84a – Day Dreaming
Think a minute…Someone wisely observed: “If you have more memories than dreams, then you’ve lost your passion for living.” Imagine if we lived our dreams with our eyes wide open. The problem is not that most people aim too high and miss; it’s that they aim too low and hit. We usually get what we aim for. A highly successful man said: “You have to think anyway, so why not think big!”
Our dreams should not put us to sleep, but rather wake us up to all our possibilities in life. A great leader put it this way: “The prize goes to the person who sees the future the quickest—and the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
If you and I can set our goals, then concentrate on reaching them, we can begin to live our life on purpose instead of by chance. But to make our dreams come true, we must live by three rules. First, start right now. Second, do your very best. Third, there are no exceptions to the first two rules.
The former world record holder in the mile run, Jim Ryan, said: “Dreams are what get you started, but discipline is what keeps you going all the way.” Many times, we see promising new businesses start up with success, but after awhile they fail and their business closes. They did not pay their debts. They lowered the standards of their product and service. They did not keep up-to-date and competitive. It is like some of us who diet and lose weight, but then later we gain all of it back. Why? We simply did not discipline ourselves to permanently change our daily habits, thinking, and lifestyle.
Are you living by the 3 C’s: Commit, Concentrate, and Complete? Do you have a dream and goal that you will commit to, concentrate on every day, and then complete? Something that at the end of your life you don’t want to look back and wish you had done or lived differently. You can start now! Ask Jesus to help you know the right, best dreams and goals for your life. He will also help you with the discipline you need to daily live your dreams with your eyes wide open. Just think a minute…
84b – Blind Spots (Part 1)
Think a minute…A lady was waiting for her flight at the airport, so she bought a small bag of cookies to eat while reading a book. Gradually she became aware of someone else reaching into the package of cookies. Looking from behind her book, she was surprised to see a well-dressed man taking some of her cookies! She did not want to say anything, so she just leaned over and took a cookie herself.
A minute or so later she could not believe her eyes as this man took yet another one of her cookies. In fact, by now almost all of the cookies were gone! Finally, as if to add insult to injury, this man broke the last cookie in two and handed half of it back to her. Then he ate his half and walked away. Now, she was more upset and angry than ever! In fact, she was still mad later when boarding her plane. She opened her handbag for her ticket and was shocked to see her own package of cookies she had never opened. At that moment she realized that earlier she had been eating the other man’s cookies, not her own! Yet even though she was wrong, the man was so generous and kind that he let her take his cookies.
She was terribly embarrassed and ashamed that she had judged him. She had been completely blind to her own pride, assuming she was right when in fact she was the one who was wrong. This also blinded her to this man’s kindness to her.
Sadly, we all have judged other people, even when we were the ones who were wrong. We think we see everybody else’s faults and failures clearly, but we are blind to our own. We think we know much more than we actually do. Like the little girl who said to her father: “Daddy, I know everything!” Her father replied: “Oh, really? And how do you know that?” She answered: “Well, I thought and I thought…and I can’t think of anything I don’t know!”
Sadly, that is what we adults do when we judge other people—even though we have many things wrong with our own character, choices, attitudes, actions, and relationships. Today, won’t you ask the only true, perfect Judge to forgive you for your sinful pride that is blinding you to your own faults and wrong way of living? Only Jesus can help you start changing and becoming the truly honest and compassionate person He created you to be. A person who loves and forgives others just as He has forgiven you. Just think a minute…
84c – Blind Spots (Part 2)
Think a minute…The famous blind woman Helen Keller said: “It is better to be blind and see with your heart than to have two good eyes and not see yourself as you truly are.” Remember: “No one is as blind as those who refuse to see.”
A man told me that in more than 50 years of marriage, his wife has never once said, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”And on the rare occasion that she does recognize a possible failure or fault in her character, her answer is always: “I can’t help it. That’s just the kind of person I am.” In her own mind and heart, she is never wrong or responsible to change anything in her character, because “that’s just the kind of person she is.”
A counselor who met with a man I know suggested some areas the man needed to improve and mature in, but the man replied: “I don’t want to change anything. I like the way I am.” Just a couple of years after that, this man’s wife divorced him and took their children leaving him all alone. Both he and his family paid a high price for his immaturity, selfish pride and blindness to his own character faults that everyone else could see but him.
