The week is winding down...almost done

 Yesterday was pretty quiet for work, only had a few meetings to schedule since my favorite boss had yesterday off - and she is off today too.  My other boss and I text'd - the flowers never arrived so I suggeseted he cancel.  I am assuming he did, since nothing arrived at all yesterday.  It would have been ok but we are on vacation next week; I am stuck back in this room with no place to put a huge bouquet of flowers so I'd never see them; and the florist never called after that initial call - which they should have made to keep me or even my boss, updated on status of delivery.  I told him that he will 'owe me' and I do collect. :-)   I still had a good birthday.

Last night I visited Ms. Amy and found out her daughter is putting her in a facility today for 30 days.  I looked it up and it's a 'retirement community'.  I don't think her mom will like it there, she is a not one to venture out of the room much.  Can you believe the daughter said the cost was about $7K a month?!!  But the reason is to get her mother's medication stabilized and someone checking on her 24x7 for 30 days to make sure she is getting stronger and better.  Her daughter wants to go home - and I don't blame her there. She's been here for nearly a month.  Her hubby comes out next week and after a few days, both will go back to Florida until the end of the 30 days and the daughter will come back - if her mom is to leave the retirement home.  I receive conflicting vibes from the daughter so am not sure what her plans are for her mother.  I know she wants her cared for.  Obviously they have lots of money and don't care about spending it - she mentioned if her mother stays, they will just let the house set empty for a year or two - it's paid for.  They live in Florida - why would they want to sitting empty?  I don't know.  I will be going with the daughter on Saturday afternoon to visit her mother (as she is having her transported there today!) so that I can see where she is and help calm her mother down, I'm sure.  And the daughter asked me... "you will go see her there, right?"  Of course I will, but it has to be on my timetable.

I got a surprise yesterday when my youngest son, at the prompting of his older brother, text'd me and asked me out for breakfast. (Thanks!)  I thought he was still out of town but he came back yesterday so we scheduled it for this Saturday.  It will be fun to meet up and chat.  I don't see him much either, so hopefully we will be able to chat and catch up, although I just saw him last weekend and we talked some.  AND I get breakfast!  Tonight my daughter and her hubby are taking us out for my birthday dinner with them.  They know a place that has great food so we are going there.  

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV):  "To everything thing there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven."

As I sat here and was thinking of what to write, I am reminded of this verse.  For the next several verses Solomon wrote "A time to....".  But all these 'times' fall into a season.  Everything does.  We are each in a season.  It could be a good season where things are going well, or it could be a very tough season, where it feels like everything is against you.

It could be a fun season where life is good and things are fun.  It could be a hard season where you feel you are struggling just to get through each day.  (I imagine most of us feel like we have gone through those hard times! I know I have!) 

But with each season, it comes to an end.  But what do we do in that 'season' of life?  We all are going through a season right now.  How we deal with that season - whatever it is - helps us into the next one.  It prepares us for what is ahead.  But we have to pay attention.  Never let time get away from you and that you do not accomplish what your dream is.

Go after your dream.  I don't care if it seems so far out of reach - start today.  Pick up that book to read or study.  Sign up for that class.  Go after your dream.  Never let it get out of your grasp.  There is a time for every purpose under heaven.  Your time is now.  Go for it!

Blessings!

As time goes by....

 Time... what is it?  We pause and we look at our watch, or the clock on the wall.   Perhaps even the alarm clock.  Or the time on our phones.  Time.  Where does it go?  Some times it seems that time drags by, and yet, other times we cannot hold it back.  Why is that?

We spend time just sitting and waiting.... watching and hoping.... longing and sighing.... and that time rarely comes when we want it to.  Sometimes it is easier to just give it up and let time go its own way.  It will get to the time we want... eventually.  Maybe.

Or maybe time comes too soon.  We aren't ready for that time to get here.  That happens a lot of our children - I'm sure - and also to us.  They stay up late and morning gets here way before they are ready for it.  Or we do.  But not me.  Well, I have been staying up just a bit later lately.  Instead of 8:30PM going to bed, I've been staying up and reading my Bible (as has hubby) and we have been getting to bed around 9PM or later.  

Last night it was nearly 10PM because we watched a movie before we read our Bibles.  Hubby has mentioned several times that he likes that we both are reading our Bibles together every night (like we don't do it in the mornings?)  Maybe it is because I stay here on the couch and he sits at the dining room table nearby.  We both seem to be enjoying it.  Personally I find that I can go right to sleep, and sleep deep, after reading my Bible at night.

Perhaps you should try it.  I'm in Exodus now - chapter 15 I think - and it has been interesting.  The Israelites have been lead out of Egypt after 430 years.  They just crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, and Pharoah's army has been drowned.

But guess what I am struggling with.

I have watched The Ten Commandments so many times over the years, staring Charlton Heston, that in my mind that is the way the story should be.  But you know what I have really paid attention to - or perhaps it is God drawing my attention to the TRUTH versus FICTION.  Which is why I don't care to watch a lot of Christian movies when they are about people in the Bible or of things that happened.  I think, in reality, that God has made me much more sensitive to what is being shown, and what has been written and breathed into His Word.

