Just Continue That Thought...

From a thought in Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small by Mark Batterson. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And that is something for us to realize.  Mark says, “You have two—one is universal, and the other is unique.” He goes on, “Think of it as your double destiny. Just as we share a common grace, we all share a common destiny. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ.  In other words, our universal destiny is to think like, act like, love like, and be like the prototype—Jesus. If you pursue that common destiny, it will lead to an uncommon life. You’ll go places you can’t get to. You’ll do things beyond your capabilities. And you’ll meet people you have no business being in the same room with. But the goal isn’t going, doing, or meeting. The ultimate goal is becoming like Christ.”  “We all share that destiny in common, but the other destiny is unique. There never has been and never will be anyo

From a thought in Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small by Mark Batterson. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is so true.  It is all in your focus and your priorities. Mark says, “If your goal is fame, good luck. Even if you achieve it, you’ll realize that it’s as unfulfilling as fortune. You don’t need a bigger paycheck. You need a bigger why . Our chief end is to glorify God, and if your goal is to make famous the name of Jesus, good fortune will follow you all the days of your life and right into eternity!” Now that is good news isn’t it? He then says, “In her spirit Julie Neal felt as if she was on the verge of something big. In fact, God told her to get ready! She just wasn’t sure how or for what. That’s when she visited her brother and sister-in-law, who had adopted a baby from Africa. On the way home Julie’s eight-year-old daughter said, ‘We need to adopt a baby.’ Julie quickly came up with all kind

A thought by Mark Batterson (2016-09-06) from his book, Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small (Kindle Location 2535). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) God is really amazing isn’t He?   God has a plan for our life and He wants to and can use every part of it.   That is the way He works. Mark says, “When David took harp lessons as a kid, he never imagined that those lessons would someday position him as a member of King Saul’s court. As he practiced slinging a stone while tending sheep, it never crossed his mind that this skill set would catapult him into the national limelight. Even when David was hiding out in caves as a fugitive, God was deepening his emotional capacity to write psalms that would pull heartstrings thousands of years later.” Mark goes on, “Just because something isn’t part of your life plan doesn’t mean it’s not part of God’s plan. God is

A thought by Mark Batterson (2016-09-06) from his book, Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small (Kindle Location 2295). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here is what Mark says, “One of the excuses I’ve confessed countless times is perfectionism. When coupled with procrastination, it’s a dream killer. So when I meet a fellow perfectionist, I often prescribe the same passage of Scripture that cured my condition a decade ago. I prescribe Ecclesiastes 11: 4 once a day for seven days, and it must be taken with meditation. ‘Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks to the clouds will not reap.’” He goes on, “If you’re waiting for perfect conditions to pursue your dream, you’ll be waiting till Christ returns. It doesn’t matter whether a sunny day or a snowy day is forecast. At some point you need to throw caution to the wind. Do it after you’ve done your

A thought by Mark Batterson (2016-09-06) from his book, Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small (Kindle Location 2273). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Mark tells a story, “In February of 2001, Thann Bennett felt called to write a book. ‘With some regularity,’ Thann said, ‘a fresh prompting would prick my conscience, and I would again consider toeing the starting line.’ But he would false start every single time. Thann became an expert at excuses: I don’t have that kind of time. The book is outside the scope of my profession. These are the only years my wife and I have without children . ‘I was living in delayed obedience,’ admits Thann. That all changed on April 19, 2015, when Thann heard a sermon I preached titled ‘The Art of the Start.’ Thann made a decision that day to give God one hour a day every day until the book he dreamed of writing was a reality. It took