Live Wisely and Well

Today is Saturday, January 12, 2019.

Day 22,220

32 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training!

“Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.”
Samuel Johnson, English author, critic, & lexicographer, 1709-1784
The Quotations Page

The word of the day is iceblink. It means, “a yellowish luminosity near the horizon or on the underside of a cloud, caused by the reflection of light from sea ice.” (Dictionary.com)

I got off work on time, last night! It was amazing! Then it was raining and the traffic was awful, so it took me a lot longer to get home. No worries, though. It was Friday, and the beginning of the weekend.

We had our somewhat usual dinner of Freebirds burrito bowls, last night, and watched the last two episodes of Big Little Lies. At least until later in the year, when there is allegedly a second season coming. My understanding, though, is that they have exhausted the content of the book, so I’m curious as to where they will go from here. Similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, I think. But we have yet to watch the second season of that show. I’m not sure what we will watch next.

Today, C and S are going to a wedding shower at noon. That leaves me all alone to do whatever I want. Mwahahaha! Tonight, I may actually watch football again! I know, right? The Cowboys are playing in LA against the newly (and properly) relocated Rams. Also today, in the afternoon, the Colts play the Chiefs. This may wind up being the best game of the weekend. Tomorrow, the Chargers, who recently lost their way and wound up in LA, are playing the Patriots. Also tomorrow, the Eagles play the Saints. My predictions, mostly ignorant, are as follows: The NFC championship game will be the Rams vs. the Saints. The AFC championship will be the Chargers (yes, they will beat Tom Brady) vs. the Chiefs. I’m less sure about the Chiefs and Colts, though. I don’t plan to watch all of these games, by the way.

Tomorrow, I’m leading worship all by myself. I’m actually looking forward to this. The songs I have chosen are “Here I Am To Worship,” “Word of God Speak,” “10,000 Reasons,” and “Surrounded (Fight My Battles).”

I’ll be right back. I need another cup of coffee.

I’m back. Thanks for waiting.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20

Today I am grateful:
1. For weekends, especially when we don’t have a lot to do.
2. For the grace of God in showing me when I’m wrong about something.
3. For the help of the Holy Spirit in repentance and forgiveness.
4. That I can talk to my wife about these things, and for the advice she gives.
5. That I have time for a second cup of coffee (related to number 1, of course).

Almighty God,
you have given us grace at this time with one accord 
to make our common supplication to you;
and you have promised through your well-beloved Son 
that when two or three are gathered together in his Name 
you will be in the midst of them:
Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions 
as may be best for us;
granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,
and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer, A Prayer of St. Chrysostom)

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

A while back, I read this verse, and started taking it literally. That’s what those numbers mean at the top of the page. Today, I am 22,220 days old. I am “numbering my days.” Silly, perhaps, and a bit too literal. But it’s fun for me.

I like Eugene Peterson’s translation of this verse in The Message. “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!” Perhaps that gets the gist of the verse better than numbering days.

I think the point is to consider the days. There’s a word we don’t use a whole lot, these days. “Consider.” It means more than just to think. It means, “think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision.” Typically, but not necessarily regarding an impending decision. Think carefully about the days.

We live in a world where “hurry” is the norm. I get up at 5:15 AM, do a morning devotional, along with this blog, and then it’s off to work. I usually barely make it to work on time, especially if I stop along the way for something to eat. People around me, driving like bats out of you-know-where. The closer it gets to 8:00 AM, the worse people drive. I saw a funny meme on Facebook, the other day. It said, “It’s funny how people get so angry in traffic on the way to work. Like they’ll be any happier once they get there.”

Everyone is in a hurry. But Eugene H. Peterson once said, “Hurry is a form of violence practiced on time. But time is sacred.” And Dallas Willard famously said, “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is a famous passage, made even more famous by a song.

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.

If you can read that without thinking, “Turn, turn, turn,” after the first few phrases, I’m surprised.

This passage makes a point that there are certain times for certain things. And we need to consider, to think carefully, about those times, and what time it is right now. I’m not talking about clock time, you know. What time is it in my life?

To bring this into perspective, especially regarding “hurry,” let’s look at one last verse. 2 Peter 3:8.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

You see, God never hurries. So why should I? Well, because I might be late. If that is the case, then I need to consider how I’m approaching the time. Am I getting up early enough? Am I wasting time? (That’s a huge one for me!) Am I spending my time wisely. So I need to rearrange my life so that I never have to hurry. I need to number my days, learn to “live wisely and well.”

While it is true that I have all eternity in front of me, I don’t have that here on earth. There is a limited amount of time for us. We don’t know how long it will be. So we need to “number our days,” we need to consider the times. And we need to learn to live wisely and well.

Father, teach me to live wisely and well, to number my days properly. Help me to eliminate hurry from my life. I read (or heard) that Willard quote a long time ago, and it had an impact on me. But I forget a lot. I forget, and I catch myself hurrying. I catch myself worrying about things, about time. Help me to consider time more like it is to You. Help me to consider.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4

Soli Deo Gloria!