Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.97). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Did you know that about you?   Or do you feel you are worthless?   Ray tells this story, “Back in 1915, Ira Yates owned a dry-goods store in Rankin, Texas, that did about five thousand dollars’ worth of business each month. A Pecos County rancher named Thomas Hickox noted the store’s modest success and proposed that Yates trade the store for his 16,640-acre River Ranch, way out in northern Pecos County. “A friend who once owned the property warned Yates against the trade. He said, ‘Even buffalo know better than to cross the Pecos. A crow would not fly over it, and it is not worth the taxes.’ “Yates made the trade anyway. Years later, Yates’s granddaughter explained that while her grandpa ‘didn’t know beans about groceries,’ he did know ranching, an

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.95). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) So, what is it you really want?   So, what are you doing to get it?   Some of you may say, I want to do God’s will for my life.   Ok. Ray says, “Some people say, ‘I’m waiting for God to tell me what He wants me to do with my life.’ That’s too bad because it’s not going to happen. You can’t steer a parked car. You have to be moving. If you’re moving, God can steer you. Get out there and volunteer for something, anything. Just get moving. Could you be the Roof, Soffit, and Gutters Guy at the home-building project? The Soup Mama at the homeless shelter? The Clean-Up Kid at the bake sale? Try stuff. Use all the information you gather to discover how God has wired you.” Ray goes on, “God often gives supernatural gifts that match a person’s natural gifts, bu

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.82). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That’s good enough for some people but not for me.   Ray says, “I once heard Chuck Swindoll describe a conversation with a college student. He asked the young man what was meant to be a profound question: ‘Where are you headed?’ ‘To lunch,’ the kid said. For a lot of people, that’s the whole dream.” Ray says, “Not having a dream results in three unhealthy emotions: frustration, boredom, and regret.” He goes on, “Frustration because if you don’t set goals, you move through life from crisis to crisis. Without a dream for your life, you’re a reactor, not an actor. Boredom, because you have nothing to shoot for and nothing powerful to capture your interest. Without a dream, you move from diversion to diversion, and they all get old sooner rather than l