The Ten Commandments - the movie - is all wrong.  If you haven't seen the movie, or don't remember it, you won't understand that statement.  Now all of it isn't wrong, but so much of it was created for movies.  And it sold it.  I donated my Ten Commandments movie to Savers.  I have held on to it for over 20 years - yes, it was the VCR type - but I loved watching it.  But reading through my Bible, especially the Old Testament the past couple of years, I have 'seen' more clearly what was fiction and what is real.  The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  The movie definitely wasn't.  It was created to sell.

Another movie that came out a few years ago I dearly love.  I know I've written about it before - it is the book of Matthew.  Why do I love that movie?  Because it is word-for-word out of the NIV version of the Bible.  I followed it one night and checked!  And then I read how the movie was made, how every scene was covered in prayer.  And what makes that movie so dear to me is that it taught me that Jesus laughed.  He hugged people.  He truly loved people.

We all remember the Jesus portrait that hung in our grandmother's house.  It was a headshot of Jesus - serene, non-expressive, yet elegant, portraying holiness.  A portrait that is near and dear to many of us.  Memories of our childhood.  But I do not believe that is a true portrait of Jesus.

In the movie of Matthew, Jesus touched the lepers when He healed them.  He wasn't afraid to get near.  He hugged people, He felt compassion for people, He was real with people.  Yeah, I think I'm about due to watch it again.  It is word for word the entire book of Matthew - so I can skip reading it if I want - just take the 3-4 hours to watch the movie and enjoy every minute of it.

There is another 'Jesus movie' that my little sister has been trying to push off on me.  She is crazy about this movie - loves it and constantly is pushing for people to watch it.  Don't get me wrong, it is a good movie, for someone who doesn't really know who Jesus is.  Or who only thinks of Jesus being strict and cold.  I don't know why she likes it so well.  This movie is called 'Chosen'.  She sent me season one a bit over a year ago and yes, I did watch it.  After a couple months of prompting and being asked.  It was ok, in my opinion.  Yes, Jesus did funny things, He danced at the wedding where he changed the water into wine. The disciples did things that are not recorded in the Bible.... such as Peter taking bets on him beating other people in a boxing match.  Peter also was a snitch and was watching the fellow fishermen, men whom he fished with, to see if they fished on Sunday so that he could report them.  And Matthew in this movie is OCD or something (which I'm not saying one way or another), but - well, anyway, I struggled to understand what each scene (which changed frequently) was all about.  I just could not 'feel' the movie like I can Matthew.  And my sister thinks I'm 'wrong' because she loves it so much.  She's already watched season two.  Sigh.  

So you could watch them both and give me your opinion.  Just a thought.

Hubby is watching the Cardinal / Ram game and it is not going well for the Cardinals - I think they forgot how to play and the score is already 28-0 in the Rams favor.  I could care less, and hubby has already commented if the Rams get another touch-down (this is the third quarter) that he was going to turn it off.  

I bought him earphones for Christmas that he could wear while watching games or the movies he likes and I won't have to listen to it... and they are plugged into the TV and ready for use.  I think I can say he has never used them.  He may before too long - not tonight for it's about time to pick up our Bibles to read.  But in the future, I will remind him he has those.  I love the quiet.  He has to have noise.

Less than a week for the granddaughter's wedding.  I saw the other day that they will be doing a 'live' of the ceremony on facebook for those who can't make it.  That is nice.  Modern technology, I guess.  I haven't been asked to do anything else.  I picked up my dress on Saturday, but haven't tried it on again.  I hope it will fit ok.  I'm taking Friday off work to get my nails done with the bride and other family members.  It was easier to take the day off than watch the time .... there's that time again.... to see if I had to get back online.  So this will be a play day for me, and I'm looking forward to it.  Besides, I need my nails done.

And, my youngest son shared news this weekend that I am still processing.  I am very disappointed, but they haven't had much of a role model, I'm afraid.  Bringing babies into the world is not only expensive, but time-consuming, and filled with responsibilities.  I don't know these two children are ready (and yes, I said children) for such a responsibility.  I am afraid.  And yet, my son tells me, "I'm proud my children are following in my footsteps".  My heart is broken, for so many reasons.  When my granddaughter shared she was pregnant, I did tell her I was disappointed, but I do love her.  I tried to tell her that her life is going to totally change.  She was going to have to make decisions she may not want to make, but for the baby, she would have to eat better (more likely eat more than one meal a day because the stepmother watches every bite she puts in her mouth), she is going to have to care for her body because changes will happen.  My heart breaks for her, she is so young.

And yet, a new baby is so precious and is so loved.  And this baby will be loved, for sure.  Life is hard sometimes, when you have to deal with the consequences of your actions.

I mentioned a song in my last blog post, I believe, about Time.  Time is in God's hands.  He sets the day, He sets the time.  He brings it all about.  We can do nothing to increase or decrease time.  He is Holy.  He is Almighty God.  He is Love.  He is Faithful.

Jesus is enough.  Oh how I wish you knew Him like I do - and yet, I have so much more to learn.  Three things I will share with you as I close this off....

Jesus is enough.  God is faithful.  His Word is true.

Read it for yourself and see.

Blessings!