Time of Our Lives

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It was a fabulous adventure, a mystery-dinner event that we play-acted last night after just a few rehearsals, and my role was the doctor – checking on everyone and how they were feeling – with a few mysteries of my own which got revealed “in time”… And we all worked together as the family team we are, even if we had just met. I love meeting people and we share a cause – I love working the people who know that we are in this life together and we can do great things – even if it is simply showing up for someone else.

Such a hilarious time – less stress and certainly many hands make LIGHT work – and wow the director writer concept everything young woman has a great bright future ahead of her – everyone loves someone who knows how to run the ship. We got into ship shape and sailed into the program with just a few rehearsals… whew…

Both in practice and then for the actual event, we cracked each other up with our ad-libs, staying in character, which was the treat for us too – to be witty. The audience suspected MANY people, and a marvelous time was had by all. And yummy food, and blessed after party for decompression, I loved seeing the maid still costumed doing karaoke… her kids were tired, but she could have rolled on hours and hours more… Another mom there had rode the train up to the big city and then back in the same day – time well spent and managed – and then got to this big event. Time rolls like a train – steadily at times – stopping at times – and isn’t that the most interesting thing about time, it often rolls on when we are not noticing. It is hard for us to imagine how long we live without noticing we have lived it, and then wow it is 50 years later.

Time – I carried the old fashioned timepiece as a fashion accessory, a chain with watchface, it was 1960s or 1970s not 1800’s, but I found it quite suitable for the scene of the doctor checking for a pulse. I held it and it was snapped into my vest, a gorgeous quilted maroon fabric I got at the thrift store. The whole ensemble came together in 10 minutes and well that was time well spent. And well the people of the time – the gentleman of that time – had to have precise time pieces and synchronized their watches on chains often.

This watchpiece necklace however was my grandmother’s – my dad’s mom – from the 1970’s. I can remember my dad giving it to my grandma because the watch she wore on her wrist was one that would wind by you moving your arm normally and my grandma was in a nursing home and she was very very sedentary, having lost a leg to “the sugar” as they called it in those days. My grandma never complained and kept as busy as she could in craft projects and watching TV, which I also remember the day my dad brought her a great big TV she could have at her bedside – wow. I remember so much of those 10 years of me visiting her in the nursing home – every other day – my dad found time (or tried to) every day to visit her if only a short time – and my dad was busy – but how important to visit – it was not a text message or phone call, but a check-in – and also his random timeslots he thought would keep the nurses on their toes too – helping them know that he might be in to see her – and hopefully that gave her better care. I remember my family saying it simply could not care for her at home and for 2 small children at the same time and both working too. We can never be in two or more different places at the same time. I do remember so much time was spent for me in childhood – time then seemed so slow and now it flies. I know that I had a blessed childhood full of love and that is priceless. I pray every child gets a memory database full of cherished times.

Time does fly – it is a memory now – 50 years ago – and it is a recurring fresh thought that the time we spend with people is SO important – family who are friends and friends who are family – and even random people to whom we can make a difference… Honestly it is the time of our lives that we can be semi-stewards of – as we get to choose what we do in leisure time – which is much more these days than our parents had or our grandparents or before them… Let us use our time wisely.

And there are times we can not take – just not enough time in the day – so true. And there are times (not often for me) where time stands still – but I have seen it – and more often when you are trying to fit MUCH into a moment, well it seems there is time for it! Especially when I am in a situation where I think I have synchronized my clock with God’s. Remember it isn’t the other way around. God’s Time is His Own – we barely live within the sweeping hand of time – hold onto life while we can.

