I knew that when I started to write a blog, I would not pay it that much attention, mainly because there have to be more important/pressing things to spend my time doing - right? Well, yes, and also what's the point of writing on a blog if no one else is going to read it? I know my stuff, so I am not interesting in reproducing it here for me to read as I am not going to do that....
However, here I am, 6 or 7 months later posting for the 4th time. I could tell the world about Bend and it's people, but if anyone is really interested, then they can look at my facebook page. Honestly, we live in the most accessible time ever with email, voicemail, FB, IM, twitter and on and on so on and and yet people are still, if not even more so, feeling as lonely and neglected and desperately wanting to be loved as they were before. So, what's my part in letting them know that there is a God who created them and loves them and a Jesus who died for them who came that they may have abundant life? That's what I spend most of my time thinking about.

Yesterday I was able to connect with the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and heard my former PM talking about faith. I was really surprised by his honesty, integrity and comments.....He calls it the "Irreducible Core."

"There are things you have to take a stand for and not yield on…the irreducible core. What is my irreducible core? What do I hold as fundamental conviction…if you push me on that, ask me to compromise on that, it’s no deal. walk away"
Tony Blair, August 8, 2009.

So what's my irreducible core? I am not yet able to articulate it, but I am working on it.

So, as I find myself about to embark on my final year of this MDiv program, I am cognizant of many things. Each moment is a moment that comes, goes and will never be experienced again. Last year I lived in paradise (Aka Bend, Oregon) and one of the best things for me was the extent of the outdoor activity. (Everyone is fit, no one is overweight, health is in abundance.....at least that is what it seemed.....) Anyway, almost immediately upon arriving I was invited to experience the outdoors; climbing Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Tumalo, kayaking on Sparks Lake, Elk Lake, and Hosmar and of course I took my camera everywhere I went. But we know that 2-d photos can never capture the true essence of the reality of the moment and I was sometimes disappointed in the photos but my point is that once the moment has passed, it's passed. It's gone, it's history and we are onto the next moment. But every moment counts, and needs to be used well. David, the shepherd turned King, prayed that his creator would teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Last weekend Mosa Sono, senior pastor of Grace Bible Church, Soweto, an area near Johannesburg, South Africa, spoke to us about time savers and time wasters. They were not the usual ones that comes to mind - watching TV, surfing the net, facebooking, and so on, but rather things like being in the will of God will save us time. Did you know, because I didn't, that had the Israelites done exactly as they were commanded to do, they would have arrived at their destination in ONE MONTH; it took them 40 years????? I suppose when one thinks about it, the land between Egypt and Canaan is not that large and the Israelites traveled in circles, out of God's will for them. Another thing he said was that we can waste time allowing things in our past to spoil our futures, allowing those unresolved issues to drag on and on and on. He directed us to Heb 4:26;

"...in your anger, do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

I have always thought that that meant that both parties needed to not be angry and really it means that my responsibility is that I am not angry and I have done all I can do to forgive the other party. That is not easy....but God has forgiven me much, so how can I sit in the place of judgment? I can't.

And then there was the converse - how to make the best use of time.
#1 - Put God first in my life. "Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all things will be given to you as well."
So that is it.....whatever else is going on in my life, be that Greek or something else, God has to come first, every day, and I know what that means for me.

Well, whether or not this is read by anyone else, I have reminded myself of what is important as a fully loved daughter of the most High God.