I am not just a pastor.  I also have a side gig, whether I am supposed to by the rules of the denomination I serve or not.  I am also a Tupperware consultant.  Back in the day, I would have been called a Tupperware lady.  I became a Tupperware consultant mostly because I remember Tupperware from my growing up days.  I know the quality of the product.  Shoot, I still have some of the Tupperware that my mom purchased when I was a little bitty girl.  It is still around and functioning.  So, when given the opportunity, I signed up to become a consultant just so I could get a discount on Tupperware I bought for personal use.  I didn’t think about it at the time, but there is only so much Tupperware that I can use and that I have room to store in my kitchen.  A discount on purchases is pretty useless when you aren’t purchasing anything.  What I have subsequently learned is that Tupperware parties are where the Tupperware business survives and thrives.  So, yes I have held more than a few Tupperware parties since I signed up to be a consultant.

Now, as you already probably know, this blog is not about Tupperware parties and side gigs.  It is a place to come to learn a little about Jesus and a little bit about faith.  So, how does Tupperware fit in?  I am getting to that.  One thing I have discovered about Tupperware parties is that there really is a momentum about them.  Before I moved last summer, Tupperware parties were fairly easy to come by.  I could usually book at least one additional one from each party I was running.  Friends in the community and family were very gracious in that respect.  When we moved, that momentum shifted some.  Since I was busy packing, moving, and learning my new church and my new community, I was not working nearly as many hours on the Tupperware side.  I was still booking parties, but not as many and not as frequently.  Then Advent came.  I was working a lot more hours in my pastoring job.  I also got sick at that time, so when I wasn’t working I was lying on the couch or sleeping, just hoping to regain some modicum of health and energy.  Tupperware was not happening.  By now I have lost all the momentum I had at one time.  I completely took the month of January to step away from all things Tupperware just because I needed to take care of myself first.  As February starts, I am finding it really hard to get back into the swing of things and I am finding it really hard to get my first post-break party on the books.

This is where the Jesus and faith thing comes in.  I have found that our faith journey is much like the momentum of Tupperware.  When we are actively participating in it, it works a lot better.  When we actually take the time to read God’s word, to pray, and to spend time with Jesus it always seems – to me anyway – that it is easier to move on to the next step on the faith journey.  Reading one chapter of Scripture seems to spur me on to another one, whether it is that day or the next.  Attending church services one week makes it easier to attend the next week.  Spending time with Jesus in prayer helps me to want to do it again.  But when I take a break from faith, it is hard to get started in the things of faith again.  I just can’t seem to find the time or the desire to step into that area again.

There is a quote that is attributed to Craig Lounsbrough that says, “If the road behind me is not growing ever longer, then it is likely that the feet underneath me are not moving any longer.  And if my feet are not moving, I have somehow; somewhere traded this most glorious journey for lesser endeavor.”  This is the way it is with our faith.  If we are not moving for Jesus, we are moving for something else.  So, if we aren’t seeing or feeling or being fruitful in our faith, we need to take a serious look at ourselves and our priorities.  Where are our steps taking us?  Where are we moving, or not moving?

Matthew 6:33 says, “Strive first for the kingdom of Gid and his righteousness and all these things shall be given unto you.”  It is always the right time to put God first.  When we do God will take care of the things that we so often give priority to over God.  So, let’s put our Tupperware lady-like energy into our faith journeys.  Let’s take that first step.  One little verse.  One little prayer.  One hour to attend church on Sunday.  Make that first step on the long journey of faith and watch as the road behind us gets ever longer.  Because when it does, that is a sure sign that we are drawing ever closer to Jesus.  And that, my friends, is so important.

Other than that, this pastor (and Tupperware lady) has nothing to say today.