Living Every Minute

Who’d’ve thunk it?

Surely not me.

But it happened and here I am, tapping away at the keyboard trying to explain it.

You see, I watched a movie. It was a kids’ movie, I suppose. It was animated. Parental Guidance was suggested. However, my kids are no longer kids so I watched alone. No parental guidance needed.

Disney’s Soul was the afternoon’s movie of choice. Have you seen it?

To be honest, I wasn’t planning on watching it. I wasn’t anxious to see Disney’s take on the afterlife and I surely wasn’t expecting to see their take on how we become who we are. But I was bored. The movie was about a music lover so I watched…

I don’t think I’ve ever had a children’s movie touch me so deeply.

I cried so many times during this movie. I could see myself in the main character, Joe, a middle-school band teacher whose dreams of being a jazz player only seemed to bring him disappointment and frustration.

I could hear myself screaming with Joe as he desperately explained why he kept pursuing his dreams:

“I’m just afraid that if I died today, then my life would have amounted to nothing.”

As Joe talks to his class about hearing a jazz musician play piano for the first time, I wondered where my passion was and why I’ve never felt so strongly about anything.

Then came the last lines of the film:

“What are you going to do with your life?” Joe was asked after receiving a second chance at life.

“I’m not sure,” replied Joe, ”but I do know I’m going to live every minute of it.”

That was it. That was the line that did me in. That was the line that had me bawling and very thankful that I was watching this movie alone, the line that has me writing this post and that may cause most of you to wonder about my sanity, the line that made me ask myself,

Am I living every minute of my life?

No! The answer to this question is 100%, without hesitation, N-O, no!

And this has to change.

Just like Joe, I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do it but what I do know is this:

1. You only get one life to live.
2. That life is short.
3. No matter how much of it you’ve wasted, it’s never too late to start living now!

What about you? Are you living every minute of your life?

I’d love to hear your inspiring stories. Tell me how you are living life to the fullest.

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Desolate Sanctuary

She sat alone in the back of a quiet sanctuary. It was her spot. She would sneak in the back every Sunday just after the morning service began. She’d listen as the songs were sung and the sermon was preached and then slip out during the invitation – a quick “pick me up” for the week.

The problem is it never worked.

For some time now, her heart has been hurting. She’s been walking through life as if in a fog – a fog that would never lift. She’s been searching for answers, for an escape from the shadows that smothered her hopes and dreams. She’s been longing for an end to her desolation but hasn’t been able to find it.

As far as she was concerned, there was only one way out – only one way to end her burdens and suffering. She knew the darkness, the sadness, the dreariness of her life was a result of her own choices. She had thrown away her dreams. She had caused her own misery. Only she could end the pain.

She made her way to the back pew of the church one last time. Tears were streaming down her face as the pastor invited the congregation to pray. She had not prayed in years but she wanted to pray one last time. The weight of her burdens was so heavy she almost couldn’t stand. She struggled to her feet and made her way to the altar. She didn’t know what to say but as her tears drenched the altar, her heart began to plead with the Father:

“Lord, bring your favor to this desolate sanctuary.

Lord, shine your light into this darkened tomb.

Lord, pour your spirit on this tattered and broken temple.

Lord, may your presence fill this life anew.”

She thought this would be her last prayer so she held nothing back. She poured out her soul and laid the broken pieces of her life before the Lord. She cried out in anger, in desperation, in brokenness. She expected nothing but in the midst of her tears, she found everything. The Father that she had walked away from so many years before was waiting for her with arms open wide. He picked up her broken pieces and opened her eyes to the hope that only He can give. He wiped away her tears, picked her up and filled her with the light of His Love.

One last prayer changed her life forever.

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What about you? Are you living in a fog, in the shadow of your regrets? Do you feel like your life is a desolate wasteland? Are you haunted by the choices of your past? Are you pursuing things of this world, things that are leading you away from the Giver of abundant life? Are you ready to give up?

It’s time. Give it up today. Take it to our Heavenly Father and give it all to Him. You may have walked away. You may have made all the wrong choices but you do not have to remain in desolation. He is waiting for you with open arms. He wants to restore you. He wants to take the broken pieces of your life and make them into something beyond your wildest dreams. He wants to heal your soul and love on you today. Don’t wait any longer! Go ahead and Pray!

