"Someone in calculating his yearly expenses put down a very large amount per year for his idleness. But there is another account more awful than that of our expenses, in which many will find that their idleness has mainly contributed to the balance against them. From its very inaction, idleness ultimately becomes the most active cause of evil; as a palsy is more to be dreaded than a fever." Colton.

"A person will be called to account on Judgment Day for every permissible thing he might have enjoyed but did not." Talmud.

  When I read this quote it made me really stop and think, I just love it. A while back I wrote down some of those permissible things we should enjoy:   I'll include them here. 

Simplicity

Brushing your daughters hair,

Family trips to the county fair.

Eating corn dogs and cotton candy,

Wasn’t that Rhode Island Red a dandy?

Sights and sounds on a deep woods Hike

Training wheels gone, time to ride that bike!

Wrestling under the covers, tickle, laugh and chuckle

Smell the fragrance of the lilac and honeysuckle

 Grandma’s home made peanut brittle

Grandpa’s Jack knife, teach ‘em to whittle 

Learn steadily to draw a bow,

Don’t tip the canoe as we row!

Spot the Little dipper and Orion

Knocked down? Dust off, keep trying.

Going over and over the Times Tables,

Sharing fairy tales and Aesop’s fables

Sing a silly childhood tune

Watch the rising Harvest moon

Crayons, paint, sculpture clay,

Teaching little hearts to bow and pray.

 Photo by Sundqvist. 

  I traveled to Istanbul Turkey with a friend for the last ten days; he was attending an important wedding and wanted company for the long travel. He asked if I would come if he helped with expenses. I greedily accepted.

  In the midst of this swirling cosmopolitan city bustling with activity as tourists hurry to gaze on the beauty and history that adorns the city; I found in the midst of it a rare and beautiful discovery. 

We caught a plane to visit the city of Ephesus and in the hour of travel time I found myself sitting by a young lady in her early twenties. Now there are times when the wind blows softly on our brow and we sense the Spirit in gentle breezes; and there are other times when the Spirit rushes in like a mighty wind: this was one of those times. We talked of the little girl in her, the woman she's become and the sage she's growing towards. I asked her about God and how she would describe His work within her and without. God loosened the strings of her heart and she felt open to share with me her broken relationships and her questions about God. Bathed in such a moment where the Spirit was opening up the flood gates of affection between us and words began to flow that quieted her fears and brought rise to hope in her that at times was visibly seen in her eyes and felt in her candor. It was a moment; in all my travels through Istanbul, standing in awe of the beauty of ancient architecture in mosques and churches, and people from all over the world come to this city of sixteen million, I found the most beautiful of all its inhabitants and God allowed me to spend an hour in His divine romance as He drew her close.