"Everything in your past is preparation for something in your future!"

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Win the Day (p. 15). The Crown Publishers Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Yes it is.

Mark says, "God doesn’t waste days, especially bad days! My life coach helped me identify forty-four defining moments. Some were as dramatic as the day I almost died from ruptured intestines. I was surprised, however, at how many defining moments were as subtle as the subconscious. Identifying those subplots is one key to flipping the script, so I’ll share a few of mine."

He shares, "When I was kid, I was playing Kick the Can with my friends when my mom rang the dinner bell. That’s how we texted before cell phones! We sat down at the dinner table, and I remember saying, 'We’ve got to hurry up and eat because my friends are waiting.' I wasn’t having a panic attack, but my sense of urgency was acute. We couldn’t eat fast enough! Why? I didn’t want to keep my friends waiting. I wish it were nothing more than five-year-old FOMO—fear of missing out.

"I know that incident sounds totally insignificant. Truth be told? It’s the story of my life. Even at five, I felt tremendous internal tension at the thought of letting others down. If there is a twelve-step program for people pleasers, sign me up. I recently shared that subplot with my counselor, including this confession: 'I don’t want to disappoint anyone ever.' My counselor said, 'That’s an awfully big burden to bear.' Yes, it is! Then he added this: 'You know, Mark, Jesus disappointed just about everyone.' Ouch. Trying to please everyone all the time is not the Jesus way. Quite the opposite. If you follow Jesus, you’ll offend more than a few pharisees along the way."

He continues, "Let me share one more subplot, with the goal of helping you identify yours. Around the same time as the inciting incident I just shared, a neighbor-friend knocked on my door and announced that I could no longer ride his banana-seat bike. Why? Because his dad had removed the training wheels. Do not—I repeat, do not—tell me what I cannot do! I marched myself down to his house, got on his bike, and rode it back to my house minus the training wheels! I’ll never forget the feeling of kicking down that kickstand in my driveway, having done something that my neighbor didn’t think I could do. It’s another one of those top-of-the-Empire-State-Building or bottom-of-the-Grand-Canyon moments."

He then says, "If you want me to do something, don’t tell me what to do. That’s totally demotivating. Tell me it can’t be done! You can’t wash the dishes in five minutes. You can’t remember to take out the garbage. You can’t fix the toilet. I wish I were kidding! Lora has to live with this personality trait, but she has learned my love language! For better or for worse, I love proving people wrong. Especially the so-called experts! It’s not only the way I’m wired; it undergirds this entire book."

Those are good examples that show a great place to start in understanding ourselves and our reactions today so we can go back and identify key subplots in our past. Again, that seems a good place to go, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

"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...

“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...

"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, ...

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