Let go of the past so you can move forward
More from "Chasing Daylight" by McManus...
One moment in the past continues to haunt every moment of your life. A moment in your history that steals from you all the moments in the future. To relive the past is to relinquish the future. If you are willing to let go of the past, then you are ready to step into the future. When you choose to remain stuck in a moment, you become incapable of seizing divine moments. If you're stuck in a moment, turn around, stop looking backward, and dare to look forward. Thre is a life that awaits you, an opportunity to explore and even create a future. Right now, this moment, put away the baggage from the past, shake yourself free from the fear of the future unknown. Right now, choose life - seize divine moments! God's greatest gift to you is that He calls you to be a pioneer, explorer, and even creator. There are things God does for you and things that God waits for you to do. The journey begins when you choose. Stop wasting daylight. Choose a life of meaningful adventure. When you do, you will live in the epicenter of God's activity.
This is a powerful text for me. I struggle to hold onto mistakes in my past. I've worried too much about what other people think of me. These have had the power to stop me from doing things I feel God is leading me to accomplish. Over the past 6 months, I've freed myself from some of the world's expectations for me and some wonderful new ministry opportunities have opened. I have a group of men at church that is bonding together and some new and powerful friendships are forming. We are sharing some of our deepest concerns and worries and we are finding strength in each other's struggles. This group started by men throwing off expectations and saying "I need this and I bet other men do also." This group started because men followed God's nudging and took a step of faith.
What is God calling you to do? What is it you are waiting on to get started? There are some things God does for you and there are others He waits for you to start. Get started. Live the adventure.
Soar.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Venturing out
A lot has been happening over the course of these past four months for me and I wonder, "What are you doing God? Where are you taking me?"
I'm a dreamer by nature and that isn't a bad thing but recently, I've felt God's pull to start putting dreams into action. I read from McManus' book Chasing Daylight last night and this hit me right were I am...
"Don't sleep through your dreams!" Ever heard that voice? It calls you like a temptress to abandon the monotony of life and to begin an adventure. It threatens to leave you in the mundane if you refuse to risk all that you have for all that could be. If ignored, the voice dims to silence. Yet every now and again, like a siren, she sings and begins to woo you back. She awakens within you dreams and longings you put to bed long ago. It is rarely a conscious action to choose to exist rather than to live. For most of us we are simply lulled to sleep. But there is no rest in this condition. To sleep through your dreams is to choose a life of restless nights and unfulfilled days. To avoid the pain of fear, doubt, and disappointment we have numbed ourselves from the exhileration of a life fully lived.
We are all haunted with the fear of living lives of insignificance, and we all hear the voice that tells us we can live the dream. Somehow, we know to play it safe is to lose the game. By definition and adventure is "an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature." In other words, it comes at great risk and at significant cost. And life as God intends for you to live it is nothing less than an adventure.
God is calling me to an adventure. It will be exciting, scary and fulfilling if I seek Him all the way through the journey. Soar.
A lot has been happening over the course of these past four months for me and I wonder, "What are you doing God? Where are you taking me?"
I'm a dreamer by nature and that isn't a bad thing but recently, I've felt God's pull to start putting dreams into action. I read from McManus' book Chasing Daylight last night and this hit me right were I am...
"Don't sleep through your dreams!" Ever heard that voice? It calls you like a temptress to abandon the monotony of life and to begin an adventure. It threatens to leave you in the mundane if you refuse to risk all that you have for all that could be. If ignored, the voice dims to silence. Yet every now and again, like a siren, she sings and begins to woo you back. She awakens within you dreams and longings you put to bed long ago. It is rarely a conscious action to choose to exist rather than to live. For most of us we are simply lulled to sleep. But there is no rest in this condition. To sleep through your dreams is to choose a life of restless nights and unfulfilled days. To avoid the pain of fear, doubt, and disappointment we have numbed ourselves from the exhileration of a life fully lived.
We are all haunted with the fear of living lives of insignificance, and we all hear the voice that tells us we can live the dream. Somehow, we know to play it safe is to lose the game. By definition and adventure is "an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature." In other words, it comes at great risk and at significant cost. And life as God intends for you to live it is nothing less than an adventure.
God is calling me to an adventure. It will be exciting, scary and fulfilling if I seek Him all the way through the journey. Soar.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Take a risk - in life and in your faith
Sir John Templeton is one of the greatest investors of the 20th century (Franklin/Templeton Mutual funds). He is a devout Christian. He wrote this...
What is the risk in doing nothing? Certainly the choice to do nothing is your own business. But deep inside, every one of us knows we're meant to be active, and we know in what directions that activity should be aimed. What happens to air and water when they remain still, silent? They grow stagnant. They become a breeding ground for germs and disease.
Instinctively you know that doing nothing is resisting and avoiding the natural flow of life, because it's not the nature or design of the human being to be inert. You have too much power, too much energy in mind, body and spirit for that to be true. Unused, those gifts are wasted. So if you do nothing, never start, never step forth, never try, it's not going to be easy to remain at peace with yourself for very long. The longer you do nothing, the more you procrastinate, and the harder it is to talk yourself into doing anything positive and worthwhile.
What is the risk in doing something? You might not do it well. You might not like it. You might be wrong; it might not work. It might turn out to be a useless idea or effort. You might look foolish. You might waste time, energy, money. You might fail. Fear of failure is a paralysis!
Even if you try and fail, you will generate energies in the process that can create a new perspective for you, give you a new way of seeing things. Your experience gives you new knowledge and wisdom, and that is never wasted. And you know...you might just succeed. Even if you're nervous or afraid, go ahead and do the thing and see what happens. Say to your fear, "Yes, I know you. But I'm going to do it anyway." You've started down the road, and your momentum will gather. So start with the present idea and do something. More ideas will meet you on your way, and you will find yourself living fully alive!
Soar!
Sir John Templeton is one of the greatest investors of the 20th century (Franklin/Templeton Mutual funds). He is a devout Christian. He wrote this...
What is the risk in doing nothing? Certainly the choice to do nothing is your own business. But deep inside, every one of us knows we're meant to be active, and we know in what directions that activity should be aimed. What happens to air and water when they remain still, silent? They grow stagnant. They become a breeding ground for germs and disease.
Instinctively you know that doing nothing is resisting and avoiding the natural flow of life, because it's not the nature or design of the human being to be inert. You have too much power, too much energy in mind, body and spirit for that to be true. Unused, those gifts are wasted. So if you do nothing, never start, never step forth, never try, it's not going to be easy to remain at peace with yourself for very long. The longer you do nothing, the more you procrastinate, and the harder it is to talk yourself into doing anything positive and worthwhile.
What is the risk in doing something? You might not do it well. You might not like it. You might be wrong; it might not work. It might turn out to be a useless idea or effort. You might look foolish. You might waste time, energy, money. You might fail. Fear of failure is a paralysis!
Even if you try and fail, you will generate energies in the process that can create a new perspective for you, give you a new way of seeing things. Your experience gives you new knowledge and wisdom, and that is never wasted. And you know...you might just succeed. Even if you're nervous or afraid, go ahead and do the thing and see what happens. Say to your fear, "Yes, I know you. But I'm going to do it anyway." You've started down the road, and your momentum will gather. So start with the present idea and do something. More ideas will meet you on your way, and you will find yourself living fully alive!
Soar!
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