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A Year of Smiles – Day 293

Reason to SMILE #293: FAIRY TALES

Well, of course, today’s SMILE is fairy tales! Reason to SMILE #292 was musicals. The only logical choice for today’s SMILE was fairy tales. What else could it have been?

Okay. Logic may have had nothing to do with it. I’ve been binge watching “Once Upon a Time” on Netflix. That may have had a slight affect on my SMILE choice for today.

Nah. Probably not. 😉

What’s not to love about fairy tales? They’re filled with colorful characters, magical lands, nonsensical creatures, beautiful princesses, handsome princes and all sorts of other peculiarities and whimsies that captivate the imagination. And in a fairy tale, you’re sure to find epic battles between good and evil, daring adventures of unassuming heroes, courageous quests of valiant knights and beautiful stories of finding true love.

Not everything is honky dory in a fairy tale, though. There are hurdles to jump, tests of character to pass and sadness to overcome. But no matter how dire the circumstances of the hero, knight or princess, no matter the setbacks, the struggles or the flaws of the protagonist, there will always be a happy ending in a fairy tale. Darkness never wins and love conquers all.

Boy, that sounds good! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could call on a fairy godmother when life is too hard, if we could wish upon a star for our every need, if we could wave a magic wand to right every wrong and solve every problem? Wouldn’t it?

It’s easy to get caught up in a fairy tale and wish that real life could be so, well, fair. We want life to make sense. We want justice to win. We expect good to vanquish evil and love to always win out over hate. But it’s not always that way.

There is always hope, though. You just have to read the right story to find it. You see, the answer to life’s problems can’t be found in a story that begins with “Once upon a time.” No, the story of real happiness, real sacrificial love and real lasting hope begins with “In the beginning, God.”

The truth of God’s Word brings hope that will put a SMILE on your face for a lifetime! You really should read it. 🙂

 

 

A Year of Smiles – Day 100

Reason to SMILE #100: MILESTONES

Golden Anniversaries, “Lordy-Lordy Look Who’s Forty” Birthdays, first real paychecks, first cars, falling in love, getting married, having babies, first kisses, finding a true friend – there are so many milestones in life to celebrate.  We look forward to these times.  We mark our calendars.  We plan parties.  We record these precious moments and post our milestones on social media inviting all the world to join our celebrations.  We’ve reached a milestone and we want everyone to share in our joy.

Life is full of important milestones that we all want to reach.  I’ve celebrated many and I am looking forward to ones further down the road in life, like seeing my children get married, having a book published and retiring in the mountains.  Most of the time, though, I’m just happy to make it through the day.  “Yay!  I get to go to bed now!”  There’s a milestone that will certainly bring a SMILE! 😉

Today, however, I celebrate the milestone of 100 SMILES shared with you.  I hope you’ve been able to find a SMILE or two in these past 100 days.  If not, don’t worry.  I have 265 more SMILES to go.

Keep SMILING!

 

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OH, YES!

What if You Fly?

“Do I have bones?” my three-year-old son timidly asked.

“Yes,” I answered without further explanation, but I well knew that more questions would follow.

It was bedtime.  My little boy was supposed to be going to sleep but as he lay restless in the bed, I knew that something was troubling him.

After several minutes of pondering, he finally declared, “I don’t like bones.”

At this point, I knew exactly what sparked this conversation.  Halloween had just passed and spooky decorations were everywhere.  Houses were clad with spider webs, witches, monsters and… SKELETONS.  And it was those creepy skeletons that scared my little boy the most.  He just did not like them.  So, I chose my next words very carefully.

“You know,” I said.  “God gave you your bones.  He made us all with bones.”

With a slight hint of reservation in his voice, my little boy responded, “I don’t like God.”

“But God loves you very much!  That’s why he made you with those bones,” I explained.  “Without bones, you couldn’t do anything.  You couldn’t sit; you couldn’t stand; you couldn’t walk.  God gave you bones so you can be strong, you can jump, you can run and –”

“—And I can fly?” he optimistically interrupted as the wheels began to turn in that little head of his and a spark reignited in his sleepy eyes.

So, without hesitation or any fear that I would be squashing the dreams of a three-year-old child, I emphatically replied, “Oh, no! Little boys cannot fly!”

