Too Much, Too Little

I haven't abandoned this little project of mine. I have been super busy. Craft fairs, trunk shows in the works, etc. I have a cooking class tomorrow with just one kid :( sigh. I was hoping to make a bit more this weekend than what I will be making.
I need to find time to sit down and write about Isaiah. That book is awesome. Though I dont' recommend just plowing through it. You need to study it. One chapter at a time. Precpt upon precept as they say. lol.
I have to figure out where to begin in all that I want to write about as well. Baby boy has been sick so a lot of my free time has been spent napping with him which makes him sleep for a long time, but limits my freedom. He's so cute. Even when he covers you in boogers.

Silly People

I really don't have time to be doing this with the craft fair less than 48hrs away, but I had to comment on the silly scene I saw tonight. I was just about home when I spotted two middle aged individuals walking their dogs. Not too silly you may say. But hang on. There was one large dog and one tiny dog like a chihuahua. The lady had what at first looked like a baby Bjorn type carrier on but upon closer inspection it was a doggie carrier! I just thought it was silly.

Who Do You Trust?

The economy is quite cruddy lately apparently. I really don't pay much attention to the news. What I do pay attention to is what the Israelites failed to do and I'm trying not to do the same thing. The Israelites looked to man and the works of their own hands. They worshiped idols that they had made. How silly is that? Think about it. They may have taken a stick, carved a neat looking design and face on it and decided it was worship worthy. And then they worshiped it! A stick! Silly, no? But we do the same thing. We "make" things like our houses, our cars, our possessions and then we worship them. Who made those things? Another human being. Even though we may have earned the money to pay for those items, why do we hold them in such esteem? We shouldn't praise man. Isaiah writes that who is man that we should esteem him? His life is in his breath.
In saying this, who should we look to in these times of trouble? The govenment? No way. They are man, and we shouldn't esteem them. Plus the Israelites were constantly looking towards the government to save them and they got captured and lots of not so happy things happened to them. We need to look towards God to sustain us through these hard times. God is the only one who will carry us through without fail. If he cares for the lilies and the birds, shouldn't he care even more for us? We are made in his image. He cares deeply for us and wants to provide for us in only the way that he can. For some, that providing may be just having enough to get by on for others it may be a more prosporous existence. If you look to God to provide the means to take care of your family, he will do so. You may not get enough to buy that new expensive item that you want, but he will provide you with enough to pay the bills, feed your family and keep a roof over your head.

Longing

I spent some time at Providence today taking photos for the yearbook. I love being attached to that place still. Love seeing my former students grow up, love chatting with *most* of the parents, love seeing old co-workers who were more friends than co-workers. The bad part is that it stirs up a longing. What made it harder today than usual is I was by myself, not chasing after Knox, and I had orchestra afterwards. It was reminiscent of past Thursdays. I would teach all day, go to La Madeline's or Corner Bakery, get dinner, grade papers or read and then walk back over to PCBC where my car was parked to go to orchestra. Tonight I went to Providence, saw people, took pics, parked my car by PCBC, walked to Corner Bakery, got some soup, sat on a bench outside because it was so nice out, ate my dinner, read Dallas Child, and then went to orchestra.
I love staying at home, don't get me wrong, but part of me will long for teaching again. Sometimes I wish I could do both. That I could teach and stay home at the same time. Don't ask me how that would work! I was supposed to coach volleyball this fall for Covenant. I was so looking foward to it because it was going to pacify that longing for teaching that I've had to put on the shelf. It fell through at the last moment. I'm hoping maybe basketball will be an option instead now. Keeping my fingers crossed about that one. I know that I can teach Knox, and I do, but when you're used to teaching deep concepts about chemisty and physics, building a block tower doesn't always have the same appeal.
I know that in my current state teaching would wear me out completely anyhow, so it is good that I'm at home since my thyroid hates me and makes me feel some days like it's never going to be good again. I know it'll get better, but there are periods in my day where I feel pretty cruddy.
Oh well. Such is life. Maybe that is why I stay so busy so that I don't have to pay attention to the part of me that misses teaching science to all those children. Some day. But the thing is, some day won't be the same. Even if I got my old position back, the co-workers would be different. My old students would be gone. It would be different. Then maybe I'd not like it and be unhappy and long for the days of staying at home.
It seems in life we're always longing for something or missing something. It's hard sometimes to be content with what you have and be satisfied with your current lot in life.
I am happy with life, just sometimes I miss things that aren't possible anymore.

Do You Fear God or Man?

I have been a participant in a Precept Bible Study on Isaiah. If you ever get a chance to do one, DO IT. Studying the Bible intensly has made me learn so much about God. I thought I knew a decent amount, but I didn't! I still don't, but I'm learning.
The main idea that I'm getting out of my study is that we must fear God, not man. Why? Well here's one favorite verse to tell you why to not fear man- "Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?" Isa. 2:22

Before I launch into a blog series about Isaiah, I'm going to give some background. I was a bit confused when I started, so I imagine other people may be as well.

Israel consisted of 12 tribes. They spilt into two kingdoms. The S. Kingdom contained the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. The N. Kingdom the other ten. Some members of the N. tribes decided to stay behind because the S. Kingdome contained Jerusalem (where the temple was).

The N. Kingdom is called Israel and Ephraim
The S. Kingdom is typically called Judah in Isaiah

Isaiah is speaking from 739BC until 681BC. In 722BC Judah gets captured by Assyria, but it isn't complete for 180yrs.

There were four kings during Isaiah's time: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah

Got that?

Quick summary - Judah has turned its back on God and he isn't too happy with them. However, because God is who he is, he is always willing to forgive if they would just turn towards him. Sound familiar?

Isaiah is a scary book because you can see so many parallels to today! I think that is enough for today. Don't want to overload anyone.