I-Hope You Know...

I recently started working as a waitress at IHOP. My first ever waitress job. I know it's sounds super weird but I have always wanted a server job like either at a restaurant or at a fancy hotel where you have the black and white uniform and a towel over your right forearm and wait on people. Don't ask me why but I've always liked the idea of serving people and meeting a variety of people as well.
As you may well know, IHOP is not a 5-star type restaurant but what it offers is MAJOR friendliness and really good, fatty food. :) <--hey, that's why everything taste good.
It's only been my fourth day on the day I'm writing this and here is why IHOP is one of my post.


The dishwasher, as you can imagine, washes hundreds of dishes at light speed and doesn't necessarily dry every single piece of silverware which in turn leaves watermarks on the silverware giving it the look that it's 'dirty' but it's not. Now, I've encountered people (and trust me I was one of those people before I started working at IHOP and started putting 2 and 2 together) who are very haughty when they say this, "This knife is dirty" (insert stink face here) "Can I get another one." (customer rolls eyes with the 'I-can't-believe-they-gave-me-a-dirty-utensil' huff). At this point, its useless to try to explain to the customer that it's not dirty but it is just water mark because we don't hand dry our utensils....uh never mind. They just want to see a clean, brighter than diamond sparkly clean knife.

The Scripture from Matthew 15:11 came to mind after this happened to me a few times at IHOP; 

"It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled  by the words that come out of your mouth."  

So many of us are overly concern about what goes in our mouths but not what comes out of it. Jesus said in both Luke 6:45 and Matthew 12:34 that what comes out of your mouth is determined by what is in your heart. Your speech surely does betray you either for the good or bad. So what is left to ask ourselves is, "How can I get good in my heart so what comes out is good?".... Well, it's two-part deal. 

• First, you must GUARD your heart. In Proverbs 4:23, it says "Guard your heart above all else for it  determines the course of your life." If you are constantly listening to crap, that thing is getting in you and sooner or later if you are not guarding your heart, crap gets in you and crap will come out. So guard you heart, do whatever it takes. If its stopping following that stupid show or stopping hanging out or having a long conversation with a certain individual, do it. Don't let garbage get in you. 
• Secondly, you must FILL you heart with the WORD OF GOD which you can only find by reading the Bible yourself (emphasis on yourself). It is great to sit under a man and woman of God and eat from what they have brought to you, but God is a personal God and want to fellowship with you one-on-on on a daily basis. Psalm 119:9,11 says; "How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word."--"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." 

There is no way you can obey God's Word, if you don't know God's Word or have purposefully hidden His Word in your heart. 

The Bible is not just a religious book, but its God's Living, Breathing Word. Those Words can bring to life things that have been dead in your life. But again, you have to read it, get to know it for yourself, so this beautiful life-transforming relationship with Jesus to begin. 

Be Blessed, 

Pwendy