It's Gonna be a bright bright sunshinny day... someday
I've kinda been in a funk the past two days. I worked really hard last week because we had a bonus going on at my work so I work a lot of hours, well, now this week I'm having a tough time motivating myself to work. It's been dark and gloomy here the past two days. We had horrible thunderstorms last night. It was constant lightening for about an hour and a half. It was very beautiful, but children don't like those. So needless to say we didn't get much sleep because
Klaryssa was afraid so we brought her into bed with us, but then she thought it was play time at 2:30 in the morning since she was in our bed... all that to say that being tired is adding to my crappy state of mind. I suppose I need to reread the post below me. :)
Actually, I'm reading a book my mom gave me right now called The Politically Incorrect Wife. It's so good... I would recommend it to anyone. If you read the book you will see. I'm only on page 100 or so, but already I have gained so much from it. Anyway... read it, you'll see.
Life is Practice
AN INTERVIEW WITH RICK WARREN: (Author of "A Purpose Driven Life")
...thanks Kelli & Jill
Interview with Rick Warren , author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife getting cancer.I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal my wife or make it easy for her.It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD
10 years already...
This weekend is my 10 year class reunion. We will being going to Des
Moines for it this weekend. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I'm looking forward to seeing some people, but on the other hand I can't believe it's been 10 years. part of me feels like it was just yesterday i was in high school and the other part feels like it was forever ago. I was definitely a difference person back then. It should be fun though. Josh isn't sure if he can go with me... he's very busy right now... soccer is going to be staring soon and he has a lot to prepare for. We'll see. We were going to go to the fair on Saturday too. I really like the fair. It makes me feel like a little kid again.
I'll let you know how it goes...
Life
So I have recently been reminded again of how quickly life goes. One minute you're driving home from work and the next you're on a bridge that is collapsing underneath you. Aren't you glad you are ready and if you're not ready to die, don't you think you should be?
Josh and I turned on the TV Wednesday night at around 7 only to find every c
hanel playing OUR city and the bridge collapsing. A bridge we have been over many times. It was amazing to watch. Coincidentally, I am reading a book about 9/11 right now too. It just reminds me that you must be prepared to die at any moment. I know that sounds harsh, but its true. Life goes so quickly and you never know what one day is going to hold.
Pray for these people... especially the ones who cannot find their
Friends and family... to have no closer with be very painful.
I promise my next post will be on a lighter topic! :)
