One transformation in process is the family eating area. I started looking for new furnishings before we gave the kids our Queen Anne table and chairs. Someone sold us a heavy glass table with two glass V-shaped pedestals for $75 (the base retails for $500). The table sits on the like-new 10'X12' Crate and Barrel rug (a freecycle item we'd picked up last spring). We placed the 2 clear Ghost chairs used for extra seating in the DR at the table ends. I picked up four red molded stacking chairs. Funky, loved it, could have lived with it, but I kept browsing.
Spotting an ad for 6 wood stacking chairs, I called up the seller. He said they were in great condition, comfy, and $50 cash for all would be fine. We picked them up, with manufacturer's labels intact. My instinct was true: each chair sells for about $300 on the Design Within Reach website. We're sitting on God's abundance at each meal.
"Feast your eyes on the best design, the highest quality," my mentor said. "Then you will easily distinguish between what is merely good and what is truly wonderful." Developing an eye for quality doesn't come from looking at Woman's Day or Family Circle magazines. And we won't recognize good design if we surround ourselves with junk.
Our spiritual life is similar. It matters whether we read deeply in scripture or fill up with hyped sermons-on-tape and "lite worship." The depth of our character will reflect whether we wrestle with authors who plunge deeply into the life of faith or seek out pop gospel that slides off without challenging our worldview.
God is good. He is patient. And he lets us choose how we will develop our spiritual eyes and ears. Let's go for gourmet rather than fast-food and develop an informed palate that recognizes quality from mediocrity.
Read more:
*And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21 NEV
*Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory. Psalm 24:7-10 NIV
* For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the the thoughts and intents of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:12-16 NIV
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