Many of us go through our entire lifetime hurting others, and ourselves, by the way we approach our marriage, raise our children, and treat the people around us—yet never seeing ourselves as we really are. We never change and correct our wrong, hurtful attitudes, thinking, and behavior. Remember: “Character building begins when we are babies and continues to the day we die.”
The famous philosopher Socrates said: “Know yourself…The unexamined life is not worth living.”When we are blind to ourselves, we cannot see what we need to change in our character and life. Our blindness blocks us from ever reaching our potential and living our life to the fullest.
“Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to change himself.” The fact is the only person in the world you can change is yourself. Won’t you start today? Ask the One Who created you and all of your potential to help you start seeing your blind spots: your character faults, wrong thinking, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, words, habits, and relationships that you need to change. Jesus will forgive you for your sinful heart and way of living. Then, He will free you with His power to start seeing, and being, all He created you to be. Just think a minute…
84d – Bring Out the Best
Think a minute…Winston Churchill was 65-years-old when he first became England’s Prime Minister. It was May of 1940 and England’s military was not prepared for war. When Hitler’s massive German army began attacking the British Isles, almost all of the experts expected Germany to quickly and easily conquer England.
But these so-called experts could not imagine that in only seven months, Winston Churchill’s extraordinary leadership would help change the history of both England and the entire Western World. During those months, when the families of Great Britain gathered in their homes to listen to their leader over the radio, their feelings of fear and hopelessness were replaced with great confidence and courage. Why? Churchill knew exactly how to inspire the English people to believe in themselves and in their just cause of defending freedom by stopping the spread of evil tyranny. Consequently, defeating Germany’s massive military monster became “England’s finest hour.”
It has been said: “People who feel good about themselves do their best.”This is true whether it’s at work on the job or at home with their family. If you want people to change, you must help them believe in themselves so they will want to change and become their best. But when we continually criticize or shame our children, our wife or husband, or people we work with, we only hurt them and tear down their self-confidence. So, why should we expect them to become better when we’ve made them feel and believe they cannot become better?
We all do our best when we feel good about ourselves. A successful businessman says: “Instead of catching people doing something wrong to criticize and punish them, try to catch people doing something right and praise them for it. Then they will want to keep doing that right thing and always do their best.”
This is why Jesus teaches us to love others as ourselves. Make others feel good about themselves the way you want to feel good about yourself. Won’t you ask God the Son to forgive you for the wrong ways you have lived and treated others? Then ask Him to start changing your heart, so you can become your best, and help bring out the best in others. Just think a minute…
84e – Get Hold of Happiness
Think a minute…There is an emotional sickness called Sudden Wealth Syndrome. It happens to people who suddenly become wealthy by winning a lottery or inheriting a large amount of money. But often what these newly rich people painfully learn is that it does not end up being the happy dream they expected. They discover what many other rich people already know: money cannot buy true happiness that lasts.
This is our problem. We think that happiness is something out there that we have to find and get, such as money and possessions, prestige, physical pleasures, or a position of power and respect. But even when we do finally get it, we learn that it does not last and make us completely happy and satisfied for the rest of our lives—like we expected.
So how do we get hold of happiness that lasts for a lifetime? The first big step is we must simply admit that we’re not completely happy and that we need help. But that is usually hard for us strong, independent human beings to do. We are like the man who came home drunk one night. As his wife helped him into bed, she asked him if he wanted her to pray for him. He nodded yes. So she began: “Dear Lord, I pray for my husband who lies here drunk.”But her husband quickly interrupted her and said: “Don’t tell Him I’m DRUNK! Just say that I’m SICK!”
In our heart and conscience, we all know that we have done wrong things and failed to live the way we know we should. We have not lived in a daily, right relationship with our Maker. But many of us simply refuse to admit that our way of living is wrong. Furthermore, we don’t like to admit that we cannot fix our life and make it right by ourselves. But until we honestly face these clear facts of life, we can never change to become truly happy.
Why waste another day of your life? Sincerely ask Jesus to forgive you for living your own wrong way, and ask Him to take charge of your heart and life every day. Only then, can you have peace with your Creator and finally get hold of happiness that lasts. You have absolutely nothing to lose—and everything to gain. Just think a minute…