Candy, Candy, Candy

I don’t know if you and your family acknowledge Halloween, but we have decided that Candy is a good motivation to get dressed up! In fact this year we dressed up like Spiderman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, and a butterfly, and would you believe, we bagged some serious Candy. I must admit I encouraged the superheroes to pursue the always fulfilling “Milk Duds” yum! We visited the grandparents and once again we were not disappointed.

Question – What is your must have Candy?

Determine what you are Determined about!

5. Refuse to stop pursuing the Dreams God has given YOU!

What are you Passionate about? What is the dream of your life? What is the one thing that you long to achieve? If you could do anything what would it be? I find that a lot of people have let their dreams die. Someone said they couldn’t do it, they weren’t good enough, it would never happen, or they have even experienced failure in pursuing. I think some of the saddest individuals, are those who have watched their dreams die, and the spark of life is gone from their eye. They have chosen instead to live a life of the mundane instead of a life of adventure. I can’t help but think that when God says we are His “Workmanship” which literally means One of a kind, that He designs one of a kind dreams and adventures for our lives. In fact Ephesians 2 goes on to say that these “Workmanships” “were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Don’t you think that those good works are “one of a kind”, crazy, outrageous, incredible, works that He designed just for you. He could have created them for anybody but He thought of you and made you a “one of a kind” for a “one of a kind task”! Wow! That to me sounds incredible. It sounds fun. It sounds like life should be pretty amazing. That we, who are created in Christ, should live a life that we are determined to live out and to watch unfold, as God designs it! It seems to me that if you believed that you would be passionate about it. Passion, is the understanding, of what are you willing to suffer for. So when you determine what you are passionate about, you are determined what you are willing to suffer for, and you have determined what you are determined about. You have found the dream God has planted in your heart, the God centered dream that He has created you for, and you live your life pursuing it, knowing that the living out of that dream brings maximum Joy to Christ and ultimate satisfaction to our life. We become men and women who will not stop, not give up, not walk away, not lose heart, we must live the life God created us to live exercising the gifts He has given us, so that this short life brings Glory to Him! When we live that way, we find our ultimate Joy in Christ, and He uses us and our lives for His ultimate Glory! Refuse to give up on the dreams God has given you! Be faithful in the gifts and talents that He gave you. Be passionate, be courageous, be faithful.

Refuse to sacrifice the permanent on the Temporary

4. Spend time with those who will cry at your funeral.

One of the greatest statements that my mentor ever said to me was simply, “Phillip, Spend the majority of your time with the people who will cry at your funeral.” I must admit, that statement caught me off guard. I really didn’t know what he was telling me. But what I have learned is that one statement may be one of the greatest and hardest lessons to learn. I spend so much of my time and my day pleasing people I think I have to please. I’m constantly wondering if I have done enough. If I could have done more to meet the needs and desires of that other person. The truth is that I have 3 boys, 1 daughter, and a wife who need my attention. They have simply request like, take me to dunk’n doughnuts, or let’s play outside, or can you rock her to sleep, and most of the time I’m too busy meeting the needs of others. How many times have I been guilty of not taking the time to rearrange my schedule so I can be the one to tuck my boys into bed. Or say no to that meeting so that I can be the one who is helping with my daughters first baby pictures. The fact is, many people would like to have our attention, but there are a few people who God has given us, that NEED our attention. When these days are over, it will be the ones who NEEDED me that will CRY for me. As one man said it best, ‘REFUSE to sacrifice the Permanent on the temporary!”