Peter 4:9 says," Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling"
I admit, I love my little bubble I call my home. I could go days without leaving and be just fine. This however is very noticeable to anyone I come in contact with soon thereafter. Because in general I am a very outgoing person. I love to make people laugh (DUH!). So a few days of pent up comedic energy has a tendency to maybe, I don't know, "overwhelm" the first person that sees me, so I do try to get out more often. It's either that or my kids start hiding from the crazy lady lol. Just kidding!
So why is coming out of our comfort zone so hard? Are we worried about what others may think? That's probably my biggest fear. What if they didn't like my cooking or my table setting. What if they see a wad of dog hair tumble across the floor. All of these are excuses that the enemy would love for us to use. Your house will never be big enough, or clean enough. Your Corelle plates will be just fine. Paper napkins are okay. Use what God has given you. I often think," but groceries are so expensive now adays how can we afford to entertain?"Well I know for a fact that God is bigger than any grocery chain in America, so I had to stop thinking that way. My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches and glory.
What is God asking you to do that entails coming out of your comfort zone? Don't miss your blessing because of the lies that are thrown at you. Step out in faith and see what God does!
I'm stepping out tonight and I'm serving CHICKEN by golly!
I hope this post didn't hurt anyone mentally today!LOL! I do want to challenge you today to do that thing that the Lord has been bugging you about because sooner or later He'll find someone to do it and they will be the ones getting the blessings. Let that person be you!
Blessings my friends.
Now I could do this but with a bad attitude and it would mean nothing.
1 Peter 4:9 says," Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling"
I admit, I love my little bubble I call my home. I could go days without leaving and be just fine. This however is very noticeable to anyone I come in contact with soon thereafter. Because in general I am a very outgoing person. I love to make people laugh (DUH!). So a few days of pent up comedic energy has a tendency to maybe, I don't know, "overwhelm" the first person that sees me, so I do try to get out more often. It's either that or my kids start hiding from the crazy lady lol. Just kidding!
So why is coming out of our comfort zone so hard? Are we worried about what others may think? That's probably my biggest fear. What if they didn't like my cooking or my table setting. What if they see a wad of dog hair tumble across the floor. All of these are excuses that the enemy would love for us to use. Your house will never be big enough, or clean enough. Your Corelle plates will be just fine. Paper napkins are okay. Use what God has given you. I often think," but groceries are so expensive now adays how can we afford to entertain?"Well I know for a fact that God is bigger than any grocery chain in America, so I had to stop thinking that way. My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches and glory.
What is God asking you to do that entails coming out of your comfort zone? Don't miss your blessing because of the lies that are thrown at you. Step out in faith and see what God does!
I'm stepping out tonight and I'm serving CHICKEN by golly!
I hope this post didn't hurt anyone mentally today!LOL! I do want to challenge you today to do that thing that the Lord has been bugging you about because sooner or later He'll find someone to do it and they will be the ones getting the blessings. Let that person be you!
Blessings my friends.
I drive myself crazy whenever we have company coming over too! One year we had an open house and 65 deacons and their wives and the sweet widows and widowers in our church over for dinner all in the same day. It was a special day but I was worn out. I had worked for weeks to make sure everything was as near perfect as it could be.
ReplyDeleteWe've started having shrimp boils whenever we have company and it is much more relaxed. It's messy but fun! Have a great time tonight. I can't wait to hear all about it.
I am so proud of you for not cancelling. I go back and forth in my mind many times when I feel like I am supposed to do something but don't necessarily feel comfortable doing so. We can come up with all kinds of excuses to not do something, but I have found, just as I am sure you will find out tonight, that the blessings are so amazing when we obey. Have a great dinner...who doesn't love chicken?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are having a Mary and Martha moment. I have those quite often. Choose Mary. As far as your cooking goes, It will be great. I have tried a couple of your recipes on my family and we have loved it!! Have a great time and enjoy your company.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts... I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings-
Amanda
Yay for chicken - I love it when people come out of their comfort zone. Seems like we're always blessed.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I have the same fears. I think everyone does! We're afraid of being judged. But true friends will enjoy your company and don't care if a doghair tumbleweed scatters across the entryway as they walk in the door! Life isn't perfect. I think that it is the imperfections that provide charm and uniqueness!
ReplyDeleteAnd you can serve me chicken anytime, LOL! Have a great party and RELAX!
A direct order from LauraLee: KEEP WRITING THESE! God has a way of communicating through you that no one else can do. This was an incredibly insightful post!
ReplyDeleteActually, I had a similar situation happen last week. One of my online writing friends lives down south in Texas. Her family could not find a hotel or anywhere to go for a reasonable price, so I invited them here. Someone I had never met in person before!!! (So remember this the next time you need a place to evacuate, okay?) ;)
Anyway, I'm so glad I did it. YOu would not believe the cleaning hurricane that had to go through here just so they would have a place to sleep, but the rest of it just had to be what it was: messy. I'm hoping and praying that they saw straight through the clutter and into my heart...just like your company did. Though I have a hard time believing you are anything as messy as me with all your organizing and decluttering. You're a jewel, you know it?
Your chicken will be as delightful as you are!
ReplyDeleteThe blessings always come from the obedience so prepare to be abundantly blessed as you step out!
Blessings to you ... have a wonderful party!
You didn't hurt me mentally, girl, you reaffirmed what God's been telling me! Yikes! Stepping out of my comfort zone is way hard, but I did it last night. And I didn't fail. I cooked supper for the kids. I say kids. My bonus daughter and her husband and our grandson have a regular Monday night visit with us and usually they do dinner before they get there or we pick something up. It went well. I didn't fail! I'm encouraged to try again.
ReplyDeleteChicken intimidates me. Sigh. How do you know when it's done?!?
UMMMMM, I only have one comment...WHO is coming to dinner? Because I didn't get an invitation and I'm a little concerned about the stability of our friendship, LOLOLOL. :)
ReplyDeleteOk, have fun, serve chicken to someone else, see if I care. :)
I love you my friend. No one will remember what color your house is, and if dinner doesn't come out great, then just make sure you have a terrific dessert, that's all that REALLY matters anyhow. :)
You've been readin' my mail! This is probably my biggest struggle. Human nature can be so perverse. Even when things aren't so good, we stick with the status quo because it's familiar and comfortable. So many times I've had to steamroll Duller or DS to do something... after all the grumbling, they start enjoying and admit they're glad they did it.
ReplyDeleteOn another note... I took a look at your online biz... blow gun darts??? Now there's a first impression wrecker. )*;*(
I thought it was a wonderful post! It is hard to step out of my comfort zone - I do force myself to do it, but I have to work on the "cheerful" part of it!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your dinner will be wonderful. Things never go quite as planned when I have a social function, but everybody always seems to have a great time - my expectations are just too high for myself in those situations. We're not perfect!
And I agree with Kathy - the dessert is more important - ha,ha!
:) I am one to shy away and stay in my comfort zone. Thank you for challenging me! How were you during Hannah and Ike?
ReplyDeleteI do stay in my comfort zone and shy away from people. I have been hurt too many times and satan loves to use that fear against me. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts are so right on! I have gone through those thought processes many, many times. And your conclusions are PERFECT! The little boy offered to Jesus the lunch he had for himself and Jesus used it to feed a crowd. All we can do is offer what we have and Jesus does miracles.
ReplyDelete