NOVEMBER 30, 2023

 Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints

on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solenm main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again...” 

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

EZEKIEL 43-44

23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(44:23) 

2 PETER 2

17These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

JOURNAL 

When life is really lived well...it is lived in consciousness of others. To live without regard for the influence one may have on another human being is to live carelessly. God makes it very clear that once he inhabits our hearts and souls then we represent him to the world. This is definitely a sobering reality. 
This is a reality that often juxtaposed to the train wrecks played out by public figures becomes all the more sobering. A life lived for what it can attain, rather than for what it can give is a life of darkness. In fact I had a realization...in the end it's not how much you were loved but rather how much you love. The loved part is what we get from accepting God's love for us...it is the ultimate and everything really pales in comparison. 

Coming off a great week with family is just a reminder that we have the capacity to bring the magical love of God to each moment of the life we are blessed to live. Make no mistake...it is magical and we really should strive to remember and live it as such. I realize more and more that these magical moments are all around us...we just must believe in them and remember that God is far greater than our most imaginative dream. In fact he is the author, he gives us those thoughts and hopes and ideas that have the capacity to change hearts, heal hurts, right wrongs and effectively change the world. But we must BELIEVE and we must act in love always!

"Because you have so little faith," He answered. "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

MATTHEW 17:20