One of the things I love about reading the bible as I am sure others do as well, is the fact that you can read something several times and always find something new. There is no other book that I can do this with other then Gods Holy word!!!

It is no accident that Ecclesiastes has been classified as “Wisdom Literature.” It is perhaps the most philosophical of all of the books of the Bible. And yet, the book contains more than mere philosophical debate. It contains some very practical and down-to-earth wisdom. Ecclesiastes is a book that gives us a harsh dose of reality. The rose-colored glasses came off a long time ago. Everything is not sweetness and light, the good guys do not always win, and the hero does not ride off into the sunset. Quite to the contrary. The Preacher proclaims the fact that he has seen instances where bad things happened to good people and where good things happened to bad people.

Taken from Wisdom in a wayward world.

Ecclesiastes 7:15-18

 Verse 15

What does he mean?  That you should not be too good? That it’s okay to be a “little bad?” No… He does not say, “Be a little good and be a little bad.” He doesn’t actually say to be wicked at all. What he DOES say is do not be excessive. Don’t try to be excessively righteous or excessively wise.

What does this mean? Its meaning can only be seen in the light of the CONTEXT. The Preacher has just described in verse 15 how he has seen a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and… a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.

One might say “That’s not fair!” And by making such a conclusion, one would be attempting to pass judgment upon the righteousness and fairness of God. This is not good.

You hear people do it all the time. People say, “I can’t believe in a God who would allow war and suffering and injustice to take place in the world. If I were God, then I would do it differently.” To make such a statement is to attempt to be overly righteous and overly wise. It is to put your own righteousness and your own wisdom over that of God’s.

But neither should you go to the other extreme of saying, “God’s righteousness and God’s wisdom are so far removed from me that they do not relate to me and I’m just going to live in sin. After all, if I have broken one of the commandments, it is the same as though I had broken all of them so I might as well have fun doing it.” This is also the act of a fool. Moreover, it is a path in which you may well die before your time.

This is just so fasinating to me!Where is the balance between these two extremes you might ask? The answer is found in verse 18. It is in the fear of the Lord. How can you maintain a balance between trying to be overly righteous versus walking the way of sin? By fearing God. We don’t talk that much these days of fearing God. But we ought to. After all, that is where real wisdom begins.

Verse 18

 It is good to grasp the one 
and not let go of the other. 
The man who fears God will avoid all extremes .

Ecclesiastes 11:7

Ecclesiastes 5:10 

Whoever loves money never has money enough; 
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. 
This too is meaningless.

Our Garden (May)

This is my row of Snow Peas I am happy to see them doing so well. I have never grown them before. I also have peppermint planted in with them as shown.

Dh planted these. It is one row of corn and 3 rows of sweet potatos.

This is 2 eggplants and 2 hot pepper plants. You can also see the cucumbers popping up and we have yet to see the beets, carrots and the rest that DH planted.

This is on the side of our home. It is a couple rows of sunflowers, both short and tall ones. I plant them every year. There is also one lonely head of cabbage which no one likes. You can also see a few strawberry plants in one of the rasied beds along with the turnips and some cantalopes in the bags of soil. There is 2 tomato plants in the raised bed in front of the strawberries. My blue chair is next to the kids pool and the garden. The containers consist of more veggies and flowers. DH placed them all there so they can get watered when our electric timer goes off at 6am. They were on my back deck.

Above is a cherry tomato plant.

This is a recent picture of one of the 6 window boxes I have on the back deck. They all look the same. My 2 oldest dd’s did these.

And there you have a tour of our humble garden. If you have a garden going..I’d love to see it. Just leave a comment with your link.:-)

How does Light Picture the law of a mother? Pg 25

The light of a candle provides illumination so that everyone within its range can see clearly how to carry out his responsibilities. The brighter the light, the greater the illumination.

The light of the lamp is fragile. It can be blown out by a sudden gust of wind; it can be extinguished by those around it; or it can be snuffed out by being covered.

When the father gives a biblical command such as “I want our family to be up each morning at such and such time,” it is the responsibility of the mother to work out the details in order for this to occur.  Her “Law” would include bedtimes and rising schedules for the children, preparations for breakfast, and coordination of the morning routines.

Just as God’s Law is an expression of his love, so the law of the mother confirms her love for her husband and her children. Think (Proverbs 31)

4. Suffering-God has ordained  that we receive grace for personal cleansing, growth, and achievement by learning how to properly respond to those who offend us.

3. Responsibility- God holds us personally responsible for every one of our words, thoughts, actions, attitudes, and motives. Therefore, whenever we sin, there must be confession and proper restitution.

2. Authority-God has established a struture of authority and a balance of power. He has also ordained that with proper attitudes and wise appeals, those under authority can have far-reaching influence.

This was quick and easy to make. I used my bread machine to cut time. It is  VERY moist and not crumbly. It went graet with the homemade cream cheese that I made the previous day. My kids loved it toasted with real butter! YMMY!

If you try it let us know how it went!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Wheat-Bread-I/Detail.aspx

I am going to be taking experts from  my  study book that I have… called, “Principles Of Life” There is so much good  food for thought in this book.  and while I don’t agree with all areas, I do most.

1. DESIGN:  God has precise purposes for each person, object, and reationship which he established. Only as we understand and follow these will we find our identity and fullillment in life.

I am going to be taking experts from  my  study book that I have… called, “Principles Of Life” There is so much good  food for thought in this book.  and while I don’t agree with all areas, I do most.

1. DESIGN:  God has precise purposes for each person, object, and reationship which he established. Only as we understand and follow these will we find our identity and fullillment in life.