Time

For the month of June I'll be participating in a Photo A Day Challenge. One prompt, one photo, & few words. The daily prompt is the title of each post. Click on the link below for more information.

June - Photo A Day Challenge

"What time is it?  It's party time.......!"

Happy Birthday to me!!!   : )

My friend Gail sent me this card.....I LOVE IT!



Our Daily Bread - Prayer

Life has been very busy since I last posted.  We had a wonderful visit with my mother.  Too short, very busy and lots of fun!!  We celebrated a birthday, took a day trip and the whole bunch went out to dinner one night.  Mom and I even did a bit of babysitting. There was never a dull moment.  We may have worn her out, but I think Bill "tricked" her into agreeing to come again in October...that's something for us to look forward to.!!

I was also in a craft show this past weekend....I made a little cash, spent a little cash, and enjoyed visiting with friends.  I didn't make a lot of things for this show...there just wasn't time.  But I did manage to make a few new things and I also decorated a jar and filled it with goodies. It's on the way to Oliva, my "Vintage Jar Swap" partner.  Photos of all these things will be posted next week.

Yesterday I enjoyed a wonderful program at my church....music and drama about the final days of Jesus Christ's life here on earth. It was beautiful, it was powerful and it got me thinking about my "One Little Word" for this year.  Time.  I'm not spending enough time with the Lord...the busyness of life is clouding my vision again.  So this week I'm going to post excerpts from Our Daily Bread each day.  It'll help keep me focused.  I'll also be sharing photos that I took last week...when my mom, my daughters and I visited Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.

Longwood is full of beautiful flowers....God's handiwork....it's amazing! 

"For those who follow Jesus Christ, it is also a mistake to view the remarkable as ordinary. Think about prayer for instance. At any moment we can talk to the Creator God who spoke the universe into existence! Not only are we welcomed into His presence, but we are invited to enter boldly: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16)."

Our Daily Bread

I'm linking up with Lorraine's blog as we "Think on These Things".
As I think on prayer.

Time

I chose TIME as my "One Little Word" for 2012.  It's been a hard one to focus on....a hard one to apply to my life.  There just never seems to be enough of it....right? We all have that problem I'm sure. Some just manage "time" way better than others.  There's also new limits to what I can physically accomplish. Knee replacement surgery did not turn me into a bionic woman! Not even close.

My Bible version of choice is the New King James.  It's the version used at my church. It's the first version I read after becoming a believer...it's stuck with me.  I seldom read any other versions. But as I've been trying to work out this "time" issue I've been exploring a bit.  I've been looking up Ephesians 5:15-17...just to see the different wording.  I came across J.B.Phillips New Testament.

Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who don’t know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days.

That last sentence caught my attention.  "Make the best use of your time, DESPITE all the difficulties of these days."   In other words, work with what you've got Marie!  A hectic life and a less than physically fit body are not excuses for mismanaging my time!

The first sentence also caught my attention.  God wants us to be responsible and wise with how we use our time because we know the meaning and purpose of this life.  We I need to use that knowledge as a guide to deciding how to make the best use of my time.  Hmmm...somehow I'm thinking that the problem isn't lack of time. Perhaps it's more about, dare I say, making less than stellar decisions about how I use the time I have.  I need to figure out what matters most and work from there. 
To be continued...

"Faith is not believing God can

- it is knowing that He will."

 

One Little Word

In 2010 I decided that my word of the year would be rest and in 2011 I focused on the word simplify. I had some success focusing on the two words during their respective years...at least for some of each year.  But I discovered that my discipline in re-visiting my words throughout the year disappeared a lot faster than the year itself.  I really want this year to be different!

I started thinking about what my "One Little Word" should be for 2012 about a week ago....and it's been  difficult to make a decision.  But I did and I'm sure it's the very best word for me to focus on for 2012.  Quotes I read on other blogs and the New Year's Day message at my church confirmed that for me.


See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time,

because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15-17

"I don’t really want more time;

I just want enough time.

Time to breathe deep, time to see real & time to laugh long,

time to give You glory & rest deep & sing joy…

I just want time to do my one life well."

Ann Voscamp

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

So my One Little Word is TIME.  I want to focus on my time.  How I spend it. Wisely? Or not so much?  I want to make the best possible use of my time.  The BEST possible use of the time the Lord has given me.

Time to sleep, time to live, time for health, time for Bill, for my children and my grandchildren. Time for friends and food and fun. Time to create, time to read, time to be, time for joy, time for me. Time for now...because the past is done and the future may never come.
Most of all time for Him...time for obedience, time for worship, time for gratitude, time for prayer and time to study. Time to try to know Him as well as He knows me.

I'm linking up with The Lettered Cottage for

This Little Word of Mine.