Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 163). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But Bob gives us the key, “ Not surprisingly, the way to do it best is by being secretly incredible.” To be honest that can be a problem in retirement.   It is not one that I am proud of but the problem of doing something when all through your ministry you have been the one up front, the one that people come to, and the one who leads can be difficult.   And to have that all stop, that can be an ego problem.   But therein lies a greater problem.   We get to the point that we think it is us and they are looking to us when in reality we are just the tool.   It is God who is doing it.   But He wants to trust us for greater things but our track record doesn’t prove us worthy. I wonder though what God could do through us if we were re...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 166). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition . (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) He then says, “In fact, they love to fail. It’s because failing means they found the edge.” Do you see how not being afraid would give you an edge?   For some failure is a major part of the process.   They are not afraid to fail.   As Bob said, “they love to fail.”   The focus is not on them but it is on making a difference. Now another edge for the Christian is the fact that God is good.   That in our successes God is good but even in our failures He is especially good.   Everything that happens to us must go through His love and His goodness so then why not try.      In my walk time from Starbucks I was thanking God for what He has done in Margaret and my life this past week and a half.   It has be...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 124). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) 1 John 1:9 (NIV), says, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins   and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   Have you really messed up in your life and you finally got to the point that you confessed what you did to God but you are having a real problem believing that He has forgiven you?  That can be a problem for some. Bob also says, “When I don’t trust God’s forgiveness, it’s kind of like saying I really don’t believe He’s that good.”   So I guess it’s not your problem of messing up, we all do that but it is a trust problem.   I t is not a self-trust problem.   You are having a real problem with forgiving yourself.   But do you really trust God?   He said that if you do what you...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary Worl d (p. 118). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Friends and family have such an impact on us.   And it isn’t the blood that we have in common but the attitudes and view of life that makes the difference.   The key friend that I have needed and wanted to become like is Christ.   Oh I know that it sounds like one of those right things to say but it is true.   Why wouldn’t a person want to be close to the one who created you and sacrificed their life for you?   If you have really caught the truth of that then of course you would want to hang around with Him. The other deep friend that I have is my wife, Margaret.   I would die for her just as Christ died for me.   She is someone who had a choice in living in my life and she has stayed with me and sacrificed dreams for me. ...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 128). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is the truth.   I love adventure.   My life has been an adventure.    I have been in 49 States.   Someday I will make it to Alaska for my 50 th State.   I have lived all over the United States: California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina and Florida.   I love to look at a map and then visualize what it is like.   Every Saturday, Margaret and I go on an adventure.   We’ve done it almost every Saturday since I have been retired.   Wherever we have lived, we have seen more than most people who have lived there all there lives. I also loved the adventure of being a church planter.   The adventure of going out a...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 88). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition . (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) For half of my life at home our family traveled all over the US and Canada and held in churches meetings for them from Wednesday through two Sundays.   Dad would preach every night and Sunday morning and we as a family would sing.   I started singing in front of people when I was five.   That’s what I did.   I sang.   Well when I was a sophomore we moved to Owosso, Michigan where I went to Owosso High School.   And I tried out for the choir.   I was a tenor and every choir needed tenors and because of my experience in singing I was chosen for the top choir.   We had three different choirs in that school.   Now even though I had been singing for at least 10 years dad thought it would be a good thing if I would take...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Do you want to fix people?   Maybe you went into your marriage with an “I can fix them” instead of just loving them attitude.   No one want that, they just want to be loved for who they are.   What that seems to be is an “I’m better than you” way of looking at people.   And that too many times is easy for those of us who are Christians to look at those who aren’t.   That is not a good thing. I love the story that Bob shares here in his book about his being accepted by his Young Life leader rather than giving him advice.   And that can really be tough to do.   I mean I know how to fix you but it isn’t what I know that makes the difference but it is what I do.   This is what love, acceptance and forgiveness is all about.  ...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 25). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. This thought reminds me of the guy who said, “I gave my life to climbing up the ladder of success to find at the end that it was leaning against the wrong wall.” So many times we do what we do out of fear of failing.    We just don’t want to look bad in the eyes of those who really matter to us.   It is so important for us to be a real success at no matter at.   So we do whatever we can to keep from failing, to keep from looking bad that we will do anything to succeed.   That’s what it is all about isn’t it?   Success. But Bob says that he has found that he is more afraid at succeeding at things that don’t matter, things that don’t make a difference in the world that he lives in.   I remember when we moved to Las Vegas to plant a new church.   We were so excited but we fou...

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (Kindle Locations 134-135). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. And that beginning thought by Bob caught my attention.   The island is Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland.   I have had an Annual Pass to Disney World and I now have an Annual Pass to Disneyland and I have never been to Tom Sawyer Island.   And that speaks to too many of us and our trek through life. Oh I’ve looked across and seen it many times but I didn’t think it looked very interesting or exciting so I stayed on my side of the water and never adventured to the other side to see what was there.   But Bob did and he says, “I do all of my best thinking on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland. There’s a picnic table at the end of a little pier right across from the pirate ship. I suppose most people think this place is just a prop because there are a couple of wooden kegs marked “gunpowder”...