everything has a season...

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV

For every thing... there is a season...

even a time to bloom...

He timed camellias to bloom... 

in the dead of winter...

when nothing else does...

I see them out my window... and smile...

What season are you in...?

joyful...? mournful...?

busy...? restful...?

Are you planting...? or digging up...?

building...? or tearing down...?

Is it a season to hold tight...? or let go...?

to seek what was lost...? or let it be...?

Whatever season you find yourself in...

whatever you love... or hate... about this season...

remember... it has a time...

then it will pass...

Father God... thank You for seasons... their timing... their passing...

help me to see You in each and every season... and trust Your timing...

for its passing...

psalm 103... an Easter perspective... part eleven...

Returning to the exercise... of seeing Psalm 103... with Easter eyes...

As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers no more.

Psalm 103:15-16

In the previous verse... just before... God assures us... as Creator... He knows... remembers... how we are formed... His compassion poured out... on those who fear Him... on those made of dust...

Here... we get a reality check...
to make sure we know who we are...

If we didn't understand our temporary frail nature...

we soon will...

The length of our days... equal to that of grass... flowers in a field... when compared with the expanse of eternity...

Grasses... we see them shoot up in the spring...

mow them all summer...

but by fall... they're slowing down...

by winter... dried up... brown... lifeless...

A few short months...

a moment in the span of eternity...

Flowers... have even a shorter life expectancy...

day lily blooms... last 24 hours...

sunflowers... maybe a week or more...

but eventually the petals wither...

the wind blows...

and they are gone...

Unless a place is intentionally marked...

there is no evidence that it ever was...

I suppose this is the heart behind mankind's need for mausoleums... large headstones... and namesakes on hospital wings... libraries... stadiums...

We don't want to be forgotten...

but we will be...

Just how many generations of parents... can you name...?

these are ones directly related to your existence...

most can name back to grandparents...

but what about greats...? great-greats...? or great-great-greats...?

People made of dust...

with a relative lifespan of grass... flowers...

are soon forgotten...

God the Father set eternity in our hearts...

we have this deep-seated belief... we are made for more...

He has planted eternity in the human heart,

but even so, people cannot see the whole scope

of God's work from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

Eternity... planted in our hearts... so we might seek... and find... the One... through whom we can enter eternal life... Jesus...

No matter how spectacular a life...
it lasts only a moment...
then... its place remembers it no more...

...the wind blows over it... and... it... is... gone...

Lord Jesus... thank You for making the Way...

that we might enter into what's planted in our heart...

Teach me to live for You... and not for that which...

will be remembered no more...

[Note... For those who only view email... you may want to have a look at Jeremiah's Menu online... it finally got a new look...]

it's just a brief time...

This week I'm a shower house for youth on mission in town...
Every afternoon... 4 pm... they come to shower... clean up... from their day of serving... building... painting...

What I've become so aware of watching... listening... to these teens and their leader... is how fast time flies...

My own children... they went on mission through this same group when they were in high school...

Me... I've worked a kitchen or two for this group...

It just cycles... over... and... over...

I think about how quickly the time has gone...
how babies have grown to adults...
how nieces and nephews I knew as babies... now have babies...

I think about all who've gone before me...
those who knew me as a baby...
those who now have grand-babies... great-grand-babies...
those who've fallen asleep in the Lord...

The time seems short...
flying by...
and the truth strikes...
the entirety of our life on earth is brief...
whether you live 1 hour... or 105 years...

Man is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.

Psalm 144:4 ESV

In the eternal scheme of things... we have a very narrow window of time... to find Him... know Him... serve Him... glorify Him...

It's just a brief time...

What are you doing with yours...?

O Lord, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

Psalm 39:4 ESV

time...

Time... it feels pressed... finite... scarce... when there is much to do...

But He calls us to live without fear... I've recognized fear of scarcity when it comes to things... but today I'm fighting it when it comes to time...

I want to guard it... protect it... from interruptions... the unexpected... yet... this is where life happens... He's the One who fills my days...

And I remember... time is His...
He's outside of it...
He's eternal...

In Him... so... am... I...

"... And this is eternal life, 

that they know you the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ..." ---Jesus

John 17:3 ESV

Trusting Him with the time He's given...
knowing there will be more than enough...
if I rest in Him...

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever...

Psalm 146:6 ESV

it's not time...

The thought comes to mind... regarding His call... Maybe... it's time to back off of this one... It's getting hard...

And within moments of this thought... I'm talking not ten minutes... I receive an encouragement in the exact thing I'm thinking about backing off of...

After a thanks given... I pick up a book... reading where I left off...

It sounds like a lot of work, but growth takes work. Salvation is free, but maturity comes with a price.

---Gary L. Thomas, Seeking the Face of God

It's as if He's speaking directly to my heart... It's not time to back off... I know it's hard... It's time to grow to new levels...

