WORD OF THE DAY: CONTENTMENT

"If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot." ~ John Bunyan

(No pun intended there, but I sure found it amusing -- "gouty foot"...John Bunyan...get it?...bunion...OK, never mind!)

With that aside, after I got my chuckle, I was made aware of how God has been working on me in the area of contentment. He keeps bringing it to the forefront of my mind in different ways: the above quote by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress; daughter Taylie's literature selection yesterday was a short story by Leo Tolstoy titled, "How Much Land Does A Man Need". In this tale, Tolstoy teaches an important lesson about the Biblical principle of contentment and the consequences of greed. The man in the story was told he could buy, for 1000 rubles, as much land as he could walk around in one day. If he was not back to the starting point when the sun went down he would lose his money and the land. In his greed, he ventured further out than he could make it back from by sundown. When he realized his folly he began to run to try to make it to the starting point before the sun set. He ran himself to death. In the end, six feet of land, from his head to his heels, was all he needed.

God's Word has a lot to say about contentment. "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'." Hebrews 13:5 Our discontent can be with our circumstances, our physical appearance, our talents and abilities, and our material possessions. I have struggled with discontent in all these areas at one time or another. Certain ones are chronic. Even if I do gain these things I covet, they won't last. I brought nothing into this world and it is certain I can carry nothing out. But God promises He will never leave me. God alone should be enough. 1Timothy 6:6 says, "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." This is what I want to covet.

SO YOU SAY YOU WANT A RESOLUTION

Well, this New Year's resolution, to better manage my time, is proving quite challenging (ya think?). But I am resolutely resolved to resolve this resolution. First plan of attack: consistently early to bed, early to rise. I blew the first part of this last night by staying up until 1:am to finish knitting a baby hat. But I stuck with the latter part and forced myself out of bed at 6:30, despite the siren's call of my warm, flannel sheets. Two cups of coffee later (I normally only have one) I am off and running...well, that might be an exaggeration. I've had my devotion time, gotten a load of laundry washed and dried, mixed up pancakes for breakfast, and am eyeballing the rest of my day. Actually, I am eyeballing the end of my day -- the early to bed part won't be a problem tonight.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TESSA ROSE!

Twelve years ago today a beautiful baby girl came into the world and into our lives. She took her time getting here, as she had passed her due date of December 26th and required two and a half days of pitocin-induced labor to make an appearance. The intensity of her birth was duplicated in the intensity of her gaze as her dark eyes locked onto mine as she nursed. In fact, intensity has continued to be the hallmark of her nature and character; she wears her heart on her sleeve and it's all or nothing with her. She is my biggest mess-maker, but she is also my best cleaner-upper. Her creativity is astounding; when she was four she dressed herself in an ensemble (complete with gloves, hat, and handbag) constructed entirely with computer printer paper and staples!

It is a bit of a shock to me that my youngest daughter is now twelve -- on the threshhold of young womanhood. I pray for wisdom as I guide her through these crucial, formative years and help her channel her God-given gifts. My prayer for her comes from Philippians 1:9-11, "May your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God." Amen and Happy Birthday, Tessa Rosebud!

TIME TO SHINE

My resolution for this new year is to better manage my time. It hits me that time is the only thing that stands between me and eternity. God has given me 1,440 minutes in each day. How I use those minutes is up to me. Some day I will answer to God and give an account of how I managed the gifts He gave me, time being one of them. I was meditating on God's Word to us in Ephesians 5:15-17, as follows: "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." The word "redeem" means to "buy back" or "buy out of". Back from or out of what? I believe in this context it means to buy it out of the world; all the distractions and darkness of the world. We must "walk circumspectly", which literally means to see all around one's self. This tells me I must proceed through each moment of my day carefully choosing how I will act and react, seeking God's will and making choices accordingly. I must understand our times and carve time out of the bondage of evil. To redeem the time means to make the most of every opportunity, not just let it sift away unused or wasted. Verse 11 of this same chapter tells us: "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Expose them with what? With the light Christ gives us. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light...finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." (Eph. 5:8-10) Wow...I was once darkness, but now I am light in the Lord. "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!"

A NEW YEAR

After a very nice Christmas with family and friends, we brought in the new year with Mark injuring his back at work on December 29th. After the emergency room, X-rays, doctor's office visits, and an MRI; it was determined to be a ruptured disc. The first few days were the roughest with a lot of pain and discomfort, difficulty moving, getting in and out of bed/recliner, sleepless nights, and a bad reaction to the prescribed pain-killer, Vicadin. But gradually, the pain has lessened and mobility has increased. He will begin physical therapy tomorrow and visit the doctor again on Friday.

As the doctor's order were to not go back to work, it has been interesting having Mark around the house this much. (As Cheri says: "Men are not meant to be home." And I am empathizing with Cindy, whose husband isn't working this winter.) It is difficult to get anything done and he asks, "Who are you calling?" every time I pick up the phone. When I'm in the basement doing laundry, he's calling for me from upstairs. When I'm in the bedroom, he's calling from the kitchen. When I'm doing school with the kids, he's interrupting, "Babe...". I love my husband and I'm always wishing he could be home with us more, but at this point he is getting shack-happy and is alternating between being silly and cranky. Fortunately, it's more often silly.

Some might say all this does not bode well for the new year but I am so thankful that I have my husband, unlike our friend, Sarah, who lost her beloved on December 4th. I am thankful that I can trust God is in control, even when finances are strained and the future is uncertain. I am confident He will provide for us and care for us in His loving mercy. Already, this has been a blessed New Year for us.