Taking Time to be Holy

Warning: This post may bore you. You're exempt from reading it if you'd like.

What does it mean to be Holy? I don't have a clue. I really like music, so often times when someone says something I think of a song that relates to the topic. Some friends were talking about being holy and I thought of and old hymn we sang in the church I grew up in. It's called Take Time to be Holy. Initially, I thought that's wrong. "Take Time to be Holy" Shouldn't we always be holy? Then I read the lyrics to the song:

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word. Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak, Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be; Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide; And run not before Him, whatever betide. In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul, Each thought and each motive beneath His control. Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

George C. Stebbins, 1890

Doesn't that pretty much sum up how to be holy? I was going to give the scripture references, but I'm too lazy for that. If you want to hear the hymn just click here I laughed out loud when I first heard it, but it helped me remember the tune.

We've been moving into our flat. It's taken us all week long to get it ready. It takes forever to get things done here. I will never take a Bed, Bath, & Beyond for granted. Here you have to go to one market for curtains, then another for bedding, so on and so on. I'll update you with pics of the finished product.

As many of you have experienced, moving into a new house in the U.S. is stressful. Coordinating and working with future roommates or spouses can be one of the hardest task. Needless to say, this move brought the best out of my teammate and me. In my readings this week I read these verses:

Eph. 4:26-29,

"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. ...Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building other up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Philippians 2:3-4,

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others."

In college I had that verse above the kitchen sink. So when I cleaned out someone's soggy noodles that were clogging up the drain, It would remind me to check my motives and heart. It didn't always work.

Cleaning up after someone else isn't always fun, but its the little things count. This week my teammate gave me the best bedroom. She knew I wanted it b/c it had more windows and it was blue, but I knew she wanted it for those same reasons. I said we should flip, but she gave it to me anyways. Maybe you or she doesn't consider that being holy, but I do. She thought of me above herself. Thanks Partner!!! You're the bestest ever!!!(I know it's not supposed to be "bestest")

My point is that there isn't a list of things we can do to become "holy." If we could apply the first line of the song to our lives I think we would be just a little better off.

It says, "Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word."