“Our chaotic world sometimes moves us to yearn for life as it used to be.”

A thought by George Barna (2011-05-15) in his book, Futurecast: What Today's Trends Mean for Tomorrow's World (Kindle Locations 485-486). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Do you feel that way? I can’t say I do. I like living in this time in history. I am 64 years of age so I have seen other times that were chaotic.

For instance I lived in the 60’s. In no way do I want to go back to those days of major unrest. I lived in Michigan during the Detroit riots and I lived in Ohio when those students were killed at Kent State. My draft lottery number was 249 so I didn’t have to go to Vietnam but I remember those horrible days.

Margaret and I went and saw Woody Allen’s movie, Midnight in Paris, a couple of weeks back. In it Owen Wilson’s character was an author who lived with the despair of not living in the 20’s in Paris. He knew life would have been so much more fulfilling if he could have lived in Paris in the 20’s. Woody Allen did an entertaining job of showing the need to appreciate the time you live in rather than pining for the days of old.

Now for me today is my day of opportunity and it is the time and place I have been created to live, right now. Yes I am retired and I sometimes miss being a pastor in Newport News, Virginia or Austin,Texas or Las Vegas, Nevada. I was a church planter and I loved my life then but I also love my life now and I don’t want to go back.

I have learned that life is to be lived in the now not in the past but also with an eye on the future.

What do you think?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog