Book of the Month: Ecclesiastes

"Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him."
7:13-14
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"...The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.
For man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them."
9:11-12

Considering I've read up to Chapter 11, and there's only 12 chapters in the book of Ecclesiastes, I guess it won't be the only book I read this month. A couple of the passages have really hit me (see above) and I thought I'd share them.
The first passage goes along the lines that everything happens for a reason; or, that God gives us the good times as well as the bad times. The second passage runs along the same lines-- bad things happen to everybody, whether they're rich or poor, wise or foolish. Bad times come on us all. How we handle those times, however, is what really sets us apart. Do we face the hard times head-on and use them as a time of learning, a time to grow and become stronger in our faith and in God...or do we blame God and turn from Him (sometimes from family and friends too), all in an effort to make our own way in our own time...?