Number Your Days… and worship with them

 

This morning was not all that uncommon. It started with the same old busy and crazy that comes with 6 kids and a full set of homeschool tasks before us. We sat at the table for our morning devotions and my heart was not in it. I was feeling overwhelmed and distracted by the giant t0-do list rolling around in my head.

We began to practice our latest hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Such a beautiful sound, listening to all those little voices worshiping Jesus! It reminded me of Mandy. All my distracted thoughts slowed to a stop.  

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An Example of Running the Race Well

Many of you heard about the passing of Mandy Kelly, author at WorshipfulLiving.com. As I am writing this, services are being held for her and and her sweet family. This lovely lady died in a house fire a just a few days prior along with her husband Scott and two youngest children Lizzie and Judah. Her oldest two children, Bekah and Jared, survived, along with their grandmother. It is tragic, and there has been much grief over their passing. (Please keep them in your prayers and consider donating to them through their church here – specify Kelly Fund. In addition to losing their parents and siblings, they lost everything else in the fire.)

In the past, Mandy had been a contributor here at Proverbial Homemaker offering wonderful encouragement, and we worked together occasionally after that as well. She was not only an important part of the Christian blogging and homeschooling community but She was a leader with the Good Morning Girls Bible study and well known in the adoption community. Her whole family was important in their community in South Carolina. They will be missed, to say the least.

Mandy had a sweet and humble spirit and she always had her eyes on Jesus. It’s something I noticed and admired about her. She always had a godly perspective on priorities and her role as wife and Mom. At the end of every email, Mandy would sign off with the words “worshiping with my life.” Mandy did that. It was noticeable and she will be remembered for it. 

Will you? Will I? 

And for that matter, what does it actually mean? How can we really worship with our lives, as full as they are of menu plans and math lessons, irritations and celebrations, and all the things that make life as intriguing as it is mundane? 

Here’s how…

Number Your Days

So teach us to number our days 
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

It’s when we experience the loss of a loved one that we remember how temporary life is. Our days are short. They are like fading grass. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. When the reality of how fleeting life is sinks in, we count out our days like a treasure, desiring to make each one count.

Ironically, it is when we number our earthly days, feeling the weight of their brevity, that we come to more fully understand the wide view of eternal life. Friends, the Lord is our Creator and He has placed eternity in our hearts. His desire is for our sanctification and for a close relationship with Him for His glory. In that high and holy purpose – knowing and loving God – we find the true value in each day. And it is greater than gold.  

Here’s the thing: life goes on. We too easily forget that eternal perspective and find ourselves once again weighed down by the temporal, distracted by the meaningless. It should not be so.

And here’s the reality: This very moment, Mandy is sitting at the feet of her Savior, worshiping with her life – her eternal life – and it’s a beautiful thing. Those left behind need our prayers and our help. And we need to take hold of the eternal perspective this tragic event has given us and not let go of it. 

Make Much of Each Day

If we are going to follow Mandy’s example and worship with our lives…

If we are going to finish well…

If we take this idea of following Christ seriously…

If we are truly invested and committed in the work He has entrusted us with…  

… then we must make much of each day. Because the stuff of Christ-centered living is in the daily grind, living out our faith. Running the race well means making each stride count.

Our priorities matter.
How we spend our time and energy matters.
The words we use matter.
The attitude we do it all with matters, possibly most of all. 

An Eternal Perspective

So number your days, dear friends. Ask yourself, how can I worship God with my life today? How can I worship Him today with my relationships, activities, and attitude? Then ask Him to help you do that, because He will. 

These are the things I have been pondering since hearing that Mandy and her husband and two youngest children were called home. I can only imagine what her closest friends and family are going through – they are constantly in my prayers. I am thankful for the legacy of Christ-centered living that Mandy left behind to encourage and spur us on. 

May all our lives be a testimony of His mercy and grace. 

Amen.

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**I am honored to be participating in a blog hop in memory of Mandy Kelly from Worshipful Living  Take time to go and visit each one of the blogs below and see how Mandy impacted them. We are all linked up at Awe Filled Homemaker.