NIPTO, Day 277

Whew.
Hi.

Today was good. Fun. Busy. Fun.
Got up. Did school. Went to LUNCH with my sisters and mom and grandma. Panera is fantastic. (Sierra Turkey sandwich with Broccoli Cheese soup. YUM.)
I like my sisters a whole lot. They make me laugh. :)

I did physics on the way home and then had to leave to babysit... did more physics. Read a photography book for a bit... made Nate a sandwich, watched a little bit of Good Luck Charley... I think. I'm not completely up on my Disney shows haha.
Came home... did I don't know what. OH! I mostly caught up on The LXD on Hulu and watched a little more Survivor (I'm almost caught up! haha)
Ate dinner. Talked to Paige for a little bit. Watched 2 episodes of Psych, a little bit of the Latin Grammys, and now The Office. They're watching Glee on The Office. Soooo weird. Kinda.

Yup yup. So that was my day.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12
 ¹ So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. ² All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
   As it is with the good,
   so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
   so with those who are afraid to take them.

This person reflected on everything that's been discussed in the past 8 chapters and came to the conclusion that the righteous and wise people, and what they do and say, are in God's hands. But no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. Hm. Well I know that love awaits me :)
Everyone shares a common destiny. Righteous, wicked, good, bad, clean, unclean, everyone. 
Things with the good are the same with the sinful. Everything's kinda the same. We're all in the same boat. 

 ³ This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. ⁴ Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

The evil on earth is that we all have the same destiny. But we don't. That changed when Jesus came to earth and died for us. Now we have different destinies. Although to begin with, we all have the same destiny. 
The hearts of people are full of evil. If they're not cleansed by Jesus's (Jesus'?) blood. 
But eventually, we die. But while we're living, we have hope. A live dog (pitiful) is better than a dead lion (powerful, but all power is lost). Good reasoning, eh? haha

 ⁵ For the living know that they will die,
   but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
   and even their name is forgotten.
⁶ Their love, their hate
   and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
   in anything that happens under the sun.

People who are living know that they'll die eventually. Dead people don't know anything. (Dead men tell no tales.) Dead people don't get anything. They're eventually forgotten. Their emotions have disappeared and they're not going to participate in anything that happens on earth. 

 ⁷ Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. ⁹ Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.


Go. Go do things that you want to do with gladness. God has approved of what we do... except not. The author tells us to "be clothed in white." Be pure? Sure. Enjoy life with the people you love. Every single meaningless day. Hah. Our lot in life is to enjoy what we do. Because where we're going (where we were going before we had a decision to make) there's not working, planning, knowledge, or wisdom. Enjoy what you have now.




 ¹¹ I have seen something else under the sun:
   The race is not to the swift
   or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
   or wealth to the brilliant
   or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
 ¹² Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
   As fish are caught in a cruel net,
   or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times
   that fall unexpectedly upon them.

The race of life isn't a fast one. As Jonathan Acuff once said, it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's not a battle of the strong. Food doesn't come to the people who are smart. Wealth doesn't come to the brilliant, or favor to the learned. Time and chance happen to them all. 
No one knows when they're going to die. Fish are caught in a net, birds in a snare, people in evil times. Traps happen unexpectedly. Expect the unexpected. Or something.


And now I go to bed. Yay.
Tomorrow is school and maybe babysitting. I might not have to babysit. Which is slightly exciting! :)
G'night all!