Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?    (p. 116). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It turns out that choosing drains us. It takes energy. Steve Jobs Choosing is hard work.  Especially if it is an important decision.   “So wise people”, John says, “shepherd their ‘choosing energy’ well. This is why wise people never make important decisions in a wrong emotional state.” But too many times that is when we make our major decisions, after we’ve been dumped in a relationship, or when we are very lonely, or after we've had a difficult day at work.  When I was a staff minister I had another Pastor call me about every Monday asking if I had a good day Sunday.  He thought after a bad Sunday I might say yes to come to work for him.  John says, “Never try to choose the right co

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?   (p. 112). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) There are some thoughts that jump out at me at just the right time.  Many times I am looking for thoughts that would be good to share but this one was for me today.    Here is my question that comes at this thought from a different direction.  If I lose my passion at doing what I am doing do I then need to stop doing what I am doing? No you just keep at it. John quotes Andy Chan who heads up the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest and who is known by some as a “career-development guru.”  And he says, “That one of the greatest stumbling blocks he has to warn young adults about is the illusion that there is some passion out there with their name on it, and if they could just dis

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?   (p. 108). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But we don’t like to make choices because we are afraid to be wrong.  And that is one of the reasons why we are constantly praying for God’s will in different choices that we are called to make.  It also is very difficult.  It really is. But John says, “God wants us to learn to choose well. That may be why, when we look at the Bible, there is no chapter devoted to ‘How to know God’s will for your life.’ Often when we are faced with a real-life choice, the Bible seems no more helpful than Yogi Berra’s old dictum: ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it.’ Paul doesn’t write about ‘six steps to determine if he’s the one’ or ‘five ways to discern God’s job for you.’ What we do see are statements l

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?  (p. 85). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is such a good thought at the beginning of a new week and close to the beginning of a new month.  How do you view what you do?  Think about this, maybe how you view it is different from how God views it. John says, “When we are born, our world is very small. As we grow, it may become quite large. If we live long enough and grow old enough, it will become small again. If we do not learn to find God in our small worlds, we will never find God at all.” I am finding that true in my retirement years.  There was a time that I was challenged to do greater things as a church planter but now the quality time that I get to spend with my wife, Margaret and with my three granddaughters, Ashlyn, Addison and

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?  (p. 18). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I love that thought.  I read on Facebook this morning that a friend of mine had a horrible day yesterday and I felt for her but then the thought came to me but today is a new day.  Yes there is memory of yesterday but today is a blank slate with new adventure and new possibilities and new potential.  What was your day like yesterday?  Learn the lessons from it and see today as a new open door to walk through.  Oh I can see the door and have some fear because of what happened yesterday and decide I’m not going to open it.  That is a real choice for us.  The problems of yesterday can keep us from the possibilities of today.  They can but they don’t have to. John says, “Some of us see the doors and s

A thought by Andy Stanley (2015-01-06) from his book, The New Rules for Love, Sex andDating (p. 176). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you found that true?  I’m sure that many of you have. The truth is it can suck out all of the enjoyment of life.   Andy says, “The number one source of conflict among couples is money.”  It is number one. He then says, “The primary source of financial pressure is debt. Dumb debt. Credit card debt. Car leases… If you have debt, chances are you have other bad financial habits.” Make a commitment to stop and look at what it is that is causing you to not get this under control.  I love the prayer of the Psalmist who says, “Search me oh God and know my thoughts.”  Why do you have to have all of the stuff?  Now there can be good reasons for it but if it causes relational problems then there is a problem.  Take it to God and then take it to your spouse.  Prioritize and then let some thing

A thought by Leonard Sweet, (2012-01-03) from his book, I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth,and Life of Following Jesus (p. 114). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But what if it becomes unfavorable to us?  Leonard goes on to say, “When circumstances at the surface of our lives are unfavorable, happiness leaves. It has a brief shelf life; it comes and goes rapidly. Joy is far different. It doesn’t fluctuate according to its surface surroundings. In fact, it can actually flourish in the midst of pain and suffering.” But we strive for happiness when it is joy that we really need.  Leonard says, “Our culture, it seems, is convinced that happiness can be purchased. Materialism, consumerism, and individualism have blended to form a hollow chocolate bunny within the American dream. Overpromising and underdelivering, the individual pursuit of happiness has catapulted the US to number one status as the most depressed and medicated