Live Like you were Dying

This is one of my favorite songs. Tim McGraw put so many of our thoughts into words. If we sould only live this way on a daily basis there would be less arguing, complaining and the constant struggle for more. There would be more time for caring, spending time with those we love the most and less worrying about things that don't matter. Day 4 reading in Purpose Driven Life sums this sentiment up well with Matthew Henry's words, “It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day.”

Most of my life has been spent living for the here and now, not for the future. True freedom comes when we learn to live with eternity in mind and can let go of the unimportant. In college i read a small pamphlet called the Tyranny of the Urgent. It laid out the premise that life is filled with important tasks and urgent tasks. The important are those areas that bring life the most meaning, such as; participating in our children's play, holding hands with the one we love, slowing down and enjoying where we are and who we are with. Instead we allow the urgent to run our life. E-mails, text and phone calls dictate how we spend our days. The urgent scream for our attention, while the important sits in the background waiting patiently for our time. So many of us have succumb to Tyranny of the Urgent and when we reach the end of our life we are filled with regrets. If we will turn these issues around and put the important first and relegate the urgent to follow our schedule, we will reach the end of our life filled with wonderful memories and with the people we love.

I am trying to "live my life as if I were dying." Funny thing is we all are and just don't act like it. That's a thought for another day.

I'm Back and Better than Ever

What on earth am I here for? This has some tremendous implications for me now since my recent brush with death. Or should I say the "shock" of death. Having a heart attack has given me so much to think about. It has driven home that we have such a short time to live and made me ask; is what I am doing really important, really valuable? Am I just taking up space or making an impact? How do we determine the answers to these questions? Who decides what is important and what is not? Can we know?

I think we can. God has made it clear that it is not what we do, but who we are that is important. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." He gives our life meaning. It is in how He designed us that causes impact, not how well we can do a cannonball in the pool of life. We are a masterpiece, created in His image, designed to fulfill His purpose, this is the answer. It is not about how much we do, but who we are that matters. You and I ARE God's masterpiece. When we live according to the way He created us we become a tool in His hand that can create. It is in this that we discover our purpose and meaning.

EXPERIENCING GOD

If God is all powerful and able to anything that He wants, then why do we not see more evidence of His working in our lives? Do we somehow say we believe yet in practice and lifestyle prove otherwise? These are issues that are raised in a book I am reading by Richard Blackaby. His book Unlimiting God, opens up the issue that God desires for us to know Him in His fullness and experience His power in our lives, yet because of our lack of faith, we limit ourselves to living mundane lives.

D.L Moody, once said that he world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully devoted to Him. I ask why is God able to use an ordinary man, greatly and often those with great gifts and talents remain mediocre. I agree with Blackaby that it is the choice of the individual. Each of us has the ability to be used by God. There is no insignificant task, when God gives us something to accomplish. Often we, I look for the grandiose to perform for God, when God wants us to submit and obey in the little things that He is able to mold into a grand masterpiece, one that only He receives the credit. Am I willing to join God in His assignment or am I waiting for some huge task? Am I following Him or trying to get Him to follow me?

I want to know the power of the resurrection. How about you? What am I willing to do to experience it.

How would you rate your marriage?

Several years ago, whiloe attending a marriage conference we were asked the question; rate your marriage from 0-10, with 10 being the greatest thing ever. I went first and thought that I would be a little conservative and say that I thought it would be between 7 or 8. Myra then went and said that in her opinion it was only about a 4. What a shock. I had no clue. This became the first of many steps in growing a great marriage. Have you asked you spouse how they would rate your marriage? Probably not. Go ahead and take the chance. Be willing to hear a difficult answer, and then be willing to begin taking steps to make it all that God intends for it to become.

Marriage????

What do you think of when you think of marriage? Happily ever after or does it cause you to feel disappointment, anger and frustration? How do we make this life together really work? It is often a mystery, the intertwining of two lives into a single tree reaching together for the stars. I am not nieve, neither do I have a perfect marriage (because I'm not perfect), I do know what it is to have a difficult marriage and now I know how great marriage can be. It has been a long journey for us, 26 years and counting. The first 18 were years of much battling and difficulties. In the last 8 we have entered into a time of joy together. I'm a slow learner, I guess. But, I am learning the secret to this beautiful union of two individuals called marriage.

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring the secrets of marriage here and on Sunday mornings at JC3. Let's journey together toward marriage happiness.

Life can get out of control so quickly. We never know what is next on the agenda. Health concerns, financial chaos, children and spouses all can change in the next moment. It is what makes life so unpredictable. How do we navigate in the midst of all the obstacles we can't even see? It is vital to hold onto the only one who never changes, who is steady in an unsteady world. It is why it is so important to tie our rope to a secure anchor. It seems that many times when an unexpected event comes along, and lately it has been happening more than I'd care to reminisce about, that my rope is tied either to loose and I drift or tied to the wrong thing. Only God offers true security in the "eye of the storm." Are you tied tight to God? Don't wait to find out, as the boy scouts motto says, I was one for about six months, but that is another story, "Be Prepared. It is never too late, yet, it is so much easier when chaos shows up to find that your anchor is secure.

What storm are you facing?

More to come...

Is belief enough?

Is it enough to believe the right things about God? Is that what makes me a follower of Jesus? While I do believe that we have to believe in certain core truths, like; Jesus is God's Son, He died and was buried and rose again. I think there is more to being a Christ follower than knowing certain facts. The bible says that even the demons believe and yet their destiny is Hell. So it must be that it is a lifestyle and not a set of rigid beliefs. To know Christ is to become like Him, that is why I like the term follower. It signifies that we are to become like Him in action. The Christian LIFE is just that a decision followed by a change in our lifestyle. We cannot claim to be a follower of Christ if it is not effecting our everyday lifestyle. How are we living like Jesus today? So join me as I choose to follow Christ today. What do you think?