The Goodness of Where We Are

What is a better time to celebrate than the present? When you start to add up all the blessings you have, you tend to appreciate life more and more.

The past has already happened, so to bring it to the future is only carrying unneeded baggage. This is usually easier said than done, especially when some of the past baggage is emotionally attached. I have negative memories of my childhood that I can remember pretty vividly. What I have found is that those memories may come with me, but how it affects my future depends on me. I can decide if it will permeate into other areas of my life or try to release it and go on with life.

This has been a struggle at times, but it helps to leave the baggage in the past and move on with the future, appreciating the present. That brings us to this week's quote...

Life is indeed grander than ever, when we take the time to understand every bit of the goodness that exists right where we are. ~ Gigi Galluzzo

Have you ever been in search of something and it be right in front of you, literally? I have and it kind of makes you feel like a fool, momentarily.

That is similar to how we should react to life when we are caught looking backward and forward and not appreciating the present. Time is something you cannot take back. It is here for the moment but then it is gone. Moments add up to be minutes which add up to be hours. Hours add up to be days which add up to be weeks. Weeks add up to months which add up to years. To drift from one to the next can create losses in life.

May you take the time to enjoy the present. This made me think of losing a friend recently to a fatal motorcycle crash. He and his wife (or anyone) did not have the opportunity to have "final words" together. They didn't know that hours after they said goodbye that he would be gone.

Appreciate the present, you never know how much future you will have in this world and/or with someone!

Now it's your turn...What do you most appreciate about the present?

Twisty Life

Define life.

Can it really be defined? Every person has a different vantage point to the scene of life. How they see life and what they've experienced in life is very different from one person to the next. Some have experienced very dark times and some have been sheltered. Some have have grown up paycheck-to-paycheck and some do not know what is like to go without. Some have had no parents and some have had two parents and some have had more than two parents. Some have been educated and some have had little education. Moving multiple times and living in the same area all ones life. The list could continue.

So to ask you to define life would be interesting because your definition would be from your vantage point and that would be much different than mine. But that is what makes life so interesting. Sometimes in life things will seem bad but it will turn out for the good...that brings us to this week's quote...

Life has many twists and turns and sometimes what looks like a very bad day can just be clearing the way for good things to come. ~ J Kim Wright

I really like this quote about life. Life seems to be like one of those toys which will back up and go a different direction when it encounters an obstacle. I'm sure you've seen one. They will keep going and going because there isn't a stationery object that will keep them from going somewhere. It allows the toy to be in control, not the obstacle. There is greater things in the future.

I don't normally put scripture in these writings, but Philippians 1:12** seems to fit with this quote about Paul having some undesired things happen, but they have come out for good.

Friends, you've had a bad day from time to time. I think it is interesting how I can look back at my bad days and sometimes see that those days are camouflaged and turn into being something good. Sometimes there are the good things that I never saw coming...I love those days! I call those situations, surprises."

Look at the days to come with a perspective that the days may not be able to be defined, but good things can come from them.

Enjoy the "twisty life!"

Now it's your turn...what has been twisty in your life that has come out good/positive?

**Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

When There is Nowhere Else to Go

You've probably seen the scene. Someone is running away from something and they come to a dead end. What will they do now? Sometimes the outcome is good, other times, not so good.

In life, you've probably felt that way. You feel like you've come to the end of your path and there is nowhere else to go. Up, down, left, right...nowhere! What are you to do?

This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to speak at a youth event. Due to Hurricane Irene, the scheduled speaker could not arrive on time. I was called at 6:00 PM on Friday to speak on Saturday at 4:00 PM. Not much time to prepare, but through prayer and planning, God's strength came through victorious amidst my weakness. The other glitch was, after arriving at the event site, I was told the first speaker was not going to be able to make it, so I was now the first speaker, moving up my speaking time to 2:00 PM - TWO HOURS SOONER! Again, it all worked out!

