A Gift of God

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man comes, so he departs,
and what does he gain,
since he toils for the wind?
17 All his days he eats in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.The sermon Saturday night was based on these verses in Ecclesiastes, again reminding us that wealth is not the answer to life's 'happiness.' We are to enjoy the life we've been given as a gift from God. My 'homework' from Bible study is also teaching me that we need to be obedient to the will of God to be set free. Joshua's lesson in children's church was on...the two good spies!!! I was amused at his coloring artwork on these sheets. He is learning that we don't have to be afraid, and that fact was illustrated by Joshua & Caleb going into the promised land because they weren't afraid since God was with them. How neat-o! And, Shawn almost threw out one of his art projects because it was on a toilet paper roll. :) :) :)We didn't do that much more trick-or-treating this weekend. On Saturday night we met Becca & Angel from small group and sat with them during the service; and, both boys were good so I didn't get paged out. Afterward, we went to mom's house to show her the boys' costumes. We didn't get to any other aunts, unlces or grandparents like our original plans. Such is life!The time change on Sunday really screwed up our family's schedule. Mom and her 'friend' Ken watched the boys Sunday night for us while we went to small group. It was nice to get out without the kids, even though we love them dearly. I realized that our kids were not that bad as I was able to relax and see the other children play - it gave me a fresh perspective. This morning I was supposed to go to a playdate with the Moms Club of Manheim Township, but both Joshua & Caleb were fairly cranky this morning, which I again blame on the whole time change madness. After Shawn was done with work, I got my hair done, and then he left when I got back to go watch the Redskins game with some guys from small group. We are making an effort to get to know everyone more! Tomorrow is MOPS and voting, of course (thankfully all this advertising nonsense will be over!!!), Wednesday I'm getting new pictures taken of Caleb, and I was invited to a small group moms & kids playdate on Thursday that I'm going to try and make. It will be a busy week! But, hopefully a fun and memorable one! Enough rambling for one late evening...goodnight!