Flying –it seems like all little boys want to fly.  They run around the house donned with capes, extend their arms into the air and make a “shhhhhhhhh” sound to create that rushing wind effect.  If we’re lucky, that’s the extent of the flying dream.  If we’re not so lucky, well, we find ourselves breaking our necks to grab our little boy from the back of the couch just before he leaps off onto the hardwood floor.  A belly flop onto the hardwood floor – now that’ll crush a kid’s dreams!

I’m sure the dream to fly is not limited to little boys.  In fact, all kids seem to believe that they are indestructible at some point.  Nothing can stop them because fear is simply not a factor.  This attitude is usually quite alarming for us parents but secretly, I think, we all wish we still had a little bit of that in us.

So where does it go?  What happens to this “no fear” attitude?  At what point in our lives do we lose our sense of adventure and courage?  At what point do we let go of our dreams?  I wish I had the answer but at some point, we all grow up.  We get hurt from those belly flops in life and we come to the conclusion that this is how it will always be.  We failed once.  We’ll most likely fail again.  We start to think about the negative consequences.  Will I get hurt?  Will I fail?  Will my heart get broken?  And eventually, we quit trying.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  We consider the consequences because we have grown up.  We know to stop and think before we take a leap.  We know to pray for God’s direction, to seek advice from godly counsel, to weigh our options and to do our research.  But I wonder how often we shy away from trying something new or from doing what we are sensing God telling us to do simply because we are afraid – afraid of rejection, afraid of being mocked or afraid of losing friends.  How much time do we waste asking ourselves “what if”?  The “what ifs” of life are exhaustive, folks!

If we can learn anything from our fearless kiddos, it may be that the “what ifs” are not all negative.  Sometimes, building that contraption to reach the cookie jar on the top of the refrigerator actually works.  And sometimes, crossing the street to knock on the neighbor’s door means discovering a new friend.  So, what if everything works out perfectly?  What if we find acceptance?  What if we find ourselves in just the place God wants us to be, doing exactly what He wants us to be doing?

Do you remember those days when you dreamed you could fly?  Cast off those fears that are holding you down and focus on the positive.  You never know.  You just might find yourself SOARING!

Desolate Sanctuary

She sat alone in the back of a quiet sanctuary. It was her spot. She would sneak in the back every Sunday just after the morning service began. She’d listen as the songs were sung and the sermon was preached and then she would slip out during the invitation – a quick “pick me up” for the week. The problem is it never worked.

For some time now, her heart has been hurting. She has been walking through life as if in a fog that would never lift. She has been searching for answers, for an escape from the shadows that smothered her hopes and dreams. She has been longing for an end to her desolation but has not been able to find it.

As far as she was concerned, there was only one way out – only one way to end her burdens and suffering. She knew the darkness, the sadness, the dreariness of her life was a result of her own choices. She had thrown away her dreams. She had caused her own misery. Only she could end the pain.

She made her way to the back pew of the church one last time. Tears were streaming down her face as the pastor invited the congregation to pray. She had not prayed in years but she wanted to pray one last time. The weight of her burdens was so heavy she almost couldn’t stand. She struggled to her feet and made her way to the altar. She didn’t know what to say but as her tears drenched the altar, her heart began to plead with the Father.

“Lord, bring your favor to this desolate sanctuary.

Lord, shine your light into this darkened tomb.

Lord, pour your spirit on this tattered and broken temple.

Lord, may your presence fill this life anew.”

She thought this would be her last prayer so she held nothing back. She poured out her soul and laid the broken pieces of her life before the Lord. She cried out in anger, in desperation, in brokenness. She expected nothing but in the midst of her tears, she found everything. The Father that she had walked away from so many years before was waiting for her with arms open wide. He picked up her broken pieces and opened her eyes to the hope that only He can give. He wiped away her tears, picked her up and filled her with the light of His Love.

One last prayer changed her life forever.

Are you living in darkness as if you are walking in a fog? Do you feel like your life is a desolate wasteland? Are you haunted by the choices of your past? Are you pursuing things of this world, things that are leading you away from the Giver of abundant life? Are you ready to give up?

It’s time. Give it up today. Take it to our Heavenly Father and give it all to Him. You may have walked away. You may have made all the wrong choices but you do not have to remain in this desolation. He is waiting for you with open arms. He wants to restore you. He wants to take the broken pieces of your life and make them into something beyond your wildest dreams. He wants to heal your soul and love on you today. Don’t wait any longer! Pray!