Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime (p. 120). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I like the adventure of finding new coffee shops.  I stopped at one this morning that I had never been to.  I pulled down a street, saw that the sign said no parking 6 – 8 and went in got a cup of very good coffee spent some time reading and then came out and saw that I had gotten a ticket.  I thought it said 6 pm – 8 am but it said 6 am – 8 pm. So I just got done writing a check to the City of Burbank because I didn’t really read the details.  And that is kind of like how many people deal with their faith.  They don’t really see the details so they lose out on what God really wants/expects from us. Mark says, “Most people are bored with their faith because they are selfish. They think they

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime (p. 34). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) One thing that a Lawyer does is keep track of each of his billable minutes.  That's how they get paid.  But that is not how our life is to be measured. As Mark says, "Our lives are not just measured in minutes. They are measured in moments — moments when the minutes stand still. And it’s those defining moments that define our lives!" There are specific moments in my life that I go back to that can bring deep emotion in me.  Those moments define what I defined my life to be.  The moment I spent with my grandpa Williams as he shared memories of his life just a few minutes before he went to be with the Lord.  Living moments that he shared with me.  The moment when I was traveling in

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime  (p. 101). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I think most of us come into marriage thinking that and then along the way we grow up.  But so many individuals keep thinking that way and life isn’t so good for them.  As Mark says, “Those of you who are married know that self-focused marriages don’t do that well.” But that’s not God plan.  He has something better for us. Mark says, “The goal of marriage is not happiness, it is holiness. That thought is not original to me, but I have experienced it firsthand. There is no mechanism whereby God can sanctify a person more than having them live in close proximity to another imperfect person. When I get into an emotional slump, nine times out of ten it’s because I zoom in on something I’m

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure ofa Lifetime  (p. 98). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It is so very easy as a minister to think that we have a direct line from God so we don’t need to listen to anyone else even our wife.  But that is sooooo wrong.  So wrong.  That is also true of many men who aren’t ministers and also many women who believe they know best and they don’t need to listen.  But that idea is a quick way to ruin a relationship and especially a marriage. Dick says, “Taking the time to hear a spouse brings honor and credence to the conversation. It acknowledges the value of the other person. If we stop talking or listening, we are dead in the water. Silence in a marriage is not golden. It is ambiguous. When silence falls, I don’t know what it means— or am scared I do

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime  (p. 87). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) The whole thought here by Mark is, “One of our core values as a church is, love people when they least expect it and least deserve it. That is the kind of love Jesus shows to us. When we are at our worst, He is at His best.” Wow.  That is so true of me.  He loves me, He loves me and He loves me.  No matter what I have done He loves me.  That is more love that I give to myself.  I love the Psalms.  I read one every day.  I have done it for years.  Today’s Psalm was the 92 nd Psalm and starting with verse 1 it says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the most high.”  That is a good way to start each day but then verse 2 says, “It is good to proclaim your unfail

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime  (p. 76). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I turned 68 years of age today and I probably feel better than I thought I would at 68.  I mean 68.  Aren’t you suppose to feel old?  Oh there are some things but there are also some other things that feel better.  And they feel better because I have had some goals to shoot toward every day. Do you have any goals that you strive to do every day?  Dick said, “Goals have a way of refocusing your life. They give you purpose and a target to shoot for. They are the compass of our dreams, helping us set a steady course. Goals comprise direction and progress. When we lose sight of our goals, we tend to lose sight of ourselves and who we are trying to become, who God has made us to be.” And

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure ofa Lifetime  (p. 72). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I have started every day for many years doing one thing.  I read from the Psalms and I read from the NT.  Right now I am in Paul’s second letter to the young man, Timothy.  I love what I read this morning in verse 7 of chapter 4.  Paul said, “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”  No matter what has happened to me, “I have remained faithful.”  That is what Mark is talking about here. He says, “I’m more and more impressed with people who simply keep on keeping on. I love the phrase ‘little by little’ in Exodus 23: 30. We want a lot by a lot, but that’s not the way it works in God’s kingdom ventures. Malcolm Gladwell refers to it as the ‘ten-th