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How to Discover a Life Beyond Your Dreams

February 17, 2017 by

So many people live as Thoreau described, “Lives of quiet desperation.”

They desperately race to give themselves happiness, chasing down blind alleys that lead nowhere except to frustration.

I think about what a friend said, “This isn’t a dress rehearsal. This is our lives.”

So what makes the difference?

I don’t have all the answers.  But I do know the trajectory of my life changed when I stopped running and asked God to lead me into his amazing life.

The journey has been filled with detours and storms.  Yet, also an incredible life I never could imagine.

Paul promises, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”*

God has planned for you a life beyond what you can even imagine. Even if you’ve missed some of it, it’s never too late to experience it.

It starts when you say, “God give me your unimaginable life.”

And then it grows each day.

*1 Corinthians 2: 9 (NIV)

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Do You Need New Strength to Conquer Your Mountain?

February 10, 2017 by

Do you ever just feel worn out?

You’ve push and struggle against an unconquerable problem until you feel like you can’t go on anymore.  Yet, giving up isn’t an option either.

Yeah, I’ve been there,  way too many times.

That’s why I love what David wrote, “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on heights.”*

No matter what we face when we come back and just relax in God he renews and guides us.

Often I find this hard to remember as a full member of the type A personality club.  But I’ve also learned there comes a time to stop pressing and wait for God’s answers and strength.

It’s not doing nothing and saying, “I’m waiting for God.”

It’s more like productive waiting.  Praying, listening, reading, thinking, trying to understand your heart and God’s directions.  Oh, and resting too.

Then he promises he’ll give you renewed strength so you stand on top of your mountain.

*Psalm 18: 33 (NIV)

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How to Uncover the Miracle Life

February 8, 2017 by

I’m amazed at the miracle of my life.

I think back to the dead end road I walked in college.  Frustrated, alone, depressed, running chaotically to find elusive happiness.

Yet, out of that confusion to find my wife and be blessed with our children astounds me.  The prosperity we’ve been blessed with even after so many years of financial struggle amazes me.  And to think that after all these years the journey today is the best and keeps growing better.

The miracle began when I stopped running away from God and chose to walk to him.

The Psalmist wrote, “You have made known to me the path of life, you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”*

He offers you a clear path even when life seems confused.  Joy when it makes more sense to feel depressed.  His presence when you feel most alone.  And the comfort that all of this grows better not only now but forever.

*Psalm 16: 11 (NIV)

Filed Under: Happiness, Heaven, Love, Miracles, Success Tagged With:

What Do You Do When You Run Out of Strength to Press On?

February 6, 2017 by

There are times when each of us reach the end of our own power to keep pressing on against the challenges.  Sometimes we’ve fought the battle for so long we just grow tired and want to give up.

Into that void, though, flows God’s power when we simply rest back in him.

Micah, the prophet, wrote, “But as for me I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord.”*

I love that image because I’ve had occasions, probably like you, when I’ve felt overwhelmed and I couldn’t go one more step.

Yet God, in his love, brought me fresh strength when I rested in him.  He clarified my mind and filled me with his power.

He offers that to you as well, whatever you face today.   If your abilities and strength have run out he offers you his power as you simply come back and rest in him.

*Micah 3: 8 (ESV)

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How to Take the Miraculous Life You’ve Been Promised

February 3, 2017 by

Most of us start out with dreams of an extraordinary life.   Unfortunately, those dreams often get squashed by harsh reality.

So it’s easier to give up and simply settle for what’s comfortable.  Yet, I believe for most of us those dreams never really die.  Instead, they lie dormant leaving us feeling unfulfilled.

See God promised you can take on the amazing life he designed for you from the beginning by simply accepting it.

God promised Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.” *

God had already set aside the land for them.   The gift was waiting to be opened.   They simply needed in courage to take it.

It’s like Christmas morning with presents under the tree.  The presents are wrapped and have your name on them.   All you need to do is open them.

Then enjoy the gifts already purchased for you.

*Joshua  1:6 (NLT)

Filed Under: Miracles, Success Tagged With:

Do You Face the Impossible?

