Days Flying By

It's almost disturbing how quickly time passes!  Weeks are no longer defined by days, but activities!  Days are shorter too, with darkness falling around 6pm (soon to be 5pm).

Mondays are swimming and gymnastics, after homework.  Tuesdays Scott leads the men's group at church (which is having a major impact in the lives of the guys who go). Wednesdays is swimming again, and every other week I go to a bible study.  Thursdays are usually clear, but somehow seem to fill, or disappear all to quick.  Fridays are ballet and every other week Emma leads a bible study for girls at church.  Scott is starting to work more Saturdays as the building completion deadline approaches, great for our cash flow, not for family time!  Sundays are always church, and we strive to rest, but often take the opportunity to visit with friends.

And so the cycle repeats, week after week, with slight variations here and there.  We moved quickly from summer to autumn, and winter is knocking at the door.

Ecclesiates 3 says

¹  There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

¹⁵ Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.

I'm not sure I even understand all of that passage, but it does convey a couple of things to me: time is precious.  Each season we go through has purpose and rather than rush our lives to reach the next, we should embrace whatever experience we are in.  Also, everything is useful for our growth, understanding, and correction from God.  He will use the circumstances we are in to produce character change in us, when we are submitted to Him.

Time is moving fast, and after attending a funeral this weekend, I am painfully aware of how short it is.  But that is only evident when examined in light of eternity.  If we fail to see our existence as unending, and our lives as preparation for that, we miss how truly precious this time is.

The days go fast, and our lives fly by.  Before you know it, your baby boy is 8 years old.  It's easy to forget the cherubic face and tiny little body 

 

 

when I look at the tall, lean, jumping bean that Toby has become!

I'm thankful that he does not seem to be too big to want to come and snuggle with me when he wakes up in the night (even if I don't always appreciate it!), to even setting up camp on the floor beside my bed to be close.

We argue at times, but no matter what, he is always happy to have me sing to him at bedtime, and lay with him as he falls asleep.

Toby is, and always was, a doer!  He would rather be throwing, riding, or catching something in the yard than reading a book or watching TV.  He has a quick wit, and a kind heart.  I love this little monkey!!

Happy birthday Toby!  Forever my baby you'll be!

Fresh Eyes

I'm back from Tijuana, back in the routine, back to work.  Everything is the same, yet different.  I am different.  I am seeing the world through different eyes.  I'm noticing where my lifestyle is excessive, where attitudes are hardened, and where compassion is lacking.  

I'm clinging to this new perspective, that compels me to love my neighbor, to value all human life, to understand that all I have truly belongs to God.  I am simply a steward of my time, my possessions, and my resources.  

I'm not quite ready to sell it all and take the family on the mission field, but that's because I don't feel like that's what God is asking me to do right now.  Instead, he is asking me to look at everything I just mentioned, and evaluate how I am using it.  Where do I need to make changes, so that I can shed the distractions and things that cause me stress?  How can I be more intentional with my resources, so that my relationships are stronger?

It's not news that debt is bad, narrow margins cause stress, and self-centeredness is destructive.  But avoiding them is a lifelong challenge!

I appreciate the timing of this trip, and the sad passing of friends recently, to combine in a powerful reminder, no, more of a wake-up call, of the brevity and purpose of life.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.

Luke 17:33

Maybe it sounds extreme, to lay down your will for the purpose of Christ, but surely that is the ONLY appropriate response when you believe that He first laid down His.

Check out this brief glimpse into our trip!