I'm afraid to check off which ones I have....
How about you?
Hmmmmmm, maybe there is some work to do?
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Where Are You Going?
Who hasn’t seen a dog chasing its
tail? It’s a humorous thing to watch as they run in repeated circles trying to
catch that elusive tail. Then, when they have caught it, what happens? In a
word—nothing, because they realize that the tail is just a part of them.
We humans have been known chase our
tails, figuratively, haven’t we? We call it chasing circles. Sometimes we go in
circles so much that it seems as if we are in a spiral—a downward spiral. It
doesn’t feel good, because we come to sense that there is no way out. Like that
dog chasing his tail, all of our focus is on what it is that we are chasing and
why we are chasing it. We are simply chasing the wrong things.
Our lives aren’t meant to be that
way. We weren’t born to be like that. Chasing circles is something that we do
to ourselves. The circles we chase are not
dictated by our circumstances. It is extremely hard to find any joy and
peace in a life that is chasing circles.
There is nothing that matters more
in our lives than the security of having a sense of joy, peace, and harmony,
each of which comes from a committed relationship with Christ. With the faith
that comes from that kind of relationship, it is very difficult to start
chasing in circles. There is only one place to go, and that is even closer to
Him.
Spinning out of control and chasing
in circles isn’t why God made us. He made us to be godly men, and He provided
all of the instruction we need to become godly men. It’s called the Bible.
Bottom Line Thought:
Where are you going? Do you find yourself chasing circles or spinning out of
control more than you would like? How does it make you feel about yourself? Why
are you missing a sense of joy, peace, and harmony in your life? Do you really
need to be like a dog chasing his tail?
Monday, June 1, 2015
Living Large
I ran into a new friend, Dean, at
church a while back and asked him how he was doing. He gave me an answer I didn’t
expect when he said, “I’m living large.” He said it with the same huge
beautiful smile he gave me when I walked into the front door of the church for
the very first time. I didn’t expect that answer because I knew that he has
some fairly significant medical issues. Here’s something I know about Dean. He
is truly living large, because what he meant by the term was that it is all the
small good things about his life that fill it and have given him the ability to
understand how much he is loved and blessed.
Can’t all of us make that statement
if we wanted to? Are there any of us who can’t see and appreciate all of those
small insignificant things that we are blessed with? Do we really want to allow
just one or two things that may negatively affect us to rule how we view life
and cause us to be “down” or have a negative outlook? Isn’t life more than
that?
Without going into a litany of
things that could cause me to be a
legitimately negative person, let me share some of the small things in my life
that make me know that I too am living large;
·
Though we are unevenly yoked, and will never
agree on some things, I have no doubt that my wife loves me.
·
I have 7 kids who love me and never hold my past
against me.
·
I am not perfect, nor a perfect Christian, yet I
know, without any doubt, that God loves me and stands by me.
·
I am not wealthy, nor even financially secure,
yet I know I have all I need in life and I can willingly share what I have with
needy others and my church.
·
I am completely certain of the fact that despite
myself I will one day live in Heaven and see those who have gone before me.
Living large is a state of mind
that comes out of being secure in our own skin, our relationships, and in our
faith. Christ followers are indeed living large.
Bottom Line Thought: Are
you living large or are there things or thought processes that you need to
change to get there?
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