everything is meaningful

everything is meaningful… 48/90

if we truly take the time to find "the meaning of life"... we will spend hours… days… years... our complete life on earth... exploring and exploring... only to find out…

… life comes up short...

in all achievements... in all our searching… it only proves... “meaningless...”

ecclesiastes... asks the question on where to find self fulfillment... that which brings meaning? ... and raises the notion that perhaps nothing really brings complete rock solid "meaning"... after all, self fulfillment is a fleeting feeling after you accomplish something... it’s done… we’re left wondering… what’s next…

true fulfillment cannot be found in wealth… family… power… or religion... because all are temporary… fleeting…

what if we just abandon this quest persée... stop looking for "the meaning of life."

instead… live in the moment because… if we truly look realistically at life… at the normalcy of life... we will see that we find enjoyment and fulfillment in everything that God brings our way… we shall accept the challenges and difficulties as part of life's journey… life consists of… a time for everything...

... chapter 3 reminds us to accept the good with the bad... and know there is a time and purpose for everything under heaven…

“there is an appointed time for everything and there is a time for every event under heaven... a time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted... a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance... a time to throw stones, and a time to gather... a time to embrace, and a time not to... a time to search, and a time to give up as lost... a time to keep, and a time to throw away... a time to tear apart, and a time to put back together together; a time to be silent, and a time to speak... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace...”

a time for everything...

"Without cancer, I never would have won a single Tour de France. Cancer taught me a plan for more purposeful living, and that in turn taught me how to train and to win more purposefully. It taught me that pain has a reason, and that sometimes the experience of losing things–whether health or a car or an old sense of self–has its own value in the scheme of life. Pain and loss are great enhancers." - l. armstrong

be still and know

be still and know... 47/90

what are we to do?

wisdom is gained in using wise words in the right situation... wise people become wise by recognizing the wisdom of a situation.

proverbs are not promises but, true values and generalizations... i.e. proverbs 22:6 “train a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not turn from it.” ... this is not a promise... but, a value... proverbs tell us how things tend to be, and how we can learn from this via ethics, etiquette and common sense...

wisdom puts everything in its place...

be still...

song to the siren

song to the siren... 45/90

... if i take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me...
ps 139:9

out of sight, out of mind

out of sight, out of mind... 40/90

… i am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: i am like a broken vessel… psalms 31:12…

humans disappoint us…

i am forgotten by love… befriended by selfish abandon… out of sight, out of mind… it’s hard to consider the notion that i be disregarded so easily because i don’t easily fit into their plans… how easily i am dismissed; now out of direct view… their conscious cleared; as my presence no longer filters their ego…

things come into focus… and reality reveals the inconvenient truth…

king david was distressed over the fact that no one seemed to be mindful of his plight, so he said that he felt like a “dead man out of mind.”

however, on the contrary… God never keeps us out of sight, out of mind… God… our constant companion…

God… our invariable perspective…

love wins.
jilly

knocking on heaven’s door

knocking on heaven’s door... 38/90

Job is distraught and questions his fate in deep-rooted discourse… knocking on heaven’s door... begrudging his place in life... questioning why God has brought him to such a place of hardship and heartache... all is lost in his eyes and he falls into a deep depression...

I understand job... as of late, i am job... i know of this loss… this loneliness… this feeling of abandonment… this horrible heartache... i too have been questioning why God has put me through such discourse...

job is knocking at death’s door... (job 38:17) and, God eventually asks job… “have the gates of death been shown to you... have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?”

Job realizes he has spoke of things he does not understand... things beyond our human comprehension... and the fact that no plan of God’s can be thwarted...

God restored greatness and glory to job because of his faithfulness... greater blessings than he had before his trials and turmoil... a door of grace was opened to job and a path of love lay before him the rest of his years on earth...

we all have challenges and hardships... it is faith and God's grace we must acknowledge and rely on in these times of struggle... remembering that God does have a plan set in motion and we cannot simply give up at death's door by our own accord...

when we knock at heaven's door... the door will be opened...

... never, never, never, give up...

everything under God

everything under God… 29-35/90

… the Bible is a God focused perspective for us to learn, reflect on, question and find comfort in… it’s God’s role that is the most important work to note…

The book of Chronicles, goes beyond the doom… and, instead looks at patterns... the profits explains what God is up to and we learn that when kings are faithful, and people kept the law – God does wonderful things.

thus… the kingdom of God is not about a king – Chronicles takes this concept and show us how to think – spiritually, not politically. The kingdom of God has a spiritual element to it. Until we get the spiritual things straightened out, we cannot expect the political things to work in proper order. When God and the law are both in place, the community forms an identity and there is spiritual leadership. Chronicles exists to help us understand this spiritual aspect of God.

In te books of Ezra and Nehemiah – the emphasis is God showing how he was instrumental in restoring the people of Israel. After generations, God re-gathers them and provides a means for them to come back to the land… and although we were unfaithful… God’s faithfulness is revealed again. God’s people return and are given money to rebuild the temple… God works through Nehemiah’s prayers and leadership to bring people back. And no matter what choices people make… he takes them and folds them into his plans... God brings his control to accomplish his purposes... one love... one nation under God...

- j. marshon

light of darkness

light of darkness... 31/90

my life has recently been surrounded by dark clouds… in the aftermath of divorce, losing my very best friend, and trying to make a go at life on my own… all alone… it has been very dark this past year…

this past week… ive slowly begun to truly let go of the reigns… stop holding on so tight to something that is no longer mine… it has been very rainy and cold here in Michigan this week… a vast difference from one week ago when temperatures hovered in the 90s… Michigan is like that though… life is like that…

… but… this just makes adjusting to the day-to-day routines that much more difficult sometimes…

as I drove into work today… i heard this… solomon said, “the Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud…” 2 chrnls 6:1

I have been living under and within this dark cloud… I want the sun to shine on me again… I know it will eventually… but, first the rain needs to fall… for everything has its natural place… and allotted time…

… I know in my heart that it is time to move on…

I’m reminded of how God is hovering over me… with me in this dark cloud… I know it is so he can be close to me… so he can easily reveal his light… so I can shine on… God's grace is revealed through the light that stems from the darkness… and, I know that it is only in this darkness, when my faith is tested, regained, reminded, rekindled, reinforced…

I am grateful for this understanding…

from everlasting to everlasting… he will never leave me… nor forsake me… for his is the light… his dwelling among us in the darkness of the clouds… he shines on…

love wins.

- j. marshon
http://biblein90summerdays.blogspot.com/