Graduation

one year of pre-school............check

one year of kindergarden..........check

eight years of grade school........check

four years of high school.........check

four and a half years of college.............CHECK!

yep, I'm done... well at least for now.

adult life... here I come. kinda nervous.

Color

Art

Rain

Time and Seasons to Live By

I believe the author of Ecclesiastes to be right-on with his assessment of our days here on earth: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. We can count on experiencing breakneck joys as well as abysmal defeats. And in spite of all the ups and downs, God is making everything beautiful in its time. The grim stickiness, the author of Ecclesiastes points out, is that we don't always know what God is doing from beginning to end. When I read that He just might be making some beauty out of my life, well, that is extremely good news. My life is a collection of all kinds of strange raw material that often makes little sense to me in the moment. Shame haunts me. Financial woes impede my mind. Worry keeps me company pretty much around the clock. If the author of Ecclesiastes is right, as I believe he is, then God is at work, even now, creating and recreating an enduring piece of art from my little, broken-down, saturated life. For the past couple of months I have devoted posts to these verses in Ecclesiastes, hope you enjoy.

time for WAR and a time for PEACE

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time for war and a time for peace.

The war that I'm fighting is the epic battle of myself against myself -- a bruising, losing sort of war (as all war is) that I can't seem to shake loose from.

Finding peace to this war comes by raising my flag, daily. surrendering to the mindless battles. yielding to the only One who can crush the bullet.

Cup of Chai

Learning to let go, of what I cant control.

Im haging on to what I know.

Its a cup of chai that awakes me from my sleep.

Its your hand in mine that makes me want to dream.

Hours of looking at the end,

just trying to figure out just where to go.

Still knowing its not in my control.

I wont worry about time,

because time isnt worried about me.

So make the most of what you got,

take it in, take the shot.

Dont ask me, ask your self,

what's that hanging on your shelf,

is it possibility?

To Love is to be Vulnerable

time to LOVE and a time to HATE

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to love and a time to hate.
Truly letting someone in entirely and enduring their desire to love you, knowing they will love so imperfectly, is really very difficult. God calls us to love the person, and hate the difficulty.

time to be SILENT and a time to SPEAK

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.










Sometimes I feel like remaining quiet is easier for me. My fear is that I'll spend my time managing and apologizing for the words that come out. My fear is that when my mouth opens all the focus will be in my own inadequancies and failings. So I wish to choose my words carefully...

a time to TEAR and a time to MEND

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to tear

and a time to mend.

Putting things back together are never easy; thats why mending is such a sacred act...

time to HOLD ON and a time to LET GO

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to hold on and a time to let go.
Sometimes holding on is about believing, and enduring. A few things are worth holding on to no matter what is required- a dream, a relationship, faith. The hard part is, sometimes you can't see, or touch, or feel the dream, or the person, or God, and you have to believe anyway.
There are some things that happen in life that are difficult. And, as if you were setting a boat out to sea, you have to take those things and let them go, let them float out and away. And only God can help us do that.

If your like me, the most difficult thing to figure out, is when and what. When should I hold on, and when should I let go. What should I hold on to, and what should I let go of.
I do know that the thing I should hold on to most, is the fact that God will always make everything beautiful in its time. And I can let go of everything that makes me believe otherwise.

Book to consider reading: Holding on and Letting Go, by Chris Leonard.

time to SEARCH and a time to QUIT SEARCHING

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to search and a time to quit searching.
In September I realized that I was spending large amounts of time on a search for something-- love, worth, affirmation, acceptance-- only to discover that I'd been searching in all the wrong places. My own efforts left me circling, looking for life on my own terms, when what I really needed to do was quit searching for a loophole or an exception or my own way.
Sometimes we look to another person to provide things they cannot ultimately provide for us-- validation of our worth or identity. But if we would just quit searching for the things that satisfy us on earth and truly search and seek out the only one who provide everything for us, our treasures will be stored in heaven. For eternity. So much more worth in that.