I'm willing...  but Oh... my flesh... it's tired...

 The spirit indeed is willing,

but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41 ESV

And the verse from yesterday haunts... in its entirety... the one regarding eternal life...

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life

to which you were called and about which you made the good

confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1Timothy 6:12 ESV

So Yes... here I sit... 

pressing on...

fighting...

taking hold...

trusting...

hearing Him say... It's not time...

Amen...

slowing time...

At the end of another full day...
trying to learn to hear Him in the new...
I ask...

Who are You... today...?

Then it catches my eye...

amidst the clutter... and piles...

Slowing Time

And I hear Him say... Eternal...

eternal... adjective... 1 a: having infinite duration: everlasting... b: of or relating to eternity c: characterized by abiding fellowship with God... 2 a: continued without intermission: perpetual... b: seemingly endless... 4: valid or existing at all times: timeless

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.) 

In looking back... on today...

and preparing... for tomorrow...

He is... Eternal...

...infinite... abiding fellowship... continued... timeless...

No matter how busy... or packed... a day may seem...

No matter how limited... time... may appear...

In Him... we are time-less...

He is not bound by time... 

Eternity at His fingertips... time constraints... disappear...

Living life... abiding in Him... ensures... what He calls us to do... will get done...

Time slows... in His presence... when it has no bounds...

Today... I caught glimpses of it... wondering how so much came about...

Tomorrow... counting on His presence... and provision... in slowing... time... when things... feel pressed...

Take hold of the eternal life

to which you were called...

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

Taking hold... and trusting... the eternal life... in Him...

prepared...

...be prepared in season and out of season...

2 Timothy 4:2 NIV

I spent the last few weeks preparing... for a teaching... but it did not come about...

The season not quite right...

His timing perfect... and He wastes no preparation...

This time of preparation... in a busy season... stretched my faith... and revealed His faithfulness...

As I prepared... He blessed me with His Word... and His people... even when He knew it wouldn't come about...

A time of preparation... but not for what I thought...

He used the time... to further prepare me... for Him...

Lord... thank You for the weeks of preparation... 

the things learned... and Your encouragement... 

to be prepared... in season... and out...

not just passing time... passing through...

Time is not running out. This day is not a sieve, losing time. With each passing minute, each passing year, there's this deepening awareness that I am filling, gaining time. We stand on the brink of eternity.

--- Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts Devotional

I read these words at the start of this day... where before the covers were pulled back... a prayer for blessing on the pressing of time was felt full... and already had called out for His help... His calm...

A day begun by wondering where the margin was... and would He please increase it... because time it felt... as if it ran through a sieve...

And reading her words... it comes to me...

I am not just passing time, I am going somewhere.

Each day is a journey... an opportunity to gain ground...

Each choice... a step to go farther... 

along the Way of Holiness...

or... wander... off track...

Time... is the road on which I walk...

I am not just passing time... I am passing through...

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Psalm 84:5 NIV

Father God... help me journey well today... 

moment... by... moment...

open my eyes... to the truth of each choice... 

in word or deed... being a step... along this journey...

[Note & confession... 

I remembered last night... but did not take the steps to correct... again... I forgot to put the readings for The Journey on the post from Sunday... and here it's already Wednesday... I'll put them here... and retroactively... on Sunday too...]

This week's readings for The Journey...

Monday                   John 19:17 - 20:10

Tuesday                   John 20:11 - 21:25

Wednesday              Genesis 1

Thursday                  Genesis 2

Friday                      Genesis 3-4

19 years... the long and short of it...

A time period... sometimes seems long... sometimes short...

Even just one minute... can seem too long when you are holding your breath... or completing a set of ab exercises... but when you have one minute to complete a task... or get across town for an appointment... it's nothing...

Today for me... marks a long... and short...

It's been 19 years... since my mom left this world for paradise...

"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Luke 23:43

A long time... not to hear her laugh... see her smile... share time... and space... with her... a day to memorialize... embrace grief... and joy... recognize... loss... and gain...

My mom's illness and death... mark the beginning of my walk with Him... just 19 years... such a short time... so many years wasted before... my heart... it wishes... I would have started sooner... not been so stiff-necked... so remedial... but so grateful... for His grace... and however many years I have to walk by faith...

Trusting Him... in His Sovereignty... and power... to redeem... restore... and reclaim... all that has been lost... or wasted...

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten ---

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm ---

my great army that I sent among you. ..."

Joel 2:25

He is not bound... by time... or space... one moment... like the next to Him...

With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,

and a thousand years are like a day.

2 Peter 3:8

Lord... I trust in Your wisdom... to work time... knowing none is too short... or long... for You... I trust You with my days... no matter how many... or few... because in just one... You can accomplish what otherwise would take... a thousand years... Thank You, Lord... thank You...