Psalm 49:6-9 They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)
Money/wealth has never been a priority for me (and I pray that it never will be), but I'm not blind to the fact that money is a means to do many things. You need it to eat, clothe yourself, have shelter, feed your pets, go to the movies, buy expensive gifts, travel, etc. But one thing money can't buy is your salvation. Or the salvation of your family/friends. This thought is for me at once completely depressing and infinitely sanguine.
How many of us would work ourselves to the bone to see someone saved? It is one of the biggest stressors on many peoples lives, whether it be an unsaved spouse, child, parent, cousin, or close friend. To be able to buy (with cash) someones salvation seems to me a kind of ultimate sacrifice, excepting giving your life for someone. To get the money you would need to buy said salvation, you would need to sacrifice your time, yourself (food for money & clothes would be a minor priority), and your most valued possesions (either family, a vehicle, a pet, etc - they all require money for upkeep). But it would be worth it, to me and lots of people I know. And it would all be fruitless and for nothing.
Once we get that idea through our heads, we are free to leave their salvation to God. Its hard, I know. So many days and nights of asking God how long we're going to have to wait...it becomes a joy-stealer. In fact, I would go so far as to say that any burden we refuse to let go of becomes a joy-stealer (this particular one just hit home last night). Once we accept that we can do nothing and we allow God to relieve us of these burdens, we are able to protect and guard our joy. At which point we allow it to be our strength. The joy of the Lord can't be our strength if we don't guard it as something precious. And how can we ever hope to survive in this world without strength (aka the joy of the Lord)? Protect yourself from joy-stealers.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
La vida es un ratico
In the past 18 hours or so I've had three extremely different experiences that I would like to share.
1. I was at our local county fair last night with an aunt, just browsing through the flowers & foods entries when an older gentleman came up to me and requested help in reading my shirt. It just happened to say "Make music not war". I do prefer music over war, but I don't believe that that makes me anti-war. War is a difficult thing for me, and is part of the reason why I went to Vietnam last year. From my perspective, going to war is like asking someone to put a value on peoples lives...and it is hard for me to get past that. I feel that it is something that should not be entered into lightly (as it seems we did with Iraq), and that it should be used as a last resort only, and only in extreme circumstances. I also feel that war is sometimes the only way to lasting peace. Unfortunately, I can't think of any modern day examples of this happening. I think we stumbled into Iraq and Afghanistan without a real understanding of the culture and history which have shaped these countries. I think I am pro-peace and not anti-war. Does that make sense?
So anyways, this guy asks me if I ever read scripture. After my affirmative, he begins quoting verses left and right to me. "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword." (is that supposed to be taken as anti-war? To me that reads as an informative statement rather than a command). "Lay down your sword" (wish I'd asked for a reference for that one) "Blessed are the peacemakers" "Thou shalt not kill", etc. I didn't really want to stand around and argue with this guy, but for some reason I couldn't help countering with something about all the times God sent David and Joshua into battle, seldom on the defensive and frequently for conquest of land and possessions. His answer...anything Jesus says trumps the old testament. I think I laughed at this point. Last time I checked, "Thou shalt not kill" is an OT commandment, but whatever. I quickly exited the conversation, because I get sick of discussing things with people who don't actually want to talk to/listen to you, but only want someone to commiserate with their own pet opinion.
I don't know why this encounter bothered me so much. Was I annoyed because I couldn't get through to this man? Did I feel like I wasted an opportunity to witness to this man and to share my beliefs with regards to scripture? I know I was frustrated because he would ask me something and then tell me that I was wrong, when all it was was my own opinion and he had asked for it in the first place.
I'm still trying to figure this out, but I got the feeling that the man wanted to rip my shirt off. Not for any sexual reasons, but because I was a disgrace to my shirt and to his beliefs. Hopefully that will teach him a lesson about going up to strangers.
And why am I so approachable? I just don't get it. What is it about me that makes people comfortable in approaching me?
So this morning I stopped at Tim Hortons for my weekly cup of coffee, and I saw a retired guy from my church and one of his friends. They called me over and asked me to join them for a few minutes of chatting. And maybe twenty minutes later we realized that God had actually brought us together for a reason today. And it was wonderful. It has been a long time since I felt that God was leading me. And it was also refreshing for me to openly discuss things with these two older guys. It is something that I've needed for a long time. And it was such a random meeting, but as it turns out they actually meet there for coffee several times a week. So next time I head over for coffee, I will get there early in the hopes that I can sit down and chat for a while.
Then when I finally got to the office (only about an hour late lol), I walked into my room and discover that it had been trashed the night before by my bosses son and his friend. My colored pencils were broken and the pieces were scattered all over. My deck of cards was scattered throughout my desk. One of my pairs of chopsticks from Vietnam which I keep in my desk was missing. My regular (metal) pencil was broken (how they managed that I have no idea). My letter opener from Costa Rica was broken (but is very repairable). Pop cans were everywhere. I was furious. To have to spend my first ten minutes of the day cleaning up after them was absurd to me. So Robo is coming in around 3 this afternoon and he is going to get a chewing out like you wouldn't believe. And I have the full permission of my boss (who managed to find one of my missing chopsticks hidden in the back room under our exercise machine. It was broken and not repairable.) I've calmed down a good bit now. It doesn't even really bother me that things were broken and a mess was made, except that when Bob asked him about it Robo lied. Things get broken, especially when kids are involved. If he'd just left me a note saying that he was sorry about it, it wouldn't be a problem at all for me. I've broken plenty of my moms precious things, and it would be a bit unfeeling for me to get upset at him just because he broke something. But don't lie. Be honest. Don't worry, he will get quite the tongue-lashing, but it will be much tempered by all the wisdom I can collect in the next 2.5 hours. He is going to walk away with the knowledge that I will skin him alive if he ever dares to touch my desk again, but also that I'm not mad at him but am mad about what he did and how he did it. Wish me luck.
