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Posts tagged ‘Time’

She and I

 

 She had an old potbelly stove that burned coal for heat.

I have a large central heating and air unit

with computerized “comfort level” programming.

She had to draw water from a well.

I have fresh running water from an underground spring

pumped to my choice of four sinks.

Mamaw edge

She had an old wooden outhouse.

I have two full bathrooms and a six-foot shower.

She never owned a car.

I’ve owned several.

She had to make her own clothes, sometimes from empty feed sacks.

I have so many clothes they barely fit in my closet and yet I often

can’t find anything to wear.

She had a washboard and a clothesline.

I have a matching washer and dryer but never seem to get all the laundry done.

She had to plow and plant her own garden and then wait for it to grow.

I have my choice of convenient super markets and organic groceries.

She had to start preparing each meal when the other one ended.

I often wait until mealtime to decide on cooking or carryout.

She scrimped and saved for the things she wanted.

I want, I get, I forget, and I want more.

She had to live when times were hard.

Time has made life easier for me.

She had a sense of satisfaction.

I sometimes complain.

She had a little scrappy Christmas tree my Papaw cut down

from the woods behind their home.

I can buy a beautiful tree and have it trimmed right at the store.

 

She gave us nuts, fruit and a drugstore doll wrapped in re-used paper.

I can buy my children the latest technology.

but I’m not sure I can ever make them as happy as my Mamaw made me.

 

Psalm 100:4-5

 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

 give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

May the peace that passes all understanding be present in your lives in the days ahead.

Although our world casts shadows of doubt,

He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

It is a promise.

And He is a Promise Keeper!

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!! 🙂

© Copyright 2012, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

 

 

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Home, Hope, Inspirational, Truth, Women

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Taking the Time

          Time is money.  We know this.  We have heard it most of our lives.  
We have seen it in action.  A doctor who has to see dozens of patients in a day to pay high insurance premiums, a lawyer offering legal advice to as many defendants as the court system can handle or a single mom working two jobs to feed four kids will all tell you that time is money.

          So the idea of stopping long enough to spend time with God, when we can’t see Him, often can’t hear Him and who doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we would like, is sometimes asking more than we are willing to give.  After all, time is money, and if we have enough money, everything else will run smoothly in our lives. Right?

          How much is enough?  For one of the wealthiest men in history, John D. Rockefeller Sr., it was “Just a little bit more.” 

          But we’re not really talking about money here; we’re talking about time.

          Where do we spend most of our time, our quality time?  Is it possible to invest in time and reap the dividends like a savings account or stock portfolio?  I bring this up now because I’ve been spending a lot of my time lately fighting the clock.

          There are people in my life, people I love, who need my help, people who want things, projects on deadline, a house to clean, laundry in piles, dogs to feed, horses covered in cockleburs, holidays coming quickly and I can’t seem to stop long enough to do the one thing that would actually save me some time, if I would just take the time.

          The go-to quote, in times when I need more time, comes from a friend’s grandmother.  I’ve shared it before.

“Now you come on and get up out of that bed.

You know any time you give to God, he will give it back to you”

~Myrtle Alexander, 83

                It’s so true!  But it still didn’t get me out of bed any earlier.  I was already getting up before the sun.  However, a couple of days ago, I forced myself to try and re-focus on what God wants.  I prayed every time I realized I wasn’t praying, or hadn’t prayed, or really didn’t want to pray.  It didn’t get any easier.  I still didn’t feel His presence, or see any signs of the stress lifting from the load I chose to carry.  One of the biggest projects I’ve ever encountered was coming up on its first deadline.  I needed time a lot more than I needed money, although, money was sort of the reason I needed time.  So, I kept going before God.  I kept waiting for a breakthrough.  And still nothing was happening.   I did notice my husband taking extra care to keep the kitchen clean. 
Like a tiny little ray of hope darting out from behind a clump of ominous clouds, things seemed different.

