New Year's Eve - The Last Thoughts

The last thoughts of 2007...

Why should the change of a number matter so much? So, we enter another year? Should there really be any importance attached to that? The days in fact, seem to run together with increasing speed. As time ticks by and we age, we find that time itself is eluding our grasp. As a child you feel that your days drag by and you wait, anticipating holidays and celebrations. As an adult, you struggle to achieve what you need within the allotted time spot, and you usually end up working into overtime to compensate for the lack of regular time.

Is there any way to slow down the process of aging? Is there a way to enjoy life more fully, without worrying or being anxious about things that need to be done, words that need to be said, changes that need to be made?

A Pastor.

Obviously, I'm not going to name names, or say who, which one, or what church, but oh...my...goodness...
Does the man have a fear of silence?
He stated while he was conducting communion - "Close your hands and just be silent and thank God".
He then continued to expound on what we should thank God for. While certainly not a wrong thing, didn't he just ask us to be silent? Can't he be silent along with us? Does he really have to be so controlling, that he cannot be still and let God lead?
I am more and more convinced that he needs to step back. He needs to be less controlling of the services. I am of course not suggesting that chaos ensure with people rolling on the ground or interruptions occurring. I do think though, that the Spirit can be stifled, and that may very well be what is happening.
And in other news...
It's officially New Year's Eve (one hour in anyway) and I'm still thinking about all I have done and not done in this here 2007.

Thoughts

Heading into 2008 in a few days seems a little grim to me.

I suppose that's mainly because I feel as though I once again, haven't done anything significant this year. I mean...yeah sure, I jumped into the pool of "professional" work, but that doesn't mean all that much to me. I still feel as though I haven't made the necessary changes and as though I am mired in one spot.

Here's the thing about hope...
Sure, it's God-given, He plants hope in our hearts for a future, but sometimes it seems to me that it is just a cruel trick that nature has played on us. It would appear we spend our lives hoping for things to be a certain way, hoping for people to be a certain way, hoping for more.
The question is...when, or HOW, do I become content enough to accept where/who I am? AND...is hope really God-given if it lifts us to incredible heights, only to dash us on the rocks of reality.
I know what the cliched answer to that would be..."If your hopes are in God, you won't suffer". But that's not reality. Reality is...that we all want things we shouldn't/couldn't have, and we all wonder why we can't have those things...