Also, drive-in tonight? I'm not sure yet. I've already seen Harry Potter (and it was good), and I've seen Up twice (it also was good). I've no desire to see Transformers, but I wouldn't mind seeing the new Ice Age. We shall see.
1. I was at our local county fair last night with an aunt, just browsing through the flowers & foods entries when an older gentleman came up to me and requested help in reading my shirt. It just happened to say "Make music not war". I do prefer music over war, but I don't believe that that makes me anti-war. War is a difficult thing for me, and is part of the reason why I went to Vietnam last year. From my perspective, going to war is like asking someone to put a value on peoples lives...and it is hard for me to get past that. I feel that it is something that should not be entered into lightly (as it seems we did with Iraq), and that it should be used as a last resort only, and only in extreme circumstances. I also feel that war is sometimes the only way to lasting peace. Unfortunately, I can't think of any modern day examples of this happening. I think we stumbled into Iraq and Afghanistan without a real understanding of the culture and history which have shaped these countries. I think I am pro-peace and not anti-war. Does that make sense?
So anyways, this guy asks me if I ever read scripture. After my affirmative, he begins quoting verses left and right to me. "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword." (is that supposed to be taken as anti-war? To me that reads as an informative statement rather than a command). "Lay down your sword" (wish I'd asked for a reference for that one) "Blessed are the peacemakers" "Thou shalt not kill", etc. I didn't really want to stand around and argue with this guy, but for some reason I couldn't help countering with something about all the times God sent David and Joshua into battle, seldom on the defensive and frequently for conquest of land and possessions. His answer...anything Jesus says trumps the old testament. I think I laughed at this point. Last time I checked, "Thou shalt not kill" is an OT commandment, but whatever. I quickly exited the conversation, because I get sick of discussing things with people who don't actually want to talk to/listen to you, but only want someone to commiserate with their own pet opinion.
I don't know why this encounter bothered me so much. Was I annoyed because I couldn't get through to this man? Did I feel like I wasted an opportunity to witness to this man and to share my beliefs with regards to scripture? I know I was frustrated because he would ask me something and then tell me that I was wrong, when all it was was my own opinion and he had asked for it in the first place.
I'm still trying to figure this out, but I got the feeling that the man wanted to rip my shirt off. Not for any sexual reasons, but because I was a disgrace to my shirt and to his beliefs. Hopefully that will teach him a lesson about going up to strangers.
And why am I so approachable? I just don't get it. What is it about me that makes people comfortable in approaching me?
So this morning I stopped at Tim Hortons for my weekly cup of coffee, and I saw a retired guy from my church and one of his friends. They called me over and asked me to join them for a few minutes of chatting. And maybe twenty minutes later we realized that God had actually brought us together for a reason today. And it was wonderful. It has been a long time since I felt that God was leading me. And it was also refreshing for me to openly discuss things with these two older guys. It is something that I've needed for a long time. And it was such a random meeting, but as it turns out they actually meet there for coffee several times a week. So next time I head over for coffee, I will get there early in the hopes that I can sit down and chat for a while.
Then when I finally got to the office (only about an hour late lol), I walked into my room and discover that it had been trashed the night before by my bosses son and his friend. My colored pencils were broken and the pieces were scattered all over. My deck of cards was scattered throughout my desk. One of my pairs of chopsticks from Vietnam which I keep in my desk was missing. My regular (metal) pencil was broken (how they managed that I have no idea). My letter opener from Costa Rica was broken (but is very repairable). Pop cans were everywhere. I was furious. To have to spend my first ten minutes of the day cleaning up after them was absurd to me. So Robo is coming in around 3 this afternoon and he is going to get a chewing out like you wouldn't believe. And I have the full permission of my boss (who managed to find one of my missing chopsticks hidden in the back room under our exercise machine. It was broken and not repairable.) I've calmed down a good bit now. It doesn't even really bother me that things were broken and a mess was made, except that when Bob asked him about it Robo lied. Things get broken, especially when kids are involved. If he'd just left me a note saying that he was sorry about it, it wouldn't be a problem at all for me. I've broken plenty of my moms precious things, and it would be a bit unfeeling for me to get upset at him just because he broke something. But don't lie. Be honest. Don't worry, he will get quite the tongue-lashing, but it will be much tempered by all the wisdom I can collect in the next 2.5 hours. He is going to walk away with the knowledge that I will skin him alive if he ever dares to touch my desk again, but also that I'm not mad at him but am mad about what he did and how he did it. Wish me luck.
Also, drive-in tonight? I'm not sure yet. I've already seen Harry Potter (and it was good), and I've seen Up twice (it also was good). I've no desire to see Transformers, but I wouldn't mind seeing the new Ice Age. We shall see.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Welcome to blogger, Aimee
Well, I've finally joined the world of blogger. I must say I'm excited to once again have an outlet for my "middle of the workday random thoughts". We'll have to see where this blog ends up heading, but for now I am just glad that it exists.
An entirely blank blog. It's a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, it is a wonderful thing that will just have to wait for today. Too many things going on, like paperwork to fill out, tests to take (to finish college classes that I never finished and now need to finish...grrr), audits to complete, phone calls to make, financial statements to finish up, tax returns to work on, etc.
An entirely blank blog. It's a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, it is a wonderful thing that will just have to wait for today. Too many things going on, like paperwork to fill out, tests to take (to finish college classes that I never finished and now need to finish...grrr), audits to complete, phone calls to make, financial statements to finish up, tax returns to work on, etc.
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