30 Days of Serving & Sharing: Patience & Self-Control

by Sally Matheny We’re delving into our next portion of 30 Days of Serving & Sharing. The focus this week is on patience and self-control. Oh, mercy! Perhaps I should have asked someone else to guest blog for me on this one.

Patience

“The ability to remain calm when dealing with a difficult or annoying situation, task, or person,” – the kids’ definition from Merriam-Webster.com

Self-control

“The restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” -Merriam-Webster.com

Let’s gather the family and discuss ways we can serve and share with others that may require our patience and self-control. This is where sacrificial giving comes in. Here are a few ideas to get you started. What may seem easy and natural for some people, might stretch others out of their peaceful zone!

A Few Ideas for Your Family

Spend an afternoon helping an elderly person with housework. My daughters used to take turns volunteering to help a somewhat cantankerous couple clean their refrigerator. The couple was insistent on how it needed to be done. Directions for meticulous procedures were given for areas beginning with the top of the freezer to the area between the fridge and the floor. Great opportunities for my girls to learn patience and self-control! Host members of your child’s sports team for a cookout or host a local sports’ team for an aftergame meal at your church. Let this be a time of encouragement. Some kids never receive that at home. In a checkout line, offer to let the person behind you go first, even if you have fewer items. Babysit the rowdy kids no one else will. Volunteer in the church nursery. Take a child fishing who has never been before. When someone who struggles with finances and asks you for advice, help them plan a budget or teach them wise shopping skills. Practice self-control in your own spending on unessential items for thirty days. How much did you save? As a family, decide how you could use the extra money to help someone in need. After waiting an incomprehensibly long time in the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant, if something must be said to the server at the window, let it be kind. On the flip side of that, your teens may be working part-time jobs. If they ever receive rebukes, especially unwarranted ones from a customer, they’ll have an opportunity to show self-control and patience! The next time you’re out running errands, show patience by not looking at your electronic device when someone is talking to you- cashier, sales associate, acquaintance. Show self-control when someone you’re trying to talk to is focusing on their electronic device! When you see someone venting about their spouse/friend on social media, pause and reflect before jumping in. Whether you agree or disagree with that person, and you want to offer advice, remember two things. The person is writing an emotional response to rally support and you’re only hearing one side of the story. If you’re wanting to share some wise counsel, consider doing that privately. Show love and patience to those who have different viewpoints than you. Practice silent prayer in your heart before speaking what’s on your mind. When there are conflicting schedules around the holidays, be considerate. Share your children who are married, with their in-laws. Even if it’s your traditional time to gather. After I got married, my mom always said to find out what my husband’s family had planned, and she’d work around that. What an example of grace and patience. Not once have I heard her complain about the amount of time we spent with my in-laws. I’ll never forget her unselfish gift of love. I hope to follow her example with my daughters. Consider inviting someone who has no family nearby, to share a meal with your family during the holidays. Here’s a good one to end on. Invite the out-of-town relatives to come to stay with you! If we want to serve others with love, especially under difficult circumstances, then we’ll certainly need to pray for patience and self-control. Next week, will be the last part of this series and the focus will be on serving and sharing joy and faithfulness. Other posts in this series: Part 1: Goodness and Kindness Part 2: Peace and Hope Part 3: Patience & Self-Control Part 4: Faithfulness & Joy How is it going with your family’s serving and sharing with others? Have any happy moments to share with us?

Winner of Last Week’s Giveaway

Speaking of happy, we randomly drew a winner of the Teeny Sweeney and the Mustache Cash book. Congratulations to “lbdwrites.” Woohoo! I’m not sure who this is, but I’ve sent you an email. Hopefully, I’ll receive news of where to mail the book. If I don’t hear back by Nov. 13, I will select another name from my blog email subscriber list.