Big dreams. Would it be too presumptuous of me to write that we all have them? Perhaps. I have them. Sure, many of my dreams are seeded in reality or at least in the realms of human possibility, but I have them.
In fact, I’ve had dreams for a long time. I’ve even kept record on lists: dream vacations; top 20 places to visit before I’m 50; family activities; etc. Sadly, many of the dreams and wishes I’ve penned on paper are not mine. They never belonged to me. I named them, talked about them excitedly, and hung on to them as a rope connecting to my future.
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Recently Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting was caught out one run short of achieving an amazing record of scoring two centuries in 4 consecutive test matches. The news headline read “Falling Short”. How disappointing for Ponting, the Australian side, and viewers everywhere to see him miss out on another great rung of success by such a close margin. Dismay and discouragement swept over the country (sort of) and it made front page news that Ponting had been “robbed” of this achievement.
I don’t have any great sporting feats or failures to boast about, but I do often feel that sense of dismay and discouragement when things don’t go the way I planned.
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I read an article this week that made me think about plans…
The article was about a man who was in the process of remodeling his bathroom. He’d drawn up a plan for the remodel, but halfway through his project, he decided to stray from the plan and get creative so he could make use of some extra tile.
It was only after he was done doing the extra tile work that he realized, because he’d deviated from the plan, the measurements for his tub had gotten thrown-off. As a result, he was at a standstill and was unable to finish his project as he’d hoped.
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For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 nkjv
I feel a sinus infection coming on. Once I feel the symptoms of an achy head, burning throat, or stuffed sinuses, I get my armor on, ready for battle. With a few years under my belt, thankfully, I have gained a little bit of wisdom. I work quickly to try and stop any ailment in its tracks.
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Have you joined yet? Do you have a Facebook account? Over the holidays, I finally gave in and created one. It seemed everywhere I turned; people were talking about their friends on Facebook. I guess I succumbed to the peer pressure. I must admit it is pretty addicting, even more so than blogging. The first few days, I spent hours searching for names of old friends I hadn’t seen in years. It was really a rush when I would find them. Seeing how much they had changed and all they had accomplished was really fun.
I began to type in the names of everyone I knew, from friends in kindergarten, to high school, to college, to my first job.
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“Show me the number of my days.” Psalm 39:4-7
I think it’s safe to say that nobody likes to contemplate the number of days they might have left on this earth. Especially at this time of year, with a new year beginning, filled with hope and promise.
But if we can look at the year ahead with that prayer from Psalms in our hearts, how much more can God do with each day? Each hour, even?
Remembering how precious time is can truly help us to live our lives to the fullest. If we keep that in mind, and the fact that God put each of us here for a reason, how much more purposeful would our decisions, activities, and priorities be?
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
It’s a New Year.
Our culture tends to focus on New Year as a time to resolve to make major changes or goals for the year ahead. We often find ourselves planning, making lists and deciding what we will do differently this year.
For some of you 2008 was a year of great joy and success, for others it was a year of much sorrow and grief; but for most of us it was somewhere in the middle.
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I am very glad to hear many of you had a white Christmas, it is something we would love to experience as a family one day. We made our very Australian Christmas quite special this year by spending Christmas night around a camp fire. We spent time talking with different members of the family and the Christmas story was told as the faces of family members reflected the glow of the fireplace and the wonder of the Christmas message, some even catching a glimpse of how the shepherds may have felt at the announcement of God’s plan of salvation for mankind.
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