Well, the healing from surgery is still continuing. I promise, I have not picked up Rowan (with the exception of putting her on my lap occasionally) and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm still on antibiotics for infection but they seem to be doing their job, it shouldn't be much longer.
The new house is well on the way. The roof was scheduled to be attached today but the wind is keeping that from happening. They've rescheduled for tomorrow so I'm praying for a nice calm day. We've chosen our appliances and we're meeting with the flooring store and the builder on Friday to make our final decisions for colors etc. We have signed off all the conditions on the house this week which was a big relief for John and I. It was hard to celebrate the fact that we are home owners until that was done. When I start thinking about all the things we need to buy to properly care for our new property, it makes me shudder, but I know we'll get there...we always do.
At church we're doing a sermon series that I have found really interesting. The question posed to our congregation was, "If you knew you only had 30 days to live, would it change the way you live your life? In what way?" Our challenge was to answer those questions and then figure out which of those things we would change were things that were sustainable - things we could do for an extended period of time, and which things were short term. Then the challenge was to take action on those things.
I started thinking about the recent death of my Aunt as well as friends I have recently lost. Had I known they were going to die, there are things I would have said or done differently. I don't know that the sermon series made me think so much about my own mortality. I think it made me think more about the lives of those I care about. If I knew I only had 30 days left with them, what would I do differently? In some ways an easy question to answer. I would be more patient, kind, demonstrative of my love for them. Would I say anything that I don't normally say? I don't know. I'm still thinking on that one. I think the big one for me was that I wouldn't be as judgemental. I tend to get stuck on that high horse and stay there. I would like to learn to get off that horse. It doesn't do anything positive for my relationships or for me personally.
So what about you? Would you do anything differently? If you would like to hear more about this sermon series, you can visit my church's website. The sermon series is called, "Making my life count". Enjoy!
ROCK 2017!!
7 years ago
6 comments:
Some say we should live every day as if it is our last. No matter how hard we might try to do that, it is tough to do when you are pretty sure it is not your last day (even though we know full well there are no guarantees). I have no idea what I would do differently if I knew for sure i only had 30 days left to live. I'm sure I would make some radical changes but how radical I would get I don't know. Like if I knew I didn't need anything for retirement I might want to give away everything I have and make someone else's life easier. I might make a nuisance of myself and shout the message of God's love from the rooftops because I wouldn't have to care if anyone hated me or rejected me for doing so. I would boldly speak the truth in love at the risk of rejection. I would want to do everything I could to turn people on to God's Word to pattern their lives after. I just realized one could write a book on this!!! I better not!
It is always a pleasure reading your blog. You have a wonderful way with words. If I was at the church with you I would have been crying the whole time, man it sure hit me. I posted on my blog and I really hope you look at it. You are a good freind.
Did I spell it right? LOL
Elayne you are awesome, I know where Michelle get's it from. Lately I have been strugling and if you wish to shout Gods love my way I sure would listen.
Mom, you raise some good points, ones I didn't think of. I guess the question then becomes, why wait until you know you're dying to be bold about God? Is it simply fear of rejection? I'm not anywhere near as bold as I could or maybe should be when it comes to speaking about God...maybe this is something I need to add to my list of things to work on.
Ollie, I know you're struggling and I know you're searching for answers. No matter where your road takes you, God is there...He knows where your road will end and He knows when you'll get there. He knows every decision you make before you ever make it and He holds your life and the lives of your family in the palm of His Hand! God is in control, even though things seem so chaotic right now, He is in perfect control. I'm praying for you as you make decisions about where to go next. I'm praying that God will give you clear direction but even more than that, I'm praying that He will show you that you are not lost. He found you and saved you and loves you more than you could ever imagine. God bless you my friend.
P.S. If you want to check out Ollie's blog, it's on my list as "The French Connection"
I'm pretty sure partly it's a fear of rejection and in part it is knowing when you have earned the right to speak but I don't know if that is biblical. Jesus called a spade a spade and He was pretty straight forward and totally honest. We do have to be careful about spouting off at the wrong time when we only add fuel to the fire instead of doing any good. Sometimes people are not ready to hear about God's love for them. There's also the issue of knowing how to back up what you say. I have to know why I believe what I believe and make sure my source is God's Word (which is the same yesterday, today and forever....what was wrong yesterday is still wrong today no matter what society says, no matter what your circumstances are) where He reveals Himself to us. Of course that also means that God's love for us is still just as big as it ever has been! I think if I knew I was dying I would take the chance to speak and leave the rest up to God to work out. So why not do that now, right? I don't know! I'll have to mull that over some more. I guess I always have thought I am quite outspoken. Maybe I'm not as much as I think I am.
Thanks, I did check out Ollie's blog and left my mark (big mouth that I am)! Ha!
Post a Comment