The Fear of the Lord

Imagine this scenario. You go to the doctor and he tells you that you have a terminal illness and you have only a short while to live.

What do you do?

You'd get a second opinion, right?

And, what do you when that doctor agrees with the first doctor?

You'd get a third opinion, right?

They all agree that at best, you have a year to live. They tell you there will be no effects of the illness until the very end when the disease has reached the end of its course.

When do you stop seeking opinions and live what's left of your life?

In the Handbook to Wisdom by Kenneth Boa he says this, "How would this scenario affect your vision of life, your roles on this earth, and the way you should invest your remaining time? The degree to which it would alter your remaining time? The degree to which it would alter your present perspective and practice is the distance between your current view of live and biblical view of life. The latter emphasizes the brevity of our earthly sojourn and stresses the urgency of investing our most precious asset, time, in a way that will have lasting consequences. The former view typically denies the imminence of death and, for all practical purposes, treats the temporal as though it were eternal."

"Lord, make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days; and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life." -- Psalms 39:4

"Teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom." -- Psalms 90:12

What would you do in this situation?



Copyright: dimakp / 123RF Stock Photo

7 Cardinal Rules in Life

I've found out that there are seven cardinal rules in Life.

Yep. Life. The big "L".

Did you know there were seven? I thought a lot more. But, here we can distill it down to seven. I'll help you out.

In reverse order.

7. Smile. You don't own all the problems in the world.  Did you think you owned all the problems? Can't be bothered with just your own, you have to take ownership of everyone else's problems as well? Well, knock it off. Forget everyone else's problems and worry about your own.
There. That's outa here.

6. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you. Well, here we go again, wanting to be in charge. This one is giving you permission to be in charge of your own happiness. Just don't let anyone else be in charge of it. Not their problem. See number 7 above.

5. Stop thinking too much. It's alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it. Whoa. Pretty big one, eh? Least used sentence in the world: "I don't know." Everyone thinks they have to have an answer. It's okay to say, "I don't know."

4. Don't compare your life to others and don't judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about. That's really what it's all about, right? Not knowing what the other person's journey is? I get that. I have Bipolar Disorder, I don't expect anyone else to understand that, regardless of walking a mile in my shoes. But, in return, I don't want to change shoes with you, either. I'm comfortable in mine. Yours might pinch my toes.

Besides, the Bible says that Christians are not to judge each other. So, don't. Okay?

3. Time heals almost everything, give it time. That's a good one to think about, don't you think? We really need to just give some things enough time to work themselves out and heal.

2. What others  think of you is none of your business. I had to re-read that sentence a couple of times before it made sense. Now it makes perfect sense. I don't care what you think of me, it doesn't matter. The only person who is subject to my thoughts is God. He thinks I'm a pretty darn good person. I happen to agree with Him. Enough said.

1. Make peace with the past so it won't screw up the present. I guess I know why that's number one. It's a big point to make. It's all about forgiveness. You forgive yourself. You forgive others. You forget your past. It's done, over. Move on.

So, those cardinal rules aren't so bad. Can you live with them? Now that I've gone through all seven, I think they're worth living.

What about you?

Vacations and Time Zone Changes

Officially on vacation and checking in with my blogger buddies. I think the worst thing about vacation besides living out of a suitcase is the time change. I'm here in Arizona. A THREE hour difference from Florida. 

I'm waking up at 3 am thinking it's 6 am in Florida. Then I force myself back to sleep and then I really do wake at 6 am. I can't seem to sleep past 6 here. 

I look at my watch, which I didn't change, and I see the morning mostly gone. 

My pill schedule is all whacked out and my body is trying to get used to the new times I take my bipolar meds. Trying to stay stable with a time change as drastic as this takes careful planning and diligence. 

But bedtime and night meds are the worst. It seems forever until I can crawl into bed. Thank God I've been falling asleep instantly, but it starts all over the next day. 

Does anyone have any suggestions to help with time changes?