Exciting Times

You probably cannot imagine how many times I sit down to write something on here, and the computers are SO SLOW that I get frustrated and give up. I think it's happened twice in the last week.

Every Tuesday morning we have staff meeting, and for the first 10-15 minutes, someone shares a short devotional. To be honest, I usually have trouble concentrating at 7:30 in the morning, and I usually let the stuff that's said pass in one ear and out the other. HOWEVER, in the recent past, there have been two that have sparked some thought. (thx Josh and Erin!) I thought I would share a little bit of their wisdom and my thoughts. If you don't like mini-sermons, maybe don't read the following paragraphs.
I'm not sure why I like quotes so much, but I think it has something to do with other people using better words than me. In Josh's devo, (which, incidently, I was late for, because sometimes I also have trouble getting up early in the morning) he challenged us to notice the small things that we enjoy, and stop taking things for granted. For instance, I live in a country where I can go visit beaches and islands that most people have as screen savers or desktop backgrounds on their computer.
He shared a couple of quotes that have really stuck with me. One is this: "The way you live your life is the way you live your days." And I've thought about this a lot. Your life is just a big group of days and minutes and moments, and if you take for granted the moments and minutes and think your days are incredibly boring, then guess what your life adds up to. Yup, boredom.
I've started to think that it's all about your perpective. Josh shared a scene from the movie the Matrix, where it is said about Neo, "If he's the one, these are exciting times!" And if you think about it, these are exciting times. We are changing the world, one moment at a time.

Erin shared some stuff on joy and desires, and the part that stuck out to me was a section of C.S.Lewis' Mere Christianity, where he talks about this earth being just a dim shadow; a poor reflection of the real thing in heaven. On earth we have desires for things, and often those desires are unfulfillable because we long for the real thing. We can desire relationships, or a good job, or stabilty, or (whatever else). And most of our desires will never be filled on earth. If earth is a poor reflection of heaven, then why do I expect all of my desires to be filled here? It's very easy to live like earth is IT. But it's not. Why do I expect it to be? "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Ps73:24-26) If earth really has nothing I desire (which, I confess, is not true in my life most of the time), then why do I care so much about it??

You may not see the connection of these two things, but in my mind, they are tied together. If I'm not looking for life to be completely fulfilling on earth, if I'm finding my joy in God, if I'm living like every moment counts, then these are EXCITING TIMES. AND THAT, is enough to give me more joy. I hope you see it too.