Girls sleeping...
Kyle off to work...
Errands to run...
Appointments to keep...
Friends to visit...
The sun is beginning to sprinkle shadows across on the west hillside...
Leaving outlines of distant trees on the browning foliage...
Creating landscape art not capable of man...
Only God, Himself...
After a full morning of school & then a busy afternoon of ironing, cutting & sewing, once Kyle arrived home & he & Mal gathered eggs, fed Zeke & cared for the chickens, we left the girls in the basement to continue to work on projects while he & I spent time in the kitchen preparing supper. Per Mal's request, we cooked up some delicious homemade Chinese cuisine. ♥ Beef stir fry with peppers, onions & broccoli over fried rice with makeshift lo mein noodles on the side. Lots of work & lots of time but so worth it. :) We love cooking & working together in the kitchen. ♥
It was a blessing for me to watch MaKayla & Mal work together yesterday...
Mal eager to learn...
Running here.
Going there.
We used to be the same way...
And at times we, too get caught up in the chaos...
When we live as such, we get a lot of miles in...
But in turn, we miss so much...
Maybe not to the typical seeing eye...
Yet when we look closer...
Deeper...
We see opportunities missed...
A situation that needed some gentle instruction...
A heart that craved a word of encouragement...
A brokenness that just wanted a physical touch of affirmation...
Something as simple as...
"I just want you to know how wonderful I think you really are..."
A touch on the back...
An ear that listens & pays attention...
A hug that embraces...
As I read in Luke this morning:
"Be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." ~Luke 21:34-36
Most of that was pretty much self-explanatory for me yet I needed some further explanation on the word 'dissipation'... :)
- dissipation -
the act of dissipating
the state of being dissipated; dispersion; disintegration
a wasting by misuse
amusement; diversion
dissolute way of living; intemperance
a process in which energy is used or lost without accomplishing useful work
Another reference said it this way:
*wasteful expenditure
*act of self-indulgence
And has this as an example...
"Insulation helps prevent the dissipation of heat from houses in the winter."
That's the norm...
The standard...
The goal of life...
In turn there is dissipation...
A reality that this portion of Scripture warns against...
When we chase after the pleasures of this life, we allow our deliberate devotion to God to dissipate.
We work more.
We buy more.
We play more.
We go more.
We spend more.
We busy ourselves more.
More of pleasing our flesh means less of pleasing God...
Where does the reality of loving, serving & having a passion for Him fit in to this lifestyle?
And sadly, we're teaching this pattern of living to our children.
We're allowing the pleasures of this life, to dissipate our deliberate devotion to God; similar to how a house void of insulation allows heat to dissipate from it's windows, walls & doors. In turn, we're sacrificing the best God has for us in order to hold tightly to the good...
Refusing to let go.
We're being weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness & the anxieties of life...
And then we miss it...
Opportunities...
Moments...
Lives wanting, needing & craving our attention...
Entrusted to us...
Everywhere you turn...
You see it...
We're busy...
We're on a mission...
Our schedules, commitments & quest for more have us weighted...
We don't notice...
Lately I've observed that most people you meet, have no idea of how to respond when a stranger smiles at them. Try it. The highest majority either look down or in the opposite direction...
We are daily given opportunities to be salt & light...
To make a difference...
Even if it is in a small child...
Or a burdened spouse...
Or a stranger on the street...
God gives us moments.
To share a genuine word of encouragement...
To extend a physical touch of affirmation...
Holding a hand...
Asking how a day has gone & listening to the response...
Warmly embracing a body that needs to know...
They. Are. Loved.
They. Are. Valued.
They. Are. Believed in.
There's someone, somewhere waiting to be enriched by you... ♥
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
~ Mother Teresa ~