The theme for the event was "Unshackled." I found a cool song on YouTube (here), by Decyper Down, that pertained to the theme and projected my thoughts forward as I was preparing for the talk. It was a hard rock Christian song which I had never heard of, nor the heard of the band.

I went with the idea of the Israelites being on the beach, before they crossed the Red Sea. They had the Egyptian army behind them and a Sea in front of them...nowhere else to turn! Who gave them their way out...God! Who is the same answer when life is closing in on us? GOD!

Here are some applications from the lesson you might be able to use in your life...

• Identify the Shackle ~ What is hindering you from becoming what you need to become? Friends, relationships, yourself, circumstances??? Are you becoming something you do not like to make sure your friends are liking you? This can be for adults or teens. We are being shackled because of these people we're around. Relationships that we are involved in are causing us to be uncomfortable. Doing things we're not comfortable doing. Saying things or going places we're not comfortable with. You are making decisions that are putting yourself in a shackle. Not finishing responsibilities, procrastination, choices...keeping us in shackles. What are your "shackles" in life? Do you feel like you have nowhere to turn?
• Shatter the Shackle ~ Life can hand us situations that will encase us, much like a candle in a glass jar. We cannot become anything else, other than what the jar allows us to be..in this case cylindrical. how can you break free from that? Just shatter the jar. It is like taking the old self and getting rid of it, revealing a new self underneath. This new self can become anything it wants to be. No longer confined to the jar. Shatter the shackle giving yourself room to become something new...
• Create the New You ~ Once you shatter the shackle now you are free to discover the next chapter in your life. In some cases it may be a "new you." The new part could not have been created as long as the shackle was impeding you. Now that you're free from that, you can become something new. What will you create in yourself? What will the future hold for the "new" you?


Life, which is full of definitions, can shackle us. Depression, peer pressure, parental pressure, pressure from a superior, sexual temptations, affairs, thoughts of suicide, alcoholism, drugs, financial struggles, fear, cancer/health issues, work woes, and the list can go on. All will define life for various people. All of which can cause us to feel like we are that candle encased by the glass. We must find a way to shatter the shackle and break free from it! Let's hear the shackles falling off as we look to the future with a new found freedom!

Monday Mentionings: Empty - Earth - Isaiah 45:18

It was a great day getting together! The warm weather made me feel a bit more excited to get out; maybe you felt similar feelings.

Yesterday we started a new series called “Empty”. This series is designed to help us understand the different ways which can be empty. We started the series by looking at the earth and how it was empty, dark, formless, and void. Here are some additional ways to remember and apply the lesson…

1. Support is necessary in just about every area of life. Whether it is physical, emotional, medicinal, etc., support is crucial. God set up the earth by suspending it over nothing. However, the earth still needed support – that being support from the Creator. You need support as a Christian – you must be connected to the Creator, too. If you’re not connected to Him, you will go down quickly! Don’t have a week of empty time without connecting to Him! Take time to connect to your Creator this week by praying to Him – give Him your concerns, complaints, praises, thoughts, evangelistic hopes, ministry goals, etc.

2. What does if feel like to you to be in the dark? The earth was dark in the beginning, but Genesis 1:2 tells us that God was still there. Look for someone this week who might be experiencing life in “darkness”. They could be going through something that day, that week, or just a time in their life that seems without hope. They may not even realize that they are living life in “darkness”, but as you recognize it, take your light to them. Your light might be a compliment, a prayer, a conversation, buying lunch, sending a card/e-mail of encouragement, etc. Regardless of what your “light” is – the main thing is to take it to them!

3. God is Good…All the Time! There is nothing remotely like our God! He is awesome! Take time to appreciate our earth and all that makes our area unique. Even in the bleakness of the winter, we can be appreciative of the area that we live in. Maybe you will want to praise God for this too, but at least take time to appreciate where you live and that it was given to you to live on.

I hope you had a great start to your week!

May you have a “vision” and an intuition for those who are walking in darkness as you go about things this week!

Taking my light ~