Goal!

 

 

On the best sunny day, the most powerful magnifying glass will not light paper if you keep moving the glass. But if you focus and hold it, the paper will light up. That is the power of concentration.

A man was traveling and stopped at an intersection. He asked an elderly man, "Where does this road take me?" The elderly person asked, "Where do you want to go?" The man replied, "I don't know." The elderly person said, "Then take any road. What difference does it make?"

How true. When we don't know where we are going, any road will take us there.

Suppose you have all the football eleven players, enthusiastically ready to play the game, all charged up, and then someone took the goal post away. What would happen to the game? There is nothing left. How do you keep score? How do you know you have arrived?

Enthusiasm without direction is like wildfire and leads to frustration. Goals give a sense of direction. Would you sit in a train or a plane without knowing where it was going? The obvious answer is no. Then why do people go through life without having any goals?

 

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14 

Anything Can Happen

Listen to the Mustn'ts,child,
Listen to the Don'ts
Listen to the Shouldn'ts
The Impossibles, the Won'ts
Listen to the Never Haves,
Then listen close to me --
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.

Shel Silverstein

I work with young people.  It is my job and I enjoy it immensely!  Their enthusiasm and energy are infectious and the new life they bring to my work is invigorating.  This is not a new experience for me; I have worked with children and youth for many, many years.  I wouldn't trade it for the world...most days.

But I am noticing a trend that worries me a little.  I don't know whether it's the economic times or the rural area I'm living in, perhaps it's that they have heard so many times "No," or some other phenomenon that I'm unaware of but I'm hearing these young people limit themselves to being and doing less than they are so very capable of. 

Aren't  our youngest years the time that we should be dreaming and I mean dreaming BIG?  The second decade of our lives is the time to reach for the moon, isn't it?  My best friend at that age died recently.  Our dream was that we were going to Las Vegas to see Elvis perform live and then we would get important jobs, after college-of course, and live close by each other forever.  We'd have money to travel whenever we wanted and life would be so good for both of us. 

I hear these young folks concerned, in elementary school and middle school, about scholarships for college and not being good enough.  I hear them taking others' dreams and belittling them for having such extravagant hopes and wishes.  I hear the sad, sad sounds normally coming from older people with no hope for their future. 

What is happening to our kids?  Now is the best time for them to build their hopes and dreams, to become whatever they can imagine.  I love this poem by Shel Silverstein because it's what I believe.  Yes, I'm older--I mean, really, Elvis--but it's those dreams that keep me going every day.  It's the hope that each day brings that makes it worth getting out of bed every morning and facing the day.  I still dream, I still hope, I still plan.

And you know what?  I may not accomplish all of my hopes and desires, but I've also done a lot of things reaching for those hopes and dreams that I never even thought of.  What a great life! Anything can happen, child.  Anything can be.

And the worst that can happen when you reach for the moon is that you'll land in the stars.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27



If You Want To Make an Easy Job Seem Hard, Just Keep Putting Off Doing It



When Beth's boss asked her to take on an extra project, Beth saw the opportunity to prove she could handle greater responsibility.  She immediately began to think how she might approach the task and her enthusiasm ran high.  But when the time came to start the project, Beth found herself telling her boss she was too busy to do the job justice.  The project was given to someone else, who earned a promotion for completing it successfully.  Beth didn't receive any new opportunities and eventually took a position with another firm.

What had kept Beth from doing the project?  Simple procrastination.  She put off getting started on the project until she was paralyzed with fear--fear that she might not be able to do the job or that her performance would not meet her boss' expectation.  In the end, Beth didn't move ahead and thus reinforced her fears with a bigger sense of insecurity about her own ability.

If you find yourself procrastinating, ask God to show you how to overcome your fear, then do what He says.  He wants you to succeed and live a fulfilled life, but you must step out in faith for Him to bless you.

How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?

Joshua 18:3