Unleashed Imagination

One question every American child is asked sometime during childhood is "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Some will state the occupation of a parent. Others may say to be a sports star, an actor/actress, or another type of celebrity. What was your answer?

Why didn't we make it to that goal? I think that part of the problem lies in this week's quote...

Nothing limits achievement like small thinking;
nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination. ~ William Arthur Ward

At some point, either you or someone very close to you will start to limit your achievement by thinking small. In the movie "Rudy" there is the transitional scene where the main character, who happens to be the baby of the family, says "Someday, I'm going to play football for Notre Dame." Laughter and doubt comes forth. "Yeah right" are the thoughts. This small thinking and the many obstacles in life didn't stop him from making his dream come true. If you saw the movie you cheered along with him when he accomplished his goal.

What small thinking has limited your possibilities? Financial, doubt, fear, whispers from your conscience, life going in a different direction, jeers, faded passion? What about seeing where you're at and re-routing your direction so you can still expand the possibilities? Don't let things stop you, just use the obstacles as opportunities to be re-routed and see what is around the next bend, but keep on going! Imagination is absent of boundaries. Let yourself dream, then start seeing how you can get from where you're at to that point!

Don't think small, and maybe one day you'll get to "play for Notre Dame" too!

Enjoying imagining...

E-mail Encouragement: Walking Along the Shoreline

Over the past week, my niece has been visiting us. As a five-year-old with no one else to play with, she gets to entertain herself about half of the time. It is refreshing to just sit and watch a child play by themselves. Their creativity and wonder continues to amaze me. It sometimes makes me reminisce about my childhood. Just the other day, she was riding in our car with my wife and I and she took the booklet that came with our infant car seat and started thumbing through it. All the while, creating a story out of the pictures in the booklet. My wife and I just laughed to ourselves as she used the knowledge that she has to expand in creativity and wonder. This brings us to this week’s quote…

The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. - Ralph W. Sockman

Once we attain knowledge or achieve a goal, we generally want to go further. I know that is the case for me. Once I’ve finished one thing, I look forward to the next (even if I take a break in between projects, etc.). I know that each week that I have finished a lesson, I look forward to working on the next – wondering what will be around the corner.

What have you experienced as you walked along the “shoreline of wonder”? Wondering what life will be like in the next week? Wondering what ministry God will call you to next? Wondering who God will put along your path to influence? Wondering what you could do in your life if there were no restrictions?

The life of a child is filled with creativity, imagination, and wonder. May we all be like a child once in a while!

Have a great rest of your week!

Serving Him ~