Leafing the Old Days Behind

Ah... it's taken awhile to get here, but I feel like our small group (and friends, in general) are beginning to develop some real community. We've met for a long time on Thursday nights and shared time in God's word. That's one kind of community, but the kind of community where we really dig into each others' lives has been a bit slower in coming.

Finally several weeks ago, we talked about ways we can really begin serving each other. (We've often gone out to serve others together, but we haven't done much to take care of each other.) One girl mentioned that she could use help in her classroom at school. The next night, several of us went to help her move some furniture and setup her classroom. Then, the following day, several people came over to help me rake my leaves. We were postponed due to wind and cold temperatures, but we picked it up again the following week.

Since then, we've come together several times to help on yards. I can't speak for anyone else, but it's been SUCH a blessing to have help on my yard. For the first year since I've owned my home, I haven't felt overwhelmed by the falling leaves. Not only has it relieved my stress, but it's been truly enjoyable to work along side friends and laughing with them... sometimes at them! :)

So... I'm sending a shout out to my leaf-raking friends! You guys are the best! Thanks for all the help. You have no idea how much it means to me!

My Apologies and Thoughts on E&H so far

So... I have been realizing that my blog has become a bit depressing. I'd like to blame that on Facebook. FB probably captures more of my happy-go-lucky randomness, whereas my blog catches the more reflective, sometimes depressing, deeper thoughts that can roll around in my head. I'll try to be cautious of that and return a bit of laughter and joy to blogosphere.

I've been reading through Ezra & Haggai. They're books I don't think about too often, and to be honest... I'm not really well-versed in that piece of history. But, I've been learning a lot and have been challenged by what I've read. Here are some of my thoughts...

God's incredible mercy to His people

The end of II Chronicles (36:16) says that the people rebelled until the point there was "no remedy left." God held out punishing Israel until there was no other way of bringing them back. It reminds me of II Peter 3:9-10a, "The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come..." (emphasis mine)

More so, the book of Ezra opens with a decree from King Cyrus, who allows the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding. What's cool is that God spoke through Isaiah 150 years earlier about Cyrus... BY NAME (Isaiah 44:28). But what's even more astounding is what God was doing. BEFORE Israel was even taken into captivity, God had prepared a way for them to return to Him!

The Devastation of Sin

When the Israelites began the Temple construction (Ezra 3:12), those who never saw the original Temple (built by King Solomon) were shouting for joy, but those who had seen the glory of the previous Temple were crying because the new Temple paled in comparison. It's an interesting reminder... God always invites us to return to Him, and there's always an opportunity to rebuild; however, sin has consequences, and we may carry the scars of our sin with us for a long time.

Haggai records God's encouragement to those who were saddened by the "lesser" Temple. Haggai 2:1-9 says that "the future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory." Jesus would one day walk in these Temple courts!

Priorities

In Haggai 1, God begins by saying, "consider your ways"… the NLT says something like "consider how things are going for you"… kind of like God was saying, "have you even stopped to NOTICE how your life is going or wondered why it's going that way? You're planting lots of seed but your harvest is pitiful. You eat and drink but never seem to be satisfied. You make a nice income, but it disappears like you have holes in your pocket. Haven't you wondered why that is?!" It seems like he wants to make sure they recognize how their lives change/improve when they finally put God first.

It's the same things God would say to us today… "consider your ways… haven't you ever wondered why you're stressed all the time, why you never seem to have enough money to pay your bills, why you're never satisfied with anything, why things never seem to go your way? Is it any wonder? You're so busy with your own agenda (work, friends, play) that you don't even remember I'm here. What do you think would happen if you put me first? Wouldn't be interesting to find out?" :)

So, those are some of my thoughts! Dig in for yourself, though. There's a lot of meat there!