Will write for food

Sometimes your bristles are up for a length of time. I'm less sensitive to it now because I've worked through my feelings after hearing so many attacks on how I use my time.

One of the most offensive experiences happened in front of a room full of strangers. I enrolled in a writing class because I wanted to hone my talents for observation. Besides, being in the same room with a bunch of creative people gets the juices flowing. However – this class was not what I'd hoped for, nor was the teacher gracious or encouraging.

In the first class, each person answered a few ice-breaker questions and talked about what they were interested in. I took the plunge, because I got some 'spiritual' vibes from the teacher, and stated my Faith. Gulp!

'Write what you know' was the beginning mantra. Well, what DID I know?? I was defining Home and still discovering myself. So, that's what I picked. I faithfully attended class, but my instructor harbored thinly-veiled hostilities. She banged the drum of active verbs and insisted I start my triteste with: 'I'm a wife; I don't work.'

“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thes. 3:10).

I acquiesced because I've always trusted the Teacher more than myself. But, it felt like a Lie. And It was. But I no longer need to justify myself. I Do work – a lot. My status as a married woman does not change that. Even though I choose my compensation, my labor is not second-class.

Hourly v. Salary

I like the the mentality of hourly work; I like it's definite boundaries. Easier to define than salary, product-driven, or contract-work, wage work is less complicated.

Recently I heard a sermon on Ephesians 6:1-9 and I realized this teaching, along with another edict from Saint Paul (as follows), is fundamental to my work ethic. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Col. 3:23:24).

Since God sees everything I do, my fearful response is to work all the time, as if to Gain His Favor. I know that pace is unsustainable – I have limited focus and energy. I mush find balance between work and rest (daily and weekly). God modeled this for me by resting on the seventh day.

One challenge of working at home is that I always see the work that's unfinished – dishes in the sink, laundry in the hamper, dirt on the floor, piles of papers to be sorted. Even a consistent, conscious choice to look past those tasks only lasts so long. People need to eat! And while man does not live on bread alone, he does need bread.

God Rested 1/7^th of the time He Created. Could I use His scale for each day? (Maybe I should up the fraction, since I'm not All-Powerful.) One-sixth of each day allotted for work, not counting sleep time, because that would take more than its share while leaving me exhausted.

24 hours total = 8 hours sleep + 16 hours awake

2.67 hours for Resting...wow.

What counts as Resting?