Realizing the Value of Time and Relationships

Friends sent me this writing recently. It will touch you somewhere in your heart:

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

 

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby.

 

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

 

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

 

To realize
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

 

Time waits for no one.

 

Treasure every moment you have.

 

You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

 

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

 

LOSE ONE.

 

(The origin of this letter is unknown)

Grateful

My Prayer for Midnight or Midday

In midnight or midday,
We need You, Dear Lord.
To surely watch o'er us,
But, so very much more.

Our lives without You,
Are empty at best.
We run here and there,
Without breath, without rest.

So, come to us, Jesus,
We call on Your Name.
Don't leave us as orphans,
On You, we must lean.

Unless You're beside us,
We'll fade towards death.
How we need You inside us,
Please reign in our depths.

We pray for clear vision,
Lest we would become blind.
We long for Forever,
Yet, we're stuck here in time.

When you surely come for us,
Find faith in our souls.
We long for Your Presence,
While Eternity rolls.

Grateful

Opportunities to Get to Know God

Could it be that the whole thing we all know as a lifetime-on-planet-earth -- with all of its' joys and sorrows, conclusions and confusions, prizes and pains -- is simply but profoundly about nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else other than a time-frame extended to us by God so that we as human beings receive multiplied opportunities to get to know Holy God so that we won't be strangers to Him when time is up and eternity begins?

(8) Dear friends, don’t ignore this fact: One day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. (9) The Lord isn’t slow to do what He promised, as some people think. Rather, He is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to Him and change the way they think and act.
-- 2 Peter 3:8-9 (GWT)

Lord, for the opportunties to get to know You, I am forever...
...Grateful

The Sender of the Snow

We are experiencing our first substantial snowfall of the season. The local forecast is calling for 2-5 inches of accumulation but that may be a little conservative?

There's something mysterious and marvelous about the first snowfall of the year. It tends to slow us down a bit and causes us to remember that we are not the ones who are really in control. The Sender of the Snow is.

He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’...
-- Job 37:5b-6a (NKJV)

Fresh fallen snow reminds us of purity. Under a fresh blanket of snowflakes, the world seems almost innocent. As I sit here by the window in the soft glow of our decorated Fraser Fir Christmas tree, the snow is still coming down. It's as if time is standing still. And it seems I can faintly hear voices throughout the ages singing that familiar, sacred, and beloved hymn of the holy days:

Silent Night, Holy Night,
All is Calm, All is Bright.

Thank you Lord, Oh Great Sender of the Snow. Thanks for being in control and for proving it most undeniably by being the Sender of Your Son. Long before today's snowfall arrived to bring a blanket of purity to the landscape, Your Son arrived, was wrapped in a blanket, to purify our lives from sin. As time seems to stand still, I give thanks for the silence, the holiness, the calmness, and the brightness of Your amazing love. It is all quite mysterious, but even more marvelous. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

ALL JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful

My God

Time is in His hands and eternity is in His eyes. Yes, that's my God.

From eternity to eternity I am God. -- Isaiah 43:13 (NLT)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Devotion Dilemma

We have (during these too-busy days that we "live" in) what I call, a devotion dilemma. Yes, sadly, it seems that people these days have little or no time at all for praying. However, if we are to ever learn to pray, it will take time and plenty of it. If we are to ever know God in ever-increasing intimacy it will require seasons of prayer in His presence, not just seconds of prayer as we wrecklessly race into the future. Let us take time immediately for intimacy with Immanuel or time will take us ultimately from His presence for eternity.

Lord, teach us TO pray... -- Luke 11:1 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Why Rest Awhile?

In a poem by Mrs. Chas. Cowman, these words hint at one wonderful reason why workers in the Lord's harvest, should take time for sabbath rest?

To cease awhile from all the joy of service,
To find a deeper joy with Him to share.

And Jesus said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. -- Mark 6:31-32 (NKJV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Our Time, His Eternity

If we will give God our "time" today, He will give us His "Eternity" today, tomorrow, and forever.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Take Time to Be Holy

Today is my precious Mom's 68th birthday. I just talked with her on the phone. After I had spoken well wishes and given thanks for her life, she, as always, tenderly turned the conversation away from herself and to our Lord. She said. "Son, I haven't been able to get the words of that old hymn, Take Time to Be Holy, off of my mind."

Lord, I am so grateful for the gift of a Christlike Mom. Help her eldest son to saturate day-by-day in the words of the holy hymn that's on her mind today. In Jesus' Holy name, I pray. Amen.

Take Time to Be Holy -- William D. Longstaff, 1822-1894

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
abide in Him always, and feed on His word.
Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak,
forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,
and run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
and, looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

TIME Magazine's Person of the Year?

This morning I heard a news station talking about who should be TIME Magazine's Person of the Year? Who's your person of the year? I cast my vote for The Baby, yes, count my vote for The little bitty, Baby Who was born, born, born in Bethlehem.

The Christ Child may not be TIME'S Person of the Year, but rest assured He already has been HISTORY'S Person Across the Years and will continue to be ETERNITY'S Person Beyond the Years.

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful