#WordsOfWisdom

"Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back."

~Harvey Mackay

#MusicMonday

Just across the street in your hometown

Leaving from his nine-to-five

Gazing down the road

He wonders, is this all there is to life

Never been told the name of Jesus

He continues on his way

What a shame [oh yeah]

All around us are people living their lives: going to work, doing the grocery shopping, and organising meals. Every so often some of these people stop for a moment of reflection and wonder, "is this all there is to life?" I know; I used to be one of them. We all search for answers. Who among us will share them? Do our lives proclaim Jesus in all we do and say? Will we rise up for our King and say with Isaiah, "Here am I! send me"?

Here Am I by MercyMe

If Bible Heroes Followed Modern Wisdom | Esther

All around the world, children enjoy beautifully illustrated stories of heroic characters right from the Bible. These stories fill readers with awe and wonder, spark imagination, and (hopefully) instill biblical truths. I know I had my favourites, and it was fascinating to imagine myself in the hero's or heroine's position and wonder how I would've handled the situation. Recently, I've wondered how these stories may have turned out if the main characters had followed modern wisdom as accepted and promoted by the modern church, across many denominations. And this is the result. This series will feature well-loved stories of Bible heroes, retold to according to modern wisdom.

Long, long ago in a far off land, there lived a king who reigned over a large kingdom. After months of showing off his riches and splendour, he hosted an incredible feast in the palace. It lasted a whole week! The curtains hung from silver rods, the couches were made of gold and silver, and even the drinks were served in golden vessels! At the end of the week, the king had enjoyed himself so much that he became drunk. Against protocol he called for the queen to come so that he could show off her beauty as well. He felt very angry when she refused. So he made a law that she wouldn't be allowed to see him anymore, or be queen.

After he calmed down, his advisors suggested that beautiful girls be brought to him so that he could choose his favourite and make her queen. The king liked this idea and agreed to it. His officers got to work gathering beautiful girls from all around the kingdom. When Esther, an orphaned Jew raised by her cousin, was taken, her cousin checked how she was and what was happening to her every day. 

Esther was beautiful and she won favour with her custodian and all who saw her. And in this respect, the king wasn't much different than everyone else. Esther won his favour and he loved her more than all the other girls. So he put a crown on her head and made her queen. He gave another feast to celebrate, and granted a remission of taxes.

One day, Esther saw her cousin Mordecai at the king's gate wearing sackcloth and mourning deeply. She sent one of her servants to find out why, and learned that an edict had been written in the king's name instructing people to kill, destroy, and annihilate the Jews and plunder their goods on a specific day. Everywhere the decree reached, the Jews fasted and cried and lamented.

Mordecai told Esther that she should go to the king and beg and plead for the lives of her people.

She responded: “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

Then Mordecaid said: "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

"Oh Mordecai," said Esther, "I truly do appreciate all your time and effort looking after me since my parents died, and I thank you for that. But sometimes you take things a bit far. God is mighty! He's sovereign! He is so much bigger and greater than you and I, and His plans can't possibly be overthrown by my actions."

"You know I'm not questioning God's strength, Esther. His plans will certainly succeed with or without your obedience. If you keep silent you will not overthrow God's plans, but you will perish; you and your father's house. Maybe He brought you to the throne with this situation in mind."

"Sometimes I wish all this would just stop Mordecai. All my friends used to talk about the special things they did with their parents, but I don't even remember mine! I always felt like I missed out and that was hard. Then I got dragged away from the home I did have to perform for an angry man with a drinking problem who only wants me for my body. I've been through a lot! I just want it to stop. I need a break. I want to relax and take things easy for a little while, and enjoy my new position as queen. Why do you insist on making me think about negative things again?"

Esther lay back on her golden couch to rest, her servants ready to do her bidding at any moment and save her from the trouble of ever lifting a finger again. She felt content that God was truly powerful enough not to need her, and that He gave peace to His people and therefore wouldn't expect her to think of something so horrible. She never gave the matter another thought. 

The Jews were delivered by another source and God's plan stayed on track. Esther perished along with all her father's household.

You can read the real story in the Book of Esther. There are ten chapters.

#MusicMonday

 

Our Judge and our Defender

Suffered and crucified

Forgiveness is in You

Descended into darkness

You rose in glorious life

Forever seated high

This was actually one of the songs I considered requesting for my baptism. I love the energy and the way the lyrics get down to the basic, foundational beliefs of the Christian faith. Daily life can feel crazy at times and our attention is pulled in many directions all at once. I love stepping aside from it all for a few minutes to ground myself in the basics again. Yes, our world is messed up and sinful. Yes, I am too. Yes, judgement is coming. And YES, forgiveness is available. It's wonderful to know that my Judge and Defender has already descended into darkness and paid the full penalty, and having risen is now forever seated high.

This I Believe (The Creed) by Hillsong Worship

"It's Not A Priority"

Many of us in the modern world regularly complain, "I don't have time!" and I admit to using the phrase myself on far too many occasions. It's an easy phrase to respond with; it fits a wide variety of situations and is almost always accepted. After all, busy is good, right? It means we are living to our full potential, and doing everything we possibly can fit in our schedules. And what sort of person would expect us to do more than we have time for? Come on, we all know there are only so many hours in a day and no one can do everything.

"Why don't you learn to play that oboe in your cupboard like you've always said you wanted to?"

"I don't have time!"

"Would you mind feeding the cat tonight?"

"I don't have time!"

"Can we get coffee together next week?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time!"

A few months ago I was challenged to rephrase this: instead of saying, "I don't have time," say, "It's not a priority." OUCH! That sure hit where it hurt! My knee-jerk reaction was to object. Of course all these other things are important to me, it's just that I have so much going on that I can't fit in everything that's important to me--I care about a lot of things! There are all these things I want to do, but there are also all these other things that I have to do and I just don't have a choice about them, so the other ones will have to wait.

But deep down, I knew better.

The truth is, we all have time. We have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; that's 168 hours every week, over and over again for as long as we live. And it's the same for every one of us. Businessmen and women with seven-figure incomes, Olympic champions with their medals and trophies, the stereotypical millennial playing video games in his parents' basement, and every one of us in between. 

I choose to take that as encouragement. If others can accomplish so much with their time, and I have the same amount, then I can do great things too. But that comes down to priorities. I expect that all of us have control over how we spend our 168 each week, to at least some degree. How will we spend it? Which things will we do, and to which ones will we say, "It's not a priority"?

After getting through the initial punch of conviction my gut was subjected to, I continued to think on this new phrase I had learned and began using it in daily life. (In my head, if not aloud.) While I still find it convicting at times, I've also found it to be very freeing. When I am asked about an addition to my schedule, or am considering an addition myself, I now mentally add this phrase and see how the result sounds. In some cases the result is one I wouldn't dream of saying, so I take a look at my diary and make things work. In other cases the result is freeing and I don't need to give the issue any further thought. 

"I've been struggling a bit recently, do you think we could get coffee and talk next week?"

"Sure, how about (suggested time)?"

"Hey, have you seen the latest blockbuster??"

"No, it's not a priority."

"Do you think you could stay with the kids one evening so we can go out together? They'll be in bed already."

"Yes, I will bring some work with me."

"You used to enjoy trying all sorts of crafts! Do you still do that?"

"No, it's not a priority right now. Perhaps one day I will do more of it again, but for now there are other things that are more important to me so I am focusing my time on them."

So let's stop lamenting that we don't have time, because that clearly isn't true. Although 168 hours is a finite value, it isn't exactly tiny. We have time. We have a lot of it really. Be honest; what is a priority and what isn't? Do our schedules reflect our proclaimed priorities? If your voice had an autocorrect function and every time you tried to say, "I don't have time," it came out of your mouth as, "It's not a priority," would you be embarrassed or confident and content with the admission?

#MusicMonday

 

I’ve seen New York City now all covered in the snow

Shining bright with colored lights everywhere I go

But I feel something missing here and I long for something more

Oh, it’s still not the city that I’m looking for

And every time that I try to rest my troubled soul

All I find is I’m not at home

And I will walk every road the world may have in store

But it’s still not the city that I’m looking for

Cities all around our world boast magnificent architectural wonders, dazzling lights, and enthralling theme parks. We can shop an almost endless array of every item imaginable (and some not). The modern world has made luxury available to most of us. Dreamy sunsets draw a smile from those who notice them. And yet, amid so much beauty and wonder, something isn't right. This isn't home. This is not the city that I'm looking for. But there's one that I am, and nothing here can make me fear the promise of that shore.

City That I'm Looking For by The Willis Clan

#MusicMonday

 

There are days when we murmur about God's design

But the past quickly reminds us God's been faithful every time

His grace leaves us speechless astonished and amazed

We're overwhelmed by gratitude at the mercy that He displays

It can be easy to get frustrated and discontent and begin complaining when life doesn't seem to be working out how we planned. "This isn't working!" We exclaim, and quickly despair of there ever being a solution to the problem at hand. But if we shift our gaze, we find that God has been faithful every time before. He's never failed us, and He will continue to do exceeding abundantly far beyond all our dreams.

Exceeding Abundantly by The Wissmann Family

July Memories

Diana

Happy 15th Birthday, Diana!