Category: wisdom

Ordinary: The Regular Course of Things


Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy
to the end of our lives.
(Psalm 90:12 & 14 NLT)



In the regular course of things, school ended for the year. And now it’s time for summer camp (aka “Ant Kamp”) with Aunt Kel. Spending the month of June with my two nieces and two nephews, who range from ages eleven to six, will be the joy of this summer.

We started the week out celebrating my birthday. The day started with donuts, then brownies for lunch, and ending with a frozen cake made by my sister. It was a sweet day!




Each day has been packed with fun. I wake up with the sun to squeeze in a few minutes of solitude with my journal. Then the troops arrive before breakfast, and so we begin the day together with a meal. After that we gather in the quiet corner for a little prayer time, followed by each child choosing a “place” to go to for their own time of solitude. It could be the porch swing, the hammock, the living room, the gazebo, the quiet corner or the art room.

They have surprised me, in that, they are willing to stay by themselves reading, drawing, creating art or music for close to an half hour. The girls often want me to join them. So I divide my “quiet” time between them. After solitude, we just let things happen. Play a game. Go to the pool. Eat lunch. Rest. Watch Scooby Doo. What more can a kid ask for?!

Are we learning some great spiritual lesson? Maybe? As I think about it, my youngest niece presented us with a great truth today.

When I asked what her favorite part of “Ant Kamp” was so far, she said:

 
Being with you!



And that’s the truth: God’s favorite part is being with us.

Photos from the last three days of “Ant Kamp”



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Posted on by kelrohlf 10

5 Fives Friday

 
The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?

 
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.


(Psalm 90:10-14 ESV)



Five is not a magical number. It is mentioned in Scripture mostly to mark the amount or age of someone…like sixty-five. For some reason we are fascinated by numbers. People will say certain numbers have biblical significance, and they are correct because certain numbers are repetitive in the history of Israel and even into the New Testament. Twelve tribes, twelve disciples, you get the idea.

But five is not like that. It’s an odd number. However, I like the sound of “5 Fives Friday” and I do have a practical point to my rambling if you can bear with me.

Last week, I was running at a local park, and I was getting tired of running, so I started a cadence count in my head: “1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4…etc.” That motivational counting soon became boring, so I added a 5. “1-2-3-4-

5… POW!

I got a little surge of power, so I kept counting to five and I kept running and I finished my workout. Cool!

While counting my thoughts lighted onto another idea for getting my to-do list done. Why not list 5 Fives each day and see how much I accomplish on the list? Then I trimmed my goal back to why not just do it once a week and work my way up to 5 days a week. So I have been listing my 5 Fives at least once a week now for the past week. And it works. One time I even listed a sixth 5.

So here’s the challenge: Make a List a of 5 Fives and Do Them! Feel free to comment on this post to let us know how it goes.

Here’s my list for today:

1. Read 5 pages in the Bible.
2. Drink 5 glasses of water.
3. Take 5 minutes to unload the dishwasher.
4. List 5 gratitudes.
5. Count to 5 before I answer a question. (Remember counting engages the rational side of our brains!)

High five! See you next week.

Posted on by kelrohlf 1