"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

To Live Content....

~"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy , not respective, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages with open heart; to bear on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never;..." William Henry Channing
~ The last post is a thinking, or writing out loud...in print. Very publicly too. I do trust in God to work all things out to His glory, and in my life,as I think back on the years I know He has. ~The relative who lost his job is not afraid because his faith AND life experience have proven God is faithful. We have a young woman who meets with us in our home fellowship who is employed by a large company currently in the midst of major downsizing. Every week she still has her job, she thanks God and then trusts he will care for her if she discovers she has lost it. ~Mary from Annie's Goat Hill has a wonderful post discussing just where I was going with last nights' post but I got too wordy to go on writing. Please check out her blog today. Anyway, my daughter and I were talking about how these times are definitely giving us all a nudge ( or maybe a BIG push) in the direction of taking stock of what is important and just what we really need, or do NOT need in our lives. ~For me and many others, the important things cannot be measured by the size of our bank account, or what the world calls 'success'. How I deal with the not so nice things life sends my way, or God allows , is really one of the measures , or tests of life. Am I still trusting when things go bad? ~As Mary and my daughter have said, this is kind of ( understatement?) an exciting time for us. A time for re-thinking our priorities and goals and vision for our families and communities. Also, this is a time to come together with those we love and those who are like minded to support and encourage others to live simply and with great contentment.
~ Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said " I will never leave you or forsake you." So that we confidently say " The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what shall man do to me?" ....and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today , yes and forever." Hebrews 13: 5,6,8

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So well expressed Kathy and what perfect verses you share this afternoon.

Mary Humphrey said...

When met with diversity, the first thing I do is flip the switch. You might ask, "What switch?" And you might already know what switch that is. I turn within, and I turn outward, and I turn upward. It is a quiet turn, but I turn none-the-less. Sometimes the answers to our prayers are slow in coming, but they do arrive, and there is goodness that follows. We may not like what we hear, but prayers that are answered are always good, and when we are obedient to our prayers, we receive riches (not measurable in possessions).

I may have just been too wordy!

This is a time to learn from, and I hope we all do.

Thank you, Kathy!

Jennifer said...

Great post and so very true!

Sandy said...

Hi Sweet Kathy,
I am sorry to have not been by for a visit and I thank you for checking in with me from time to time. I so appreciate your visits and kind comments.

Your post is beautiful and I agree with the placing of trust with the only who knows what is around the next bend. So far Handy Hubby still has his job but lay offs are happening but we choose to trust rather than worry.

Thank you for getting my post and reading it in my native dialect. For fun someday I am going to type up a post in exactly the way we drop and drawl around here. Our dialect is slow syrup and a dash of twang, the further north up into the hills you go the more pronounced it is. I do love it but oh my do I love to hear a Georgia gal speak, utterly charming.

I'm off to read a bit more here, have a nice evening!

KathyB. said...

Amy ,Mildred,Jennifer, thank-you!

Mary,I love wordy comments like that! Encouraging and true.

Miss Sandy, now i know how to read your Southern dialogue....and believe me, that is how my brain will hear your words!
I think these times are only making it clear true security and peace come from God.

Jo said...

Oh, Kathy, goodness! I haven't had time to visit many of my favorite blogs lately, and I just read your last two posts. I think you and your family are going to be survivors, because you have the right attitude. I wish I had your faith. I envy you! Your faith will keep you afloat through anything.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

This is exactly what I needed to hear today. It's so easy to caught up in the wants and sometimes we, I need to come back to reality! Thank you.

Shelley said...

This was a great post for me to read today. My husband and I were talking about living even more simply then we do - it's easy to find contentment in family, out in nature and a roof over our heads.