Skip to main content

“What happened to the spark?”

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient:  Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.79). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is a very good thought/question. 

Ray says, “Robert Fulghum wrote some of my favorite books, including All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (which, unfortunately, I read after spending thousands of dollars on graduate school). One time when I heard him speak, he said, ‘Find any group of children and ask them how many can sing, and what happens? Every hand goes up. I ask, “What can you sing?” and they answer, “Everything!” “What if you don’t know the words?” “We’ll make them up!” Find any group of kids, ask them, “How many of you can draw?” and everybody’s hand goes up.’”

Ray then says, “But what happens when you ask that same group of kids the same questions twenty-five years later? How many can sing? Almost none of them. How many can draw? No hands go up. Fulghum asks a profound question: ‘What happened? What happened between kindergarten and adulthood to stomp out that God-given spark of passion that God placed in every single kid, so that by the time they become adults, the fire’s gone out? What happened to the spark?’”

There is the question, what happened?  Ray says, “I’m sure you’ve seen it happen. A marriage started aflame, but seven years later they’re just waiting for the last spark to flicker out. New Christians are fired up and passionate about their faith; three years later they treat the gospel as old, cold news. Churches start with fresh passion and momentum but decline into apathetic indifference. Everybody is all-in for a new start-up, but five years after the launch coworkers argue and fight over titles, policy, procedure, position, and the corner office.”

He asks another question, and then answers it,  “Is it possible to get that passion back? Can you reignite the flame, rediscover the spark, and regain momentum? Yes. Passion, hope, and momentum all return when people begin asking, ‘Regardless of what I see now— what can this become?’ That single shift reignites passion, creates new energy, and sets people on fire again to do something great in their world.”


So, will you ask that same question, “Regardless of what I see now – what can this become?”
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“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...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more