Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place.  I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.

-C.S. Lewis
The Great Divorce

I've found myself very intrigued lately by the idea of slowing down.  Not being so frantically busy that I can't even think.  Letting go of the unimportant and taking time for the valuable.  

I read things like this and feel inspired.  Ready to cut all of the stuff out of my life and focus on what's really important.  No more busy-ness and over-scheduling for me.  We are going to enjoy life, and relax while doing it.

Taking time for things like…

a morning walk with my girls (don't worry, Miss I snapped out of her grump mood)

enjoying sweet stories and fun crafts at our local library

impromptu picnics with our cousins

learning the art of baseball with Daddy

parties for special friends

and celebrating with ones we love.

So many opportunities to enjoy life and enjoy each other.  When we slow down and take the time to do it.

Except one thing: all these special moments you just saw happened in a single day.

One crazy, non-stop, full day.

A day I would have missed out on if I had given in to my rule of NO over-scheduling.

But they were all things that were important to us.  Things we wanted to do.  We would have been sad to pass any of them up.

My point is not that slowing down is bad.  Just that, for me anyway, flexibility is better.  It could have been a horrible day.  But instead it was wonderful!  We chose to do these things.  And (with a bit of will-power) chose to enjoy all of it.  I forced myself to resist the urge to feel "hurried" or "busy" and just took each thing one at a time, embracing all it had to offer.

All this to say that sometimes I think busy-ness is OK.  When you're busy with the best stuff.  My crazy busy day ended with a feeling of joy and humble gratitude, so blessed by all the love that was shared.  Blessed by having so many people in our lives that are so special, and worth being busy for.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.  ~Winston Churchill

I don’t buy paper plates.

I’ll just be honest.  I think they’re a complete waste of money.  I think it’s so silly to pay for something that is made to go in the trash.

Does this view extend to every single disposable product in my life? No.

But for some reason paper plates have come to symbolize the ultimate waste for me.  And if I start thinking very hard about all of the trash piling up in landfills and threatening to overrun our lives, then of course my feelings only get stronger.

However, as I cleaned the kitchen this afternoon, and noticed the limited amount of time we have to finish chores, take showers, eat dinner and be ready to leave for church tonight on time, the thought passed through my mind “wouldn’t it be nice to just use paper plates so the kitchen could stay clean?”.

Instantly my rule abiding self took over.  Of course it would be easier, but that doesn’t make it okay.  Using paper plates is just never okay.

I have a point, I promise.

Some verses I just read yesterday came to mind:

And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand.  And they watched Him to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse Him.  And He said unto the man who had the withered hand, “Stand forth.”  And He said unto them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?” But they held their peace.  And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said unto the man, “Stretch forth thine hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Mark 3:1-5

My thought was this: how often do I let my rules get in the way of what I should do?

My rules are all good.  Very well thought out and purposeful.

But if I let them dictate everything, is that okay?

I don’t think it is.

Maybe paper plates are a waste of money.  And bad for the environment.  And not very glamorous to eat off of.

But, if using paper plates one night a week when things are hectic would mean less rush, less mess, and me being less grumpy to three innocent little girls…wouldn’t it be worth it?

I can think of a million other things in my life where this applies.

The problem is I tend to have an all or nothing personality.  Either do it all the way or forget it.  This results in a LOT of “rules”.

And maybe most of the time my rules are okay, and even good to follow.  But there needs to be grace.  The rules cannot overrule what’s most important.

We read this today for school:

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”  And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;’ this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this: `Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31

All I can think is, am I checking all of my rules against the greatest rule of all?

He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
…
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:7-8, 10

These words just really grabbed me as I was reading the other day.  It was an “Oh my gosh! Why have I never noticed this before?” kind of thing.

I think, as a Christian who feels compelled to live a certain way, it is sometimes easier to preach our moral ideas to unbelievers, than to just share the love of Jesus.  But in these verses we are warned so clearly not to do this.  “Do not correct a scoffer lest he hate you.” 

If someone is not living with the knowledge of the Holy One, then they are without understanding, and all of our rambling about what moral choices they should be making are useless. 

Convincing someone to live a “moral” life without Jesus is good for nothing.  We are justified by Jesus, not our “good” life.  Of course our lives will change once we choose to follow Him, but the choice for Him has to come first.

Reading these verses was just such a huge encouragement to me: quit worrying about fixing people, and just share the love of Jesus.  He will fix them, in His perfect time, and my only job is to point them to Him.