So I’m pretty sure I don’t totally understand the whole concept of blogging and what it’s all for… so forgive me if I don’t necessarily follow the right blogging etiquette.  The last time I tried to blog I uploaded 26 pictures (which didn’t end up loading correctly, and why not?) and Ty informed me that blogs are meant to be short and sweet with just a few photos (as to not lose people’s interest).  And I’m not sure if blogs are meant to be informative and factual, or insightful and inspiring.  I’m quite intimidated by the whole thing actually!  But I do enjoy our friend’s blog and love peering into the lives of the famous family of 10.  I’d planned on cleaning right now while the girls are napping, but instead I’m feeling the need to write.  I often deal with the messiness of life by writing it down… never with the intention of sharing it on the world wide web however.  But today I’m up for the blogging challenge!  These past two weeks have held so many significant events and situations and there’s just not enough time or space to go into each one’s details, but God’s Holy Spirit is speaking to me in so many undeniable ways with one primary message.  Time Is Short.  The time with our children is short, the time with our parents is short, the time with our spouse is short, the time of our health is short, the time of our freedom is short, the time with friends is short, the time with our family is short, our time on earth is short.  And honestly, some times life hurts so bad and it’s comforting to know it’s short and that earth is not our final destination.  But while I’m stuck here what am I going to do with my time?  This is a question I’ve been asking myself for a few years, but have never sensed the urgency to fulfill the answer as I do now.  When a close friend moves away it’s hard not to wish you’d made more time to spend together; when a parent loses a child it’s only natural to wonder how it would feel to lose your own; and when a baby is born fighting for their life it reminds you of what a miracle life truly is.  Anyone who’s battled a life-threatening disease or experienced a near-death situation will tell you that it changed them… it changed their priorities.  I don’t want to wait until I’m facing death to realize what mattered to me the most.  As much as I want to grow old with Ty, I’m not guaranteed I’ll have him beyond today… so I want to enjoy and laugh with him for as many days as God does give us.  It’s easy to assume our children will live with us until they’re 18, but God has not promised all of us that priviledge.  So I want to absorb, delight, play, and take in all of them that I can while they are near.  It’s so easy to take family, friends, & health for granted… until they’re gone.  It’s easy to write these things (and truly mean them), but it’s another thing to practice them on a daily basis.  My prayer these days is for God to help me live according to His priorities and to be ok with the things that don’t get done and the messes left behind.  It reminds me of the scripture from 1 Corinthians 13:13 “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”