Spending Life

Ephesians 5:15-17 (New International Version)
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

The scripture reference above came in an email from Harold Taylor today, with a note to say that these verses drive home the importance of time for him.

He also said:
"I will be interviewed by Christine Williams, On the Line, on CTV 2 PM October 3rd. This time it's stress and I suppose I'll be talking about the relationship between time and stress. Eli Bay, stress specialist, will be on the same program."

It sounds like something to mark on our calendars and watch if we can!
_________________________________________________

Isaiah 30:18 (New International Version)
18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

As I read this verse before starting my day, I saw that God is not passive, detached or cerebral in his caring for us--but action oriented, initiating--he rises to show compassion. Our part...to wait. How we turn it all around--we want to be up and about and doing. We are like unbridled race horses--our energy unfocused.

Matthew 9:36 (New International Version)
36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Dear Lord, please help me and my friends who struggle with "overload." Please help us to "make the most of every opportunity," and "understand what the Lord's will is." Please teach us how to resist the pressures that pull us in many different directions and help us to keep our eyes and ears on you.

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage

Image
Note from Belinda: I read this prayer yesterday and again today--and then I read it to Susan after cell group, when we were having our "second cup" of decaff coffee together. I knew that she'd love it. She has a framed picture on her office wall of a little blond haired girl in a sail boat on a stormy sea. A fatherly sailor,with a weather beaten face; in a gray sou'wester, holds her close, as he capably mans the tiller. This prayer reminds me of that picture and influenced what I wrote earlier today, when I used the metaphor of ebbing waves to describe a lack of consistency and my desire to crash over the sandbar into the peaceful pool on the other side.  ( Susan sent me a link to the painting, which was done by American impressionist Robert Reid in 1888.  It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.) Be bless ed by the beauty of this prayer. OH LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the ...
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c...
Read more