January 30, 2017 by

We all face challenges at times that seem impossible don’t we?  We’ve struggled and worried yet the problem persists.

Yet, no challenge is impossible for God.  He created us and everything in our lives.  So if he created all things what challenge in his creation could be greater than his power to solve it?

Jesus responded to a challenge, “With people this is impossible but with God all things are possible.”*

I was struggling with several challenges and frankly by the end of the year just felt spent.  I grew depressed and just wanted to give up, find a cave to crawl into and sleep until it all went away.

Slowly though ideas came about the inherent problems and some possible solutions.  Further clarity continues to light.

I came back to just resting in God for the answers because that’s all I had.  Trusting that he had a plan and he would reveal it to me in time.  Believing he’d guided me this far and wouldn’t let me down now.

What seems impossible to us opens the door to God’s possibilities.

*Matthew 19: 26

Filed Under: Miracles, Success Tagged With:

How to Change Your Life and Accomplish Your Powerful Dreams

January 17, 2017 by

I fail at New Year’s resolutions routinely.  Well, at least I’m consistent.

I may want to lose an extra 10 pounds I’m carrying around so I resolutely set the goal.

But then those left over Christmas cookies keep calling my name.  I think, “It’d be a shame to waste them and I’d probably hurt my wife’s feelings if I didn’t eat them.  So I’ll have just a couple, each night.  It won’t hurt anything.  Then I’ll get really serious after they’re gone.”

I bet you can relate.

We set out to change our lives to accomplish our dreams.

 

We set a New Year’s resolution yet studies show before January ends most people have already given up.

 

Now, one failed resolution may not be a big deal but we set ourselves up for further defeat.  Every time we fail it reinforces not only our failure but that we’re a failure.  And that makes it ever harder to try something out of the ordinary in the future.

So the cycle of failure, frustration, defeat and discouragement continues until people finally give up on their most important dreams altogether.  Then settle for mediocre.

[Read more…]

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What to Do When You Get Blindsided by the Unexpected

September 7, 2016 by

I got blindsided recently.  It left me frustrated, angry and confused.  I suddenly felt like I was wandering in a dense forest in the fog trying to find my way through.

 

Forest Path

 

In addition to this blog, I write on a multi-author site called “Quora”.  I’ve had some somewhat significant success with over 400,000 views in five months.

One post really trended with over 80,000 views.  It was my most popular by far.  I was feeling pretty good as writing can feel very lonely and unrewarding at times.

I thought.  “Finally, I’ve hit on a post that really is connecting in a way I’ve rarely experienced.”

Suddenly, the editorial committee took it down because they said it didn’t properly disclose an affiliation. [Read more…]

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How to Enjoy Fully the Moments of Your Life

August 23, 2016 by

We strolled through an ancient graveyard in Saltzburg, Austria as I suddenly spotted an old weathered headstone dated 830.  I looked again in astonishment to be sure that I saw it correctly in the fading light.

The sun dropped low in the sky behind clouds that had just rained giving the area a melancholy feel.  The wet grass, blooming flowers, and crumbling graves surrounding an ancient stone church in the middle of the bustling metropolis felt surreal.

 

Saltzburg Graveyard

 

I wondered about this man whose name was partially eroded by centuries of weather.

Who was he?  What did he do for a living?  Was he married?  Have children?  Grandchildren?

He once, as a little boy, played with his friends.  Perhaps enjoyed his children.  Maybe lived successfully.

 

Then he passed on in time and no one remembers.

 

[Read more…]

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How to Experience a Miraculous Healing

August 16, 2016 by

I was sitting in my office chatting with a friend when he told me a story of his amazing healing.

He’d dropped by after golf and desperately needed cold water.

 

Child Healing

 

We got to talking about a mutual friend whose daughter is addicted to drugs.  He’s known her since she was a little and said, “She’s a lost soul.”

He went on, “I know what that’s like.  I’m a recovered alcoholic.”

Then he told me his story.

“I’d been sober for about 15 years.  Then I retired and started playing golf a lot.  Every day we’d smoke cigars on the course then come in and my buddies would have a few beers.”

 

“Pretty soon I found myself back smoking cigarettes and drinking.”

 

[Read more…]

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