A Quiet Wood

A Quiet Wood

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Stuff.

Well, it's late, and here I sit recovering from my first dorm meeting of the New Year. You know, one full of little "motherly reminders" (do wear this, don't wear that, stop putting your trash in the hall, don't be smooching the boys off campus - or on campus for that matter, etc.). But the really cool thing is that I could also tell my girls how incredibly proud I am of them, how I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world, how I wouldn't trade them for any other girls, how I love them so much that it hurts sometimes, and that I could absolutely mean every word of it. I know that I've ratcheted on in the past about how wonderful it is to love what you do, how great God is to put us in jobs that will fulfill us, and on and on and on. But every once in a while, it hits me again, and I just have to repeat myself. (Thanks for your longsuffering.)

School is back in full swing. We are now in our opening revival, and God is blessing us with solid truth that is easily applied right where our students are living. What a blessing! I count myself utterly blessed every time we make it through a revival and I don't feel like I need to do damage control with my girls because of what was preached. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often, but when it does...oh my. Anyway, I won't get stuck there. I'm sure we all have our own horror stories we could tell. :)

I shall now do a wild change of subject. There, it's done. I was reading Luke 12 the other day, and for the first time in my life I saw the beautiful flow of the chapter. It's a familiar chapter, the concepts of which I have heard all my life. I could quote the verses to you, but somehow I never put them all together. I'm speaking particularly of verses 13-34. I'll give them to you in a nutshell. (My quotes are from the NASB. You can read them for yourself later.) It starts off with the story of the rich man who says to himself "I will tear down my barns and build larger." You know the story. Later God says to him, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you..." Vs. 21 says, "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Then in v. 22 Jesus says, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life..." And He goes on to talk about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and how we shouldn't worry about eating and drinking and other important stuff. Vv. 30-31, "...but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you." In vv. 33-34 he tells them to sell their possessions and give them to charity, "...make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The rich man missed it because his heart was with his treasure, and his treasure was all here. In light of that cautionary tale, Jesus tells us not to get hung up with the things of this world. I know that a lot of our stuff is important, but I pray that I will never forget that it's just that..."stuff". I know that I don't make a huge salary (yes, I have noticed that from time to time), and compared to some people I may not have that much. But I also know that compared to the vast majority of the world I live like a queen. And I ask myself, where is my treasure? Where is my heart? Do I have too much stuff? How tightly do I grasp the things I own right now? How would I react if they were all taken away? I don't know that I have it all figured out yet, but I do know that I want my treasure to be in the right place. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I'm living for "stuff", things that can be taken as quickly as they were given. Things that, in the end, really don't mean that much.

Well, that's what I've been thinking in my little thinker lately. Oh, by the way, I thought that maybe someone out there needed a smile. So, I decided to post this little clip to remind you of the days when simply eating cereal was an adventure.



Watch out for that last bite. It's a doozy!

21 comments:

Kimberly said...

I'm up late too...(refer to similarly themed blog:)...stuff/$/knowledge/pride/self-reliance...whatever it is that keeps our eyes off Jesus!

Cute kiddo!

Anita Marie said...

Thanks for the reminder. And I so enjoyed the clip.

Mary Ellen said...

What did you put in that poor boys cereal...lemon juice!?!?! I was so happy to find a new blog - I was thinking of starting a petition...or calling your Mom... "-)

Anonymous said...

Actually, come to think of it, I think he was eating a banana. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

You know it is interesting because I too, like Mary Ellen, was thinking what I was going to have to do for you to update the blog site with more words of wisdom.
It is really interesting that you put these words of wisdom here because it was exactly what I needed to be reminded of today!! I'm amazed how many times recently the Lord has been using my friends to say or send me something or post things on their blogs that have been the spiritual uplift and reminder that I needed!!

Thanks for the uplifting words!!

Tim Messner (now showing up as pcfixer330)

lauralavon said...

Dittos! I was wondering just when in the world we were going to hear from you! : )
Enjoyed and appreciate your sharing.

Making Memories 1999 said...

Thanks for this thought-provoking post! Good reminder!!

The clip definately brought a smile!! Too cute!

Susanna said...

Glad you enjoyed my blog/post; your comment made me miss you!! I heartily agree with your thoughts on this post. Love ya!

TheMan said...
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TheMan said...
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TheMan said...

I have also been pondering the "stuff" in our lives. God has really been showing me the importance of being thankful and having an attitude of praise. It really makes such a difference when we change our focus from self to service and praise.

It's great to connect with you and Brent again! Have a great week.

Julia said...

Hey Friend.

What an ecclectic post. I'm so glad you're enjoying all your girls. (imagine how terrible it would be if you hated them?)

Good thoughts on stuff. I often think about this and want to remember to be content where I am with what I have and then be willing to be content with less.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the clip of your little buddy. What a doll. I remember the first time I fed Josiah solids and the priceless faces he made. Too funny.

kayla said...

What a good dorm mother you are! Maybe I'll come tho GBS for college.
Love reading your thoughts. You are so right about living like a queen. Harold always reminds us that no matter how poor we are here in the US in comparison to the vast majority of the world's population we are so rich. I'm so glad that my contentment doesn't lie in "stuff". Even new houses will day lose their appeal, but I still have something deeper to hold onto.
Love the video. What a cutie pie

Charity said...

Thanks for all the recent comments on our blog. Love the video! How old is he? He's a hoot!

cheriepasbjerg said...

Love it! Giving kids their first food is such a fun time!

NomadatHeart said...

Hello my jolly friend!! I've linked your blog to mine. Hope you don't mind! Visit me sometime! :o) OR at least my blog! Love and miss you! Carol

NomadatHeart said...

It's time!!!! And I'm not even your mother! Can we have another post please? :o)

Mary said...

Just wanted to say hello. I followed some links and found your site. It was good to see some faces from my HSBC days.

Anonymous said...

IT'S TIME!!! PLEASE! May we have another post!! Please, Please, Please!! Look, you have got us begging!! LOL!!

If you don't post we will have to call you mother and have her get after you. Hmm, now there a threat you didn't want to hear I'm sure!! Ha, Ha!!

Hope all is going!

Kimberly said...

Friend, you take your time and post when the Lord leads you! Waiting will breed character within us.

(There guys maybe reverse psychology will work. lol)

Alanna said...

That video clip is priceless!! He is the funnest little kid. I really enjoyed your "sermon" Ms. V. You spoke the TRUTH...that needs to be heard!