          The project made deadline, the dogs were fed, the horses brushed, there was extra time to spend a couple of days with my Dad, and a significant holiday gift just popped up while I was out doing routine shopping; and it was a fraction of the price I would have expected to pay at Christmas.  When I quit running around chasing the clock, God reminded me of all that had been done, and then, He just gave me this post.

          What about you?  How are you spending your time?  Who is getting the most time?  Does God get any time?  Or is time just money?

Hebrews 4:16

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

I have often heard the story of Rockefeller’s money comment and just assumed it was associated with greed.  But when I read about his life, I discovered he was a believer, tithed from the very beginning… and the more money he got, the more he gave away.  In that case, how much would be enough?  A little bit more!

 © Copyright 2011, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

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Faith, Hope, Inspirational, Truth, Women

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Quiet Time

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)  

            She was a tiny little woman with long black hair showing significant signs of graying at the roots.  A maternal looking lady, with a baby wrapped around her body in one of those sling things, the first time we met.

            She handed out workbooks and told all those gathered together in a semi-circle that homework would require 30 to 45 minutes, maybe even an hour each day for five days.  We would have one day off.  Then we would meet again.

           This mama say, “What?!” 

           Seriously, a ladies Bible study takes that kind of time?

            Someone should have clued me on this before I showed up for the free food and child care.

            But as I started to look around, and listen more closely,  I heard some of the women, clearly Bible study veterans, talking about the importance of even taking time for an occasional afternoon tea.  Okay, well if that’s what works for them, I guess that’s cool.  I get that.  I wish I felt that way.  But at the time, I saw myself as way too busy…more of a grab a coffee and go, kind of girl.   A people pleaser on a manic mission.

            She had certainly expected such reactions.  In her calm, relaxed tone, which I already envied, she expressed a complete understanding of the internal conflict.  As the mother to a house full of boys and an unexpected baby at 40-something, she knew how hard it could be to carve out any time for ourselves.

            But this was different.

            This was time we would spend one-on-one with God.  She assured us that if we would make an effort, God would respond and reward us with more time than we really knew we had.  

          It was easy to contemplate, hard to believe. 

          But she was right.

          It was a little rocky at first, roughing up the family routine so “I” could have a little “me” time.  But it didn’t take long to figure out this is a bit of a faith-based formula that should probably be scientifically tested. 

            It’s been FIVE years since I first got out of bed, headed to the front porch swing and spent time putting God first.  What started as “Okay, Okay, all right, I’ll give it a try” quickly turned to a life-changing, life-altering, gratifying, fulfilling, successful bit of quality time.  My husband wishes he had it, my children help me guard it and some of my friends sort of hate me for it.  But it’s available to everyone. 

            I’m not a tiny little woman like the lady who gave me such great advice.  I don’t have a sling thing with a baby in it.  And my hair is not black, though it does have significant graying at the roots.  But I am full of opinions and often feel the need to offer them without request. So listen up ladies, take some time for yourself…for you and God…just the two of you.  Sit there in the silence, pray, read or study.  It’s easier than you think.  And, God will respond and reward you with more time than you thought you had.  

             I predict, your quiet time will very quickly go from something you’re trying to do, to something you have to do. 

 

“Now you come on and get up out of that bed. You know any time you give to God he will give it back to you”

~Myrtle Alexander

 (My friend Marny’s grandmother who lived 83 years) 

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.”

Titus 2:3 (NIV) 

“God doesn’t tell you to do hard things so He can stand back and laugh and watch you struggle.  He tells you to do things that He knows are gonna work out to your good in the end.”

–Joyce Meyer 

“Try a thing you haven’t done three times.  Once to get over the fear of doing it, twice to learn how to do it, and a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.”

–Joyce Meyer     

 

If you already take quiet time, tell us how it works in your life.  If you haven’t tried putting God first,  try it and let us know if things change for you. 

We would love to hear.   

  🙂   

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Faith, Hope, Inspirational, Truth, Women

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