Day 4 - Keep vigilant watch over your heart

The first sections of this chapter always make me wonder. Where is that wisdom you are talking about? What kind of understanding you're talking about? I guess I gotta keep reading, huh?

Well the last paragraph of this chapter is a well known one but so worth to read over and over again; especially in the message version:

Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that's where life starts.
Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.

The heart, oh the heart! That's where life starts? Where's my heart? What do I devote myself? What makes my heart vibrate? What makes me feel alive? What takes most of my thoughts and time every day?

Oh how important it is to be careful of what we talk! Oh yea... gotta be careful with I talk!

Well, now is the beginning of a new year and many people like to have a resolution for this new year. It would be think about what sideshow distractions exist that can move us away from our goals or delay them.

Day 3 - Pr 3

Oh wow! I almost miss this day! But I couldn't go to sleep without reading this day and writing about it. A perfect way to end this marvelous day.

I love how The Message version start with the title "Don't assume you know it all"

Love and loyalty... so intersting, but what a great principle to live by and to keep a good reputation. How important one is! A real challenge.

Trust God... :) Yea, that's exactly what I need to hear tonight: trust him from the bottom of your heart.

My favorite verses:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.

Discipline: been there don't that! haha. But I still gotta remember not to assume I know it all.

Again, thinking, how important it is to do that! Before you speak, before you act. Clear thinking and Common Sense: gotta keep 'em close.

Day 2 - Pr 2

I think many times in our search for something new we miss what he have at hand. I believe that is the case in the search for wisdom that Salomon talks about. Today I think of what are those simple things I have learned so far which are wise. Things like being grateful, having a positive attitude towards any situation, trusting in God, doing to others as I would like to myself, being diligent, manage my time learning to say no to some things, learning to rest, etc. I can really look my life now and see how does things have made a big difference in me and help me enjoy life more.

What's new to discover? What new I have to learn? I'm with my eyes and heart open to learn. Hanging out with wise people is a good point too.

31-31: One proverb a day keeps trouble away

This is my challenge for the first month of 2011: Read daily one chapter of the book of Proverbs of Salomon and comment on it. 31 chapters, 31 Days.

Join by posting your favorite verse(s) and tagging me and your friends along in FB, twitter, etc. By the way, I'll be reading mostly from The Message version.

Day 1

to understand what life means and where it's going;

A manual for living,
for learning what's right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There's something here also for seasoned men and women,
still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Proverbs 1 MSG (emphasis added)

Oh wow! who hasn't felt like they don't understand what life means some time or which direction to take? A manual for living? Are you kidding me! I gotta find out. And yea, who hasn't thought some people REALLY need a gras on reality? I think I do some times.

God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

This requires humbleness and recognizing there's someone higher than us. We're not gods, we're so fragile as humans and we are a small tiny dot in the library of earth and the universe history. Maybe we can learn something if we humble a little, and we can start by paying attention to some of those things our parents taught us.

Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;
never forget what you learned at your mother's knee.
Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair,
like rings on your fingers.

That's it for day 1. Next post should be shorter I think.

Rhythm

Many times I wish things run faster, at the speed of my thoughts
I wish all my dreams would come true as I dream of them
Many other times I wish things would run in slow motion
Some moments are so cherished I wish they could be slowed down
Like watching rain in slow motion, so wonderful

It feels like life runs so fast and so filled with youth and energy
So many things I want to do, people I want to meet, places I want to go
Ahh... I'm so full of life yet it seems I can't get all of it
and I'm missing out.

Wings to fly and it seems I can't take off for good
Watts to rock but what else I plug into?
Wheels to run but why are there so many stop lights ahead?
Where's the freeway?

Rhythm, rhythm
Maybe I could learn from my own teaching
As I said to a friend
The key is keeping the rhythm
Not faster, not slower
Just the right beat
The beat the master sets

"I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time." —King Salomon