Today's been a good day. I was productive this morning and got almost all my work done! Meme came around... 11:30? and we sat around the table and talked for a while. We got lunch at Burger King (cheeseburger and Coke Icee!) annnnnnnd yeah. Haha. We sat around and talked a whole lot. I went to babysit... half watched Phineas and Ferb and half read Uncle Tom's Cabin. Came home... and here I am. We're trying to figure out what we're doing for dinner. It sounds like Papa Johns. Mom doesn't want to cook on her birthday which is understandable! :)
I have the "Bed Intruder Song"(I usually watch the first half of that video and skip the second half...) stuck in my head... *sigh* I still laugh until I cry when I actually hear it. It's just sooooooo funny. I also have "Her Morning Elegance" stuck in my head in intervals.
*time passes*
Annnd now Katie and Hannah are home... :) After that... we sat around and talked some more... Mom opened some presents annnd Dad and I left to go get Katie and Hannah from Kent! :)
I drove there... and it was kind of nasty outside because it was snowing/raining/whatever. So that was... icky. But everything went okay. Annnd we picked up Katie and Hannah and got all their 5 (combined, Katie 3, Hannah 2) weeks of laundry in the trunk. And Dad drove home. For which I'm greatly thankful for. Annnnd they got home and Mom opened some more presents and we sat around and watched videos on YouTube. And now everyone is going to bed. But me. Because I need to finish this.
So. NIPTO.
Ecclesiastes 5:8-20
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
God's saying that we shouldn't really be surprised by oppression. Which is sad. We should be super surprised by oppression. Oppression should be obsolete. But it isn't. It's kind of interesting reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and thinking about oppression. There was one quote from the book that got me thinking, but I don't remember it and I'm too lazy to go get my book to find it. But it was basically about how oppression was to be expected. And how masters over slaves were either oppressive or oppressed. Interesante. (My horrible Spanish. Hah.)
But there's someone higher over every official. Unless you get to God. Because he's kind of the ultimatum when it comes to "officialness."
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
Oh money... how I loath thee... If you love money, you'll never have enough of it. You'll never be satisfied with your income.
Money is meaningless. Yet has so much (useless) meaning in today's world. Bummer. I'd really rather live without money/possessions. Yet they're somehow necessary in today's world. *sigh*
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.
Goods increase in proportion to the consumers. Makes sense. Especially if you know business. But what good do goods do to the owner? Not much, unless it satisfies their visual appetite.
When you work, your sleep is much sweeter whether you eat a little or a lot. But when you're rich, how much you have can prevent you from sleeping well. In metaphorical terms. And real terms.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
Wealth horded is a "grievous evil." So is wealth lost through misfortune. When you have a lot and lose a lot, your kids don't get anything. Bummah, eh?
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?
Everyone comes into the world the same way. Everyone leaves the world the same way. You don't take anything from earth with you. That's evil too. (Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah-Katie La Yack) Since everyone comes and leaves in the same manner, what good is it to work? What do you gain, since you work for the wind? Hm... things to ponder.
17 All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
I don't know about you, but I like eating with some light. Eating in the dark is... dangerous. You could stab yourself in the face with a fork. (Sorry. It's late. I'm getting a little loco.) Eating with frustration, affliction, and anger also seems dangerous. BAHHHHH. Sorry. =P
These people don't have friends. They're pretty friendless. They eat in the dark. That's sad. I'm going to eat with people who are eating alone even when I don't feel like it. The end. (not quite! keep reading!)
18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
I would just like to say that I really love Ecclesiastes. It's good life advice.
Enjoy what you have and be satisfied with what you do. That's our "lot." Also, when God gives someone money, enjoy it, but don't be wasteful or make it your god. It's a gift from God. Our possessions rarely reflect our lives because our lives should be occupied with gladness of heart.
The end.
Goodnight!
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