And It Goes Tick-Tock

You may remember that last month I said I wanted a necklace clock?

Well, I have one!
It was a beautiful gift, and I intend to wear it as much as possible.

Solution

In response to a past post.

Those things aren't bad in and of themselves.

Reading, writing, drawing, watching tv, hanging out with friends...

But when they take the place of the other things, thats when there's a problem.

Bible reading, meditation, prayer, accountability, study, sharing the good news, your secret quiet place.

When they become the dominating things in your life, when thats all you do, when those are all you care about, and the things you pine for. Thats when there's a problem.

Start with what God wants in your life, and only that. Take out everything else, and don't expect any of it back. (yikes).  Then, in time, see what God gives back to you. Maybe you do read too much, maybe reading less  is okay. Maybe you do obsess about your latest writing project too much, and should tone it down and back. Maybe you really are obsessed with that tv show, and it takes too much of your time (not just the watching it, but the always thinking about it).

Maybe, you don't really need those things in your life. Maybe they are trying to fill a spot in you that would actually be filled if you put God things in your life first, and then looked at what else could fit. Woah. Maybe, you don't really need those things in your life. Maybe they are trying to fill a spot in you that would actually be filled if you put God things in your life first, and then looked at what else could fit. 

Seeds Grow

I love gardens.

So, I'm taking one with me to college. I shall find somewhere, I hope, in our apartment, that can be their home.

Some pictures:

My first little lettuce popping up

Chives, transplanted from my mother's 

The chives again, several days later, and with most of the dead parts cut out.

The second lettuce growing, after I took out the first one. 

This is that first lettuce again, right after moving it to a larger pot.
You can't see all of it, because it is partially hidden in dirt...
You can see white around the plant- its an eggshell!

My eggshell starters for the other plants I'll be growing this semester.
When they start growing, I'll move the whole shell into a larger (but still smallish) plastic pot.
Hopefully they won't outgrow their second homes!
Cilantro, Oregano, Parsley, and Lettuce (assorted kinds)

It takes time for seeds to grow, but they do. If you take care of them right. And even when they're growing, it will be some time before you can harvest them, or see them bloom.

Seeds you plant in your life are the same. The words you speak, the words spoken into you, the things you watch and listen to. What you read, what you think about, what you spend time on. You will see these seeds grow, in time. Some good, some bad. Pull the weeds as soon as you can, and stop planting them. And in their place plant some beautiful seeds that will grow, and whose harvest you wont mind collecting.

Justification

what is the purpose in reading, and in writing even?

It wont eternally save lives, either of them.

So, why do I bother?

I could be spending the time in other things.

In worthwhile pursuits.

Like Bible study

Like prayer

Like love and encouragement

Like cooking, or cleaning, or spending time with someone who needs it.

Reading takes time.

Writing takes time.

(and I'm not writing an allegory.

or a novel that's explicitly Christian

that could save lives eventually. maybe.

But I'm not)

Time that could have and should have

time that ought to have

been spent doing something worthwhile.

So, how do I justify those things?

And how do you?