ACRONYMS OF ADVICE

In times when one is overwhelmed---even trying to read a newspaper or text full of acronyms---of which one doesn't have a clue---KISS comes to mind.

K eep 

I t

S imple

S weetie

Just yesterday a friend sent a text explaining acronyms for "senior" (OLD) citizens. I needed a laugh so the timing was perfect.

Will continue this thought on more of a spiritual realm as I recall and reflect on two personal acronyms as I have focused meditating on words lately---SEEK & FOCUS!

I will share those two acronyms of advice soon. 

Time Concept

11/7/12 Sweet "faith friend" Sally Klinke told me that as a young person her mom was always telling her that she had NO concept of time. I, on the other hand, have been told by my family members that I am time compulsive. We are both "working" on these areas.

In recent years it seems that all women are driven one way or another by time---living (or struggling) by another's idea of perfect timing, dealing with amounts of time, too much time taken up by "urgencies of work or needs of others, too little time for all the world says we SHOULD accomplish and much too  little time available for relationships with family and friends. And oh yea----did I mention God!

God's "time economy" is different from ours. There is always enough time to accomplish all that He requires---time allotted for His purposes.

I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’ (Hosea 10:12, NLB)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added (given) unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

All things. Even time. Previous verses in that chapter remind us that it's the Lord who grants our life span (time). 

This week within the time which He granted me, I found that seeking Him first (before the onslaught of    my virtually impossible schedule) resulted in an amazing conclusion. Time redemption. It wasn't why I sought Him, but God....gave it to me anyway.

A new concept of time. Time Redemption. It's His to give and He does, when we seek him FIRST!

TIME REDEMPTION

7/18/12

I am a clock watcher---always have been.I used to even wear a watch to bed if there wasn't a clock nearby. But God.....has been teaching me to "watch" Him more and my timepiece less. Yesterday, that happened. Before my "biggie" 6 month doctor's 11:15 a.m.appointment, I had already run errands in Germantown (2), made a bank stop, picked up tomatoes (For me, jet star tomatoes from Middleton vendor at Agri-center put those Ripley "maters"to shame---more acidic, which is what I prefer.) and "peas to put up" at the market, and voted. After said appointment, which Dr. S. deemed a "good report", I met 3 friends at Paradise Cafe for a yummy lunch and mission trip discussion.
Following that I went to the home of a dear friend. Geary Irwin, who has been a special friend since the 60s and is almost 89, can run circles around me. It was a bittersweet time. Geary is moving to Jacksonville, FL to be nearer to her daughter and the movers were pulling out as I arrived. The sweet part was that Anne Hooker and I both had just dropped in to see her off because in an earlier conversation, she let us know that some folks would be there to clean up and we could just visit. Well, the cleaners never came and Anne, who lives around the corner, went & got her vacuum and we had the privilege to help her grandaughter with the "tidying up" before the new owners came the next day. How special was that---Geary said, "Y'all were God-sent." How those words energized me.
There was even energy left over to make a few more stops on the way home and leftovers were easy to pull out for supper. All of this to say, that earlier in the day, as I was ready to dart out the door with a  l-o-n-g list of "to do items", I had a real God nudge. I took time (which I didn't think I could spare) and had time with Him, not looking at my watch even once.
Hosea 10:12 reminds us that it's time to seek the Lord.

Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord

Maybe I'm on the road to recovery. Maybe I'm not as time compulsive as I once was. Maybe....once again, God clearly showed me that He can redeem the time. Time redemption that even left me energized at the end of a long day.