"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10

God's law commands that we love others as we love ourselves. This stresses the value and priority we should place on "other people." One way to love on others with the love of God is to serve them. Jesus spent His precious time on the earth loving and serving people. His purpose was the Ultimate Sacrifice, which was in fact the Ultimate Act of Servanthood. It's hard to shut people out and love them at the same time. When we serve others, we serve God.

Like most kids growing up, many of my days were spent wanting to play outside; hoping mom would make "busketty" (national kid-speak for "spaghetti") for supper; and watching tons of television. Of course, I could only get back to playing and T.V. if I could manage to swallow (without the aid of any liquids) the "good-for-you" food on my plate that night. Sure, mom was trying to get my brother and I to expand our culinary horizons; but once it's proven a particular kind of food brings on the gag-reflex, you need to move on. Besides, there's always 'Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.' "Good for you" food equaled "an awful waste of space."

I mean seriously??? why take the time to put a puzzle together of tatooine when I had a toy land speeder I could put Chewbacca and Lando in and play away! But as I grew older, I began to appreciate the process of things more than simply the end result. I realized that Christmas is AWESOME... but the ANTICIPATION of Christmas is even better, and I have learned to savor those times with my children, friends and family.

About 2 years ago I went through the process of building a new home. It was an exciting process and the joy of seeing it go up....t aking the kids over and letting them see their unfinished rooms was very exciting. My wife and I happened to be driving by when we saw the wet cement. We decided to go like a couple of school kids and carve our initials into the cement and profess our undying love for each other. It is still part of the porch today!