Thankful in the Little Things

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is around the corner. If the Thanksgiving holiday were a person, I think I might feel sorry for him. He is quickly forgotten in the shadow of Christmas, sometimes even before his big day and most definitely as soon as Thursday is gone and the clock strikes midnight to usher in Friday with all it's shopping glory. Thanksgiving has become more of a reminder or notification that Christmas is almost here. But in reality, what a great honor Thanksgiving has in preparing our hearts for Christmas. It's only right that he would be overshadowed by the day we remember that Christ was born. Why not let Thanksgiving herald in the Christmas season and heed his proclamation to be intentional in cultivating a thankful heart? Afterall, the only way I can be thankful is because God sent his Son into the world to be my Savior.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil - this is God's gift to man. - Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels

Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things

So, in seeking to learn from the Sound of Music, Thanksgiving and not to mention God's Word, I want to make a practice of recounting God's blessings on my days, especially in the little things.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:17

photo: December 5, 2009 (Exactly one year ago! Little detail that I delight in :) )

which will proper

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. - Ecclesiastes 1:5-6

My dad noticed something in these verses. They do not give an option of nothing prospering, only which (this or that) or both. That can be encouraging when you see nothing but failure and fatigue - no fruit, growth, progress, or prospering from your labors in life. But what's even more encouraging to me is that I do not "know the work of God who makes everything."

For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8.

I'm so glad my hope is outside of myself.

photo: fortress in Salzburg, Austria 2007

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 3

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point Three: The purposeful pursuit of leisure

• Be intentional in your use of leisure time.
• Evaluate your present leisure pursuits. It's easy to let leisure escape the Biblical scrutiny we apply to other areas of our lives. Evaluate:
• Our time
• Given my responsibilities, am I spending too much time pursuing leisure?
• Am I spending too little time pursuing God-given leisure?
• The activities and their effects (this will look different in different season of life)
• Am I refreshed by this activity? (this will vary from person to person; don't judge others by what is effective for you.)
• Am I more ready to resume my labors having done this activity?
• Can I do this activity with a clear conscience?
• Does this activity unduly isolate me from my family and friends?
• Does this activity increase my awareness of or gratitude to God?
• Our motive - Am I pursuing leisure for Godly purposes?

Conclusion:

Keep a transcendent perspective of your leisure. Let your view of leisure be "over the sun," and not merely "under the sun." Leisure and pleasure are not our goals. They are not ends in themselves. They are meant to point to something (Matthew 11:28-30).

Labor is hard and wearisome because we are sinful. God gives us leisure to point our eyes above, to Him and the peace in Christ. I have physical rest because I have spiritual rest. Let your pursuit of rest here point your eyes to the ultimate rest you will have when the Kingdom is consummated. The restless soul is an unforgiven soul, but a soul that receives forgiveness receives rest.

Let our leisure be a reminder of the forgiveness and rest for our souls that Christ has accomplished on the cross.

photo: Joy, by the Conestoga River, 2010

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 2

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point Two: The sinful temptation of leisure

• To idolize leisure - leisure and pleasure become ends in themselves
• Ecclesiastes 2:1-2
• Leisure becomes idolatry when it absorbs the time, affections, and resources that belong to God and his purposes.
• To neglect leisure - for the pursuit of work and acquisition
• A root is self-sufficiency; "my success depends solely on myself." God is completely left out of the equation. To leave nothing to chance is actually to leave nothing to God.
• Rest reflects a trust in God. This can be a particular temptation to mothers who incessantly serve their families but can neglect rest and refreshment. It's a particular temptation when what you are doing is commanded by God. Nothing is more noble, but you must be alert to the dangers of self-sufficiency. When everything is on your shoulders so you neglect rest, you are sinning - depending on yourself and not receiving the grace of God.
• To waste it.
• Laziness is a sin. Leisure is not a sin.
• Empty, sinful pursuits can disguise themselves as leisure.
• Leisure is not "vegging out."

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 1

I came across a sermon called A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, preached by Jeff Purswell at Covenant Life Church a while back (CJ was still senior pastor). I listened to it near the end of our family vacation this week and took over two pages of typed notes. It was a very good reminder to me, so I'm going to put notes up from his three main points in three separate blog posts. This sermon was the fourth in a series they did called Sanctifying the Ordinary: Sleep, work, food, leisure; Behind all that appears ordinary is an extraordinary God. I am interested in finding the other sermons as well.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point One: The divine intention of leisure

• Components of leisure
• Rest and relaxation from the toils of life
• We are creatures; God is creator. We need rest. God doesn't need to rest. We need more than just sleep. We need rest from our toils and obligations of life that vie for our attention.
• Exodus 20:8
• God prescribes times where people halt productive activities. Life is not meant to consist of duties solely to produce. God provides us leisure as a gift, as a break from our work. He's created life to be a rhythm between work and leisure.
• Psalm 23:1-3 - "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...He restores my soul." Does that describe your life on Tuesday at 2:45 - green pastures, still waters, soul restored? Is your soul regularly restored or frenzied? Work is a gift and calling, but work in a fallen world is hard.
• It takes faith to rest, sometimes more than to work. It requires us to trust that when I'm not working, God is working. God remains at work. It's really an expression of humility and faith in God. We make a statement when we rest - "God, I refuse to trust in my labors. I know that my work is important, but ultimately all my labor comes from you anyway. I am dependent upon you, and I'm grateful for this rest." When you stop, you draw a circle around your creatureness. That kind of faith will bring rest to your souls.
• Enjoyment and celebration
• God commands us to be happy (Psalm 37:4, Psalm 16:11). God centered pleasure is not just available, but commanded. This is not just limited to "spiritual" activities. God's entire creation is given to us to enjoy.
• Deepening our awareness of and gratitude towards God
• The pause of leisure clears our minds. It allows for a realignment of our perspective. Severed from God, leisure is a mirage. It becomes empty and trivial. It only leaves someone with a craving for more leisure. But our awareness of God and enjoyment of our leisure is enhanced when centered on God.
• Especially in a culture like our's, leisure (like every other area) is not immune to our sinful tendencies.
• The Church has had really very little to say about leisure. And whenever the Church refuses to think about an area, it will inevitably end up imitating the culture in that area.

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

Study God

Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones - bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England is retrogression - like believing the earth is flat. (Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis)

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)