A party takes work, time, and a group of people with a common desire to celebrate someone or something.
We had a birthday party for our one year old today. It was very very fun. It was a lot of work.
First, like any party, there are the invitations. These are the easiest to get out because of social media networks like Facebook or Evite. However, this is also tricky because anyone you don't invite has the potential of feeling left out as soon as those pictures get posted from the party.
Then there is the menu plan. Pizza. Not just ordering out, but making dough from scratch. The grocery list is long, but the ingredients are simple: flour, vegetables, and cheese.
Then there is the shopping. Planning the perfect time to shop considering baby's nap time and feeling out when Grandpa is feeling the most generous to sponsor part of a trip to Costco.
(Costco story: My dad thought it would be cute to let Tali play with his AMEX card while riding in the front of the cart. It was cute until we filled the cart up and he asked where his card was. After some emergency prayer request texts to family members my dad asked a manager if anyone had turned in an AMEX card …Praise God my dad got his card back.)
Then there is the prep work. Veggie prep, dough making, fire prep (for the outdoor pizza oven), lawn mowing, table and chairs set up, awning setup, last minute cleaning, etc… this part takes many hours.
Then friends and family show up. While we can hope that most of the people at the party are there at your desire, I think it's safe to say that some invitees require just a smidgen more effort to enjoy. Fortunately, I feel like everyone who came to the party today blessed us very very much.
Then there's orchestrating what happens when, and who's going to take care of it. There's food service, prayer, cake cutting, present opening, and lots of introductions to friends meeting family an visa versa. Thank God she's not old enough for games yet.
Then, after the party, your place is trashed (delightfully and respectfully so if it's not a college party) and it's time to clean up.
The devil is a party pooper. At each step he will shout party pooping messages. "No one's gonna come to the party this time," or "You shouldn't prepare all this food for people, it's such a waste of your time and resources," or "You should be upset that you have to clean all this up."
With each lie he suggests I counter with my party shield of faith. "We're gonna have a good time no matter who doesn't come because we're celebrating what the Lord has done" or "preparing all this food for people is a beautiful love offering that will bless them and enrich our fellowship together" or "Thank you Lord that You've given us so much to clean up."
Oh God, You are good. Thank you for teaching us how to party. Help us to invite more people to your party because the inviting is easy. Help us to not get weary in the prep work. Help us to follow your direction in the challenges of stewardship and clean up so that we may more fully enjoy the glorious party that You are preparing for us.
Ephesians 6:16 NIV In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
We had a birthday party for our one year old today. It was very very fun. It was a lot of work.
First, like any party, there are the invitations. These are the easiest to get out because of social media networks like Facebook or Evite. However, this is also tricky because anyone you don't invite has the potential of feeling left out as soon as those pictures get posted from the party.
Then there is the menu plan. Pizza. Not just ordering out, but making dough from scratch. The grocery list is long, but the ingredients are simple: flour, vegetables, and cheese.
Then there is the shopping. Planning the perfect time to shop considering baby's nap time and feeling out when Grandpa is feeling the most generous to sponsor part of a trip to Costco.
(Costco story: My dad thought it would be cute to let Tali play with his AMEX card while riding in the front of the cart. It was cute until we filled the cart up and he asked where his card was. After some emergency prayer request texts to family members my dad asked a manager if anyone had turned in an AMEX card …Praise God my dad got his card back.)
Then there is the prep work. Veggie prep, dough making, fire prep (for the outdoor pizza oven), lawn mowing, table and chairs set up, awning setup, last minute cleaning, etc… this part takes many hours.
Then friends and family show up. While we can hope that most of the people at the party are there at your desire, I think it's safe to say that some invitees require just a smidgen more effort to enjoy. Fortunately, I feel like everyone who came to the party today blessed us very very much.
Then there's orchestrating what happens when, and who's going to take care of it. There's food service, prayer, cake cutting, present opening, and lots of introductions to friends meeting family an visa versa. Thank God she's not old enough for games yet.
Then, after the party, your place is trashed (delightfully and respectfully so if it's not a college party) and it's time to clean up.
The devil is a party pooper. At each step he will shout party pooping messages. "No one's gonna come to the party this time," or "You shouldn't prepare all this food for people, it's such a waste of your time and resources," or "You should be upset that you have to clean all this up."
With each lie he suggests I counter with my party shield of faith. "We're gonna have a good time no matter who doesn't come because we're celebrating what the Lord has done" or "preparing all this food for people is a beautiful love offering that will bless them and enrich our fellowship together" or "Thank you Lord that You've given us so much to clean up."
Oh God, You are good. Thank you for teaching us how to party. Help us to invite more people to your party because the inviting is easy. Help us to not get weary in the prep work. Help us to follow your direction in the challenges of stewardship and clean up so that we may more fully enjoy the glorious party that You are preparing for us.
Ephesians 6:16 NIV In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
RSS Feed