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” – 2 Peter 3:8

I can not even imagine what time feels like to God – I know that we need sleep and wow I was so tired I could have slept on the dining room table last night at the after party while the maid-dressed spitfire of a lady was dancing and singing karoke… I was ready for my crash. And I can not even imagine that God never tires – never rests – is all- knowing – that alone should make us realize that His Ways are above our ways. We are human people being human and God is perfect. Of all the time we have – may we be praising the Lord for the time He gives us – and praise Him in all circumstances good and bad.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” – Isaiah 40:28

So – I could spend all of time writing how amazing the Lord is and how we should make the most of our time – but really – WE SHOULD MAKE THE MOST OF OUR TIME. And we (I certainly do) thank the Lord that He makes us stop and rest too – resting restores our minds, our muscles, our movement – to get up and do it (living each day) again…

And so I put this beautiful watch away – actually hang it to the wall where I notice it on occasion and remember the memories – remember the shortness of life – remember to keep moving. I try not to watch the clock but sometimes I do… I don’t wear a watch (I use my phone) – and this past year has been a whole other type of time management – but I do remember that TIME IS A GIFT…

And the time we have is well worth living within God’s Time – He is beginning and end – we are given precious moments for Him for sure.

Let us LIVE the Time of our lives, because WE CAN.

AMEN

AMEN – and thank You Lord for the rest so I can be onto my next great adventure today…


“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8


Human Traces are Temporary, God is FOREVER, Psalm 119

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Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.

The papers in my friend’s basement of old records (like most people I know, we accumulate piles and piles) were up to 20 years of receipts and important statements from the mail – important once but not anymore – but this little paper, color blue, stood out – it rose to the top of my eye – it was a scripture – carefully written and preserved: “But You are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.” Psalm 119:151, so true and so preserved – even if the paper is tattered and then I got rain on it – and then noticed the fading number caused me to research the whole psalm – helping me find the true statement that in Psalm 151 – the Lord makes His Commands LAST – as HIS Word LASTS!!!!

Stuff – we move that around – but paper – a blessing and a curse – Shredding is a blessing for personal information – stuff you don’t want lying around the trash will accumulate until you find a shredding option. And you have to sort it out – like the most important stuff once is the most important to destroy later. HOWEVER, the Lord’s Word never returns void to Him – so what He has moving around is for a purpose – and then He can let it go too – because He and His Word is eternal.

Right now, personally I am making MORE paper, I am copying 2 months of electronic writings from my blog page back into a Word document format for making a PDF and then printing via an office superstore. (No I don’t print them at home or work, but I take the leap of financial faith that paying 10 dollars for a month of writing, printed in duplicate, in really good quality and by a convenient way – that it works for me) So, YES, printing is important for me – especially because I believe paper will last and be passed on…  My blog will last for a while but you never know… So, I am thinking that at my funeral someday, maybe it is best to display my writings over any other of my knick-knacks or junk…  Yeah – my writing is my NOT SECRET writing – my writing is from my reading – my expression of my personal study – but also that I try to take too much personal out of it and talk about Holy Spirit driven-ness. And will these paper copies last? NO !! Yes I sense that my paper will last a little time – but again – I write from the Written Word – it lasts in being passed on.

I always come to this moment – wondering WHY I write. I don’t worry about it because it is God’s blessing for me to process. And based upon the people’s feedback, I am appreciative of their support – encouragement to my encouragement. But is is a natural question of pursuing God’s Will – why do I write and in what format? It interests me as a study of me – but especially as a study of God and His push. And of course we all do need a gentle push from God – or a pull – or at least that hug of love from His Word.

I am also wondering, always, what do I do with them from here? I know that I am to stay in the blog format – this is key – I write in emails so that they are instantly backed up. And have an email following as well as people who just accept my writings knowing I never ask them to read them – but to know that I HAVE to write. But now in addition, do I take these into a book? Re-write any? Who knows! The blogs are uploaded for security and convenience.

Us being grounded in the Word means to me that I remember that we are finite and He is infinite!!! My writings are for now – hoping to encourage others NOW – and maybe the next few years they will be applicable and explainable and accessible. I will let them go! But His Word? His Word is for FOREVER. And this means He will also be with us FOREVER. “But You are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.” Psalm 119:151

Precious and True. The Lord IS near and the Word LIVES. Truly Lives

Amen

Psalm 119:145-152 Qoph
I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,
    and I will obey your decrees.
I call out to you; save me
    and I will keep your statutes.
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promises.
Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
Yet you are near, Lord,
    and all your commands are true.
Long ago I learned from your statutes
    that you established them to last forever.