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Book Review: Understanding What Matters Most by Stephanie Shott

January 3, 2012 By Sandra Heska King

 

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

~Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 (NIV)

We read that passage at my mother’s memorial service.

Now that I’m blanketed in winter, it seems like a perfect time to work my way through Stephanie Shott’s study of Ecclesiastes: Understanding What Matters Most, the latest offering in AMG Publishers‘ Following God through the Bible series.

Because if I’ve been set in this small place for this brief time, I want it to count for eternity.

I need to decide between a life of purpose or a life of pleasure.

In order to leave a legacy that lasts.

This is a six-week walk through a book of the Bible that we might not spend enough time in, except maybe for the seasons verses. Solomon was the wisest man ever. Yet he sought happiness in wrong places and made a bunch of wrong choices.

Stephanie writes, “Ecclesiastes was written by a man who had it all, took a disastrous detour, strayed from the Living God, and then penned his analysis (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) in order to prevent others from making the same mistakes he had. It’s kind of a “Been there, done that, seen that . . . you don’t want to go there” kind of story.

This is a verse-by-verse workbook with five lessons a week and a memory verse. Stephanie weaves in personal stories and insights, and there is plenty of time for reflection and application.

The side margins highlight important thoughts and scriptures. Like:

Life is too short to spend it looking at all the bad things that have happened to you.

A godly reputation built over a lifetime can be lost by one single act of foolishness.

Life is ever-changing, yet each new season we face comes with a purpose.

“Set your minds on things above, not on things of the earth.” ~Colossians 3:2

“. . . This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be . . .” ~Luke 12:20

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, . . .” ~Romans 15:4

Week one lays out some history and presents some life lessons as Israel begs for a king (so they can be like everyone else) and goes on to explore briefly the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon.

The following weeks deal with life issues such as depression, seasons of life, finding balance, power and possessions, contentment, perspective, and more.

I’ve read through this workbook.

But I’m ready to start over and take my time.

Stephanie dives deep and sees well.

Getting to know Stephanie Shott:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: book reviews, stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Megan Willome says

    January 4, 2012 at 7:07 pm

    That sounds good. I did a different study of Ecclesiastes while my mom was dying, and I found it the most lucid thing I read during that time (including the rest of the Bible).

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“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final t “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” ~ Philippians 4:8 

#fall #southflorida #hope #thoughts #philippians4 #dayafterelection
“My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in th “My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.” ~ William Wordsworth in “My Heart Leaps Up”

🌈🌈🌈

From my back door and then from the patio. A phone can never capture the true glory of a rainbow. I hope my heart never fails to leap at the wonder of one.
We were monarch parents a couple years back, but o We were monarch parents a couple years back, but our food was not enough to support all our “children.”
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But some were better parents. And next month @tspoetry is celebrating with a garden party. And you are invited. 
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✨ An evening poetry celebration with Dheepa Maturi, Laura Boggess, Jules Jacob, and Sonja Johanson
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This is called a sweetheart plant. I bought it at This is called a sweetheart plant. I bought it at a farmers market in Ponte Vedra in Feb 2023. And it hasn’t done a thing except not die. I did repot it a few months back just cuz I thought it might need it. A few days ago I noticed it was sprouting a sprout. And today—10 days after having my aortic valve replaced and the day after having a loop recorder inserted—it has UNFURLED!!! A new heart. 🩷
Looking west this morning. “Sometime, enough o Looking west this morning. 

“Sometime, enough of us should plan
to gather and form our own
luminous cloud.” ~ Luci Shaw in “The Weight of Air” (from The Generosity)
Security is on the job. Security is on the job.
So after 13 years of checkups and annual echos, it So after 13 years of checkups and annual echos, it's finally come to this. One week from today I will have my aortic valve replaced. Eeeek! I know it's done all the time--piece of cake. But that's to other people. 😂 Speaking of cake, I've always hoped to blow out 100 candles (at least), and I keep singing this line in my head...

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Hi! Long time, no post. So… I grew this from a Hi! Long time, no post. So…

I grew this from a pineapple top. We repotted it again over the weekend. Still no fruit, though. Our neighbor has a baby growing on a small plant, though. What’s up with that?

(Also, I do not have a green thumb. Currently the only things still living are this, an avocado, and a little Boston fern.)
We got out here early today, but it was already so We got out here early today, but it was already soooooo hot (later on the"feels like" was 110), and I was just plodding one foot in front of the other wishing I was still in bed. There was not much to see--except the crane family, some blackbirds, a dove. And it was buggy. And a deer fly bit me on the forearm, and it swelled up, and I still have a 1- x 3-inch reddened area. But then... a pink parade.
Just snapped a couple photos of a normal looking s Just snapped a couple photos of a normal looking sky from my back patio with my iPhone! I grew up in Michigan and never saw them before! #northernlights #westboca #southflorida
“So they took branches of palm trees and went ou “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” ~ John 12:13
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PALMS

He had a date with them. ~SHK
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~ Six words I wrote on my blog in 2015 as part of a daily “One Word Less for Lent” series.
🌴
Photo taken in Israel, 2022.
Dressed for success... Dressed for success...
“Sing, hope, to me” ~favorite line from “The “Sing, hope, to me” ~favorite line from “The First Spring Day” by Christina Rossetti via Every Day Poems and @tspoetry in my email this morning. 
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Whole poem (with lots of favorite lines) here:
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https://open.substack.com/pub/everydaypoems/p/the-first-spring-day?r=3acod&utm_medium=ios
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Wild red poppy anemones from our spring trip to Israel in 2022. And, of course, red is the color of hope. 
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Sweet baby colts. Just one parent. Apparently the Sweet baby colts. Just one parent. Apparently the other was hit by a car. 😭💔
Bufo serenade AKA the Ballad of the Bufo Bufo serenade AKA the Ballad of the Bufo
South Florida is confused. South Florida is confused.
“Somehow she learns to breathe.” ~ @gyoung9751 “Somehow she learns to breathe.” ~ @gyoung9751 in “The mermaid breathes,” a woven poem from tweets. In my email today from Every Day Poems via @tspoetry.
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"You have what you need / is what the birds sing a "You have what you need / is what the birds sing all morning" ~ Annie Lighthart in "Conditions of Happiness."
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In my email this morning from 
Every Day Poems via @tspoetry.
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#dipintopoetry #poetry #poetrycommunity #everydaypoems #poem #poetsofinstagram #tweetspeakpoetry
If you’ve made it this far, the rest of the week If you’ve made it this far, the rest of the week should be a snap. #wednesday
Stay behind me. I’ll protect you. No worries. So Stay behind me. I’ll protect you. No worries. So will all those shots. Mostly.
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D still has PTSD from the Great Possibly Rabid Raccoon Brouhaha of 2021.
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