{"id":5333,"date":"2015-04-10T22:01:31","date_gmt":"2015-04-11T03:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/?p=5333"},"modified":"2015-04-10T22:01:31","modified_gmt":"2015-04-11T03:01:31","slug":"seize-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Seize life!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The quester<\/a><\/p>\n

$\"0000cover$ <\/a><\/h1>\n
The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life as\u00a0 smoke <\/b>+<\/b><\/span> spitting\u00a0<\/b><\/span>into the wind <\/b>spoke loud and true to my heart. Twenty seven years later, it still does. I confess the good news of the gospel to me was not Jesus and the cross but his truth of resurrection. Being part of the life force that gives hope even when it looks dark and meaningless. This book is not a favorite of many, but I chose to create typographical play of some of its words (PDF attached at the top). This one is for seekers that may not interested in the Bible or the ecclesia (a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship)<\/span>, maybe these words can resonate in their hearts and not end their search but accept that its quite a healthy place to live\u2026 as a quester. Not pretty but messy \u2013 God very present none the less\u2026<\/p>\n
A right time to lament and another to cheer.<\/p>\n
A right time to hold and another to part.<\/b><\/p>\n
A time to search and another to count your losses.<\/b><\/p>\n
One handful of peaceful repose is better than two fistfuls of worried work-<\/p>\n
More spitting into the wind.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s better to have a partner than go it alone.<\/p>\n
By yourself you\u2019re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst.<\/b><\/p>\n
Can you round up a third?<\/p>\n
A three-stranded rope isn\u2019t easily snapped.<\/b><\/p>\n
God\u2019s in charge, not you \u2013 <\/b><\/span>the less you speak, the better<\/b>.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
Yes, we should make the most of what God gives,<\/b><\/p>\n
both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it,<\/b><\/p>\n
accepting what\u2019s given and delighting in the work.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s God\u2019s gift!<\/b> God deals out joy in the present, the now. It\u2019s useless to brood over how long we might live.<\/b><\/p>\n
But against all illusion + fantasy + empty talk<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s always this rock foundation: <\/b>Fear God!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
Seize life!<\/b><\/span> Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with robust heart. <\/b>Oh yes \u2013 God takes pleasure in your pleasure! <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
Dress festively every morning. Don\u2019t skimp on colors and scarves (I follow this advice!)<\/b><\/p>\n
Each day is God\u2019s gift\u2026 Make the most of each one! <\/strong><\/h1>\n
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!<\/strong><\/h1>\n
The words of a wise person are gracious.<\/b><\/p>\n
Be generous! Invest in acts of charity.<\/b><\/span> <\/b>Charity yields high returns. Don\u2019t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others.<\/b><\/p>\n
Just as you\u2019ll never understand the mystery of life in a pregnant woman, so you\u2019ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.<\/b><\/p>\n
Life as we know it, precious + beautiful, ends. The body is put back in the same ground it came from.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The Spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s ll smoke, nothing but smoke.<\/b><\/p>\n
The words of the wise prod us to live well. They\u2019re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. <\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s no end o the publishing of books\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
The last + final word is this:<\/b> <\/b>Fear God. <\/b>Do what he tells you.<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Message (MSG)\u00a9 Eugene Peterson<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life as\u00a0 smoke + spitting\u00a0into the wind spoke loud and true to my heart. Twenty seven years later, it still does. I confess the good news of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2039,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,61,196,56],"tags":[928,95,930,121,929],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-2","category-culture","category-personal","category-poetry","tag-abstract-art","tag-bible","tag-personal-2","tag-poetry-2","tag-scriptures"],"yoast_head":"\nSeize life!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seize life!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Emergent Village\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/files\/2015\/04\/0000cover-copy1-1024x531.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cristina Mejia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cristina Mejia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/\",\"name\":\"Seize life!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/6fce3cfb504aaebabad8e7ae61925bbb\"},\"description\":\"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seize life!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/\",\"name\":\"Emergent Village\",\"description\":\"Voices of the Emergent Village Community\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/6fce3cfb504aaebabad8e7ae61925bbb\",\"name\":\"Cristina Mejia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/956ac87be38ec719fcc1bd87d3d08512?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/956ac87be38ec719fcc1bd87d3d08512?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cristina Mejia\"},\"description\":\"I am a Colombian native but consider myself a hybrid as I have lived back and forth between Colombia and both coasts of the U.S. Settled for a decade in Florida to enjoy the best of both cultures and the sand life (Don't go in the water very often). I have been married for twenty two years and have two awesome teens, one living in California and the other at home. As a design-artist, I work as a cross cultural creative editorial director who enjoys exploring fiber arts. I have been seeking God since I was nine, when I began praying to the full moon. Despite being raised Catholic, I decided to get baptized twice into a fundamentalist church in my early twenties, and with them went on as a missionary to Colombia for 12 years. I have been unchurched for a decade and believe will remain a quester of Truth. I have come to enjoy the hunger, thirst, and the unexpected ways the Spirit shows herself everywhere. Now I am on the road to gray as I get close to turning 50!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/author\/cristinamejia\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seize life!","description":"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seize life!","og_description":"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/","og_site_name":"Emergent Village","article_published_time":"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/files\/2015\/04\/0000cover-copy1-1024x531.jpg"}],"author":"Cristina Mejia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cristina Mejia","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/","name":"Seize life!","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00","dateModified":"2015-04-11T03:01:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/6fce3cfb504aaebabad8e7ae61925bbb"},"description":"The quester The quester\u2026 that could describe my life and I like that! When I was seeking for meaning, the message of Ecclesiastes in the Bible about life","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2015\/04\/seize-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seize life!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/","name":"Emergent Village","description":"Voices of the Emergent Village Community","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/6fce3cfb504aaebabad8e7ae61925bbb","name":"Cristina Mejia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/956ac87be38ec719fcc1bd87d3d08512?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/956ac87be38ec719fcc1bd87d3d08512?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cristina Mejia"},"description":"I am a Colombian native but consider myself a hybrid as I have lived back and forth between Colombia and both coasts of the U.S. Settled for a decade in Florida to enjoy the best of both cultures and the sand life (Don't go in the water very often). I have been married for twenty two years and have two awesome teens, one living in California and the other at home. As a design-artist, I work as a cross cultural creative editorial director who enjoys exploring fiber arts. I have been seeking God since I was nine, when I began praying to the full moon. Despite being raised Catholic, I decided to get baptized twice into a fundamentalist church in my early twenties, and with them went on as a missionary to Colombia for 12 years. I have been unchurched for a decade and believe will remain a quester of Truth. I have come to enjoy the hunger, thirst, and the unexpected ways the Spirit shows herself everywhere. Now I am on the road to gray as I get close to turning 50!","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/author\/cristinamejia\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2039"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}