Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 2008). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It really does, doesn’t it?   It is so powerful. Max says, “Anxiety chops up our attention. It sends our awareness in a dozen directions.   We worry about the past—what we said or did. We worry about the future—tomorrow’s assignments or the next decade’s developments. Anxiety takes our attention from the right now and directs it ‘back then’ or ‘out there.’ ” Now he does say, “Life gives lemons to good people, bad people, old people, all people. Life comes with lemons. But we don’t have to suck on them.” He goes on, “I once wrote this resolve: Today, I will live today. Yesterday has passed. Tomorrow is not yet. I’m left with today. So, today, I will live today. Relive yesterday? No. I will learn from it. I will seek mercy for it. I will t...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 1842). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’ve read a lot of books on and set a lot of goals in my life and I’ve found they do make a difference in my getting things accomplished.   So, this statement by Max caught my attention.   What does he mean? He says, “Maybe this image will help. When a father leads his four-year-old son down a crowded street, he takes him by the hand and says, ‘Hold on to me.’ He doesn’t say, ‘Memorize the map’ or ‘Take your chances dodging the traffic’ or ‘Let’s see if you can find your way home.’ The good father gives the child one responsibility: ‘Hold on to my hand.’” He then says, “God does the same with us. Don’t load yourself down with lists. Don’t enhance your anxiety with the fear of not fulfilling them. Your goal is not to know every detail of the future. Your goal is...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (Kindle Location 1671). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) There are so many things that I can’t do.   Max says, “You didn’t select your birthplace or birth date. You didn’t choose your parents or siblings. You don’t determine the weather or the amount of salt in the ocean. There are many things in life over which you have no choice.” He doesn’t stop there, he says, “But the greatest activity of life is well within your dominion. You can choose what you think about.” He goes on, “You can be the air traffic controller of your mental airport. You occupy the control tower and can direct the mental traffic of your world. Thoughts circle above, coming and going. If one of them lands, it is because you gave it permission. If it leaves, it is because you directed it to do so. You can select your thought pattern.” I can be the ...