Well done, Grasshopper.

One year, while I was attending Praise Gathering with my choir, I heard one of Mark Lowry's comedy acts. One thing he said was really funny to me at the time...but also so clever...it stuck with me and I still think about it when things in life are tough.  He said when asked what his favorite bible verse is...he answers, "And it came to pass..."  His point was that tough things don't last forever...and, praise God for that! I can relate to that with just putting up with the weather this winter....my van is currently stuck in the driveway because I thought I would attempt to get it into the garage, but it started sliding backwards and sideways on all the ice and rather than hit the van of one of our construction guys that is helping work on our basement, I turned it toward a snowbank to stop it from sliding....stuck in a snowbank or collision with another vehicle...what would you have chosen?  Anyway, I am more excited about this winter passing than I have been in, I think, my whole life of winters.  Sometimes tough times...and I am not just talking about a hard winter... can seem like FOREVER to endure.  But, I feel like God says something like this to me, "Patience, Grasshopper."

We are reminded in God's Word that our whole life on earth is just a wisp, or a blade of grass, so that makes us a little like the grasshopper...I guess, or as I like to think of myself like one of the fuzzy little dandelion seeds that are fun to blow at the end of the summer... Job talks about it in the Bible and I just read some of it yesterday.  And, in James 4, we are reminded to take our life seriously and that we are only a bit of a cloud catching a glimpse of sunlight before we disappear.  If you have ever seen the movie EPIC, it reminds me of the scene where the snail and slug are talking to the fruit fly...I am getting way sophisticated on you here...ha!  Hope it is not over your head! :) Sorry...Tis the season of my life, I guess, that a lot of my insights are derived from children's movies.

Anyway, here's a link to the scene (in case you aren't in that season) :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqMM0gSrfMM ...after I saw that I laughed really hard because it was so shocking to me, but the illustration is not so comical when you think of yourself as the fruit fly.  We are like an insect having a conversation with God and during the time we are talking with Him, we live our entire life and, to Him, it is just the beginning of our conversation...(which is really true when you think of eternity). When I think about my life this way, it makes me want to do more...WAY more with my words and actions...I often think about whether my thoughts, my beliefs, and actions are so closely linked that I actually live what I believe.  AND, do I pour my life out like a drink offering?  Sometimes, in my selfishness, I ask God if I have any more to pour...or I start comparing myself to someone else.  But, that is dangerous to do because this is my life and my one chance to live it...no one else is responsible for making sure I have lived it to obey and glorify Christ. (That reminds me of a great song by Switchfoot..."This Is Your Life"...are you who you want to be?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWArhq3FUEY)

If you google "Life is Short"...you will come up with a bunch of people's philosophical opinions of...so, you should _________. (whatever that is) ...one I like is Life is short, smile while you still have teeth :-) BUT, what would you fill in the blank?  What passions has God given you to live out while you still have breath, Grasshopper?