One day this past week as I was on my way home I decided to travel down the old FM 720 which is now McKinney Ranch. The beginning of the road near the highway 75 frontage road is still a two lane road and up until this past week it was a two lane road in poor condition. Even though it is in poor condition I still like to travel on that road because it is a bit of a short cut for me. As I turned onto the road I noticed the warning sign informing me that beginning the next day that particular road would be having some well deserved and needed repair work done. It was due for a complete resurfacing. When I say “due” I really mean “over due”. As I drove passed the sign I thought to myself, “it’s about time”!
Well the next I was on my way home and I made my turn onto McKinney Ranch and went a little ways down the road and found myself in a long line of cars and trucks waiting to use the one lane that was open while the work crew put down the new black top on the other lane. There I was in a hurry to get home and I was stuck in a construction zone. I had forgotten about the warning sign I had just read the day before. The warning sign that gave me all the information I needed to avoid the mistake I had just made. It was told in big bold letters WARNING this road will be under construction tomorrow.
Then the thought occurred to me, it does not matter too much if you read the warning signs and understand the warning signs if you are not going to remember and take steps to avoid the potential problems. I was stuck in a construction zone and it was my own fault.
Now obviously that experience was not too critical and it was not life changing. In life there are warning signs that pop up from time to time which you and I need to read and understand and then make appropriate changes or adjustments to our life. Some of the warning signs have to do with your health such as shortness of breath and/or a tight chest or pain in your chest could be a warning to get to the doctor or ER as soon as possible.
Other warning signs are there to protect you from making life changing mistakes. For instance if you find yourself in a situation where someone who is not your spouse is flirting with you that is a huge WARNING sign and you should run from that person as fast as your can and you should avoid them at all cost. Playing into the flirtation and ignoring the warning sign could cost you your marriage and your family.
There are other warning signs in life: the teenage child that just stops talking to you for no apparent reason, a child that starts acting out, the spouse that cannot account for their time and the list goes on and on. Pay attention to what is going on around you. You may be able to save yourself and your family.
On another level there are spiritual warning signs that can help you realize that you are slipping away from God. If you are not praying often or if you are not reading your Bible on a regular basis. Or if you are not thinking of how to serve others as you go through your day you could be slipping away from God and experiencing a spiritual decline.
I just want to encourage you to be alert to all the evil which is around you that is trying to rob you from your God and your family. If you miss or ignore the warning signs you could find yourself in spiritual danger. The good news is that Jesus is always there to pull you out of your crisis or your struggle.
The writer of James says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Sounds like a plan.
Love God. Go Love Others.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Life is a One Way Trip
Last week I was listening to Mike and Mike interview Urban Meyer. To say that Coach Meyer has been a successful football coach would be a huge understatement. His teams have won two National Championships and his winning percentage is over 80% and at one time he had the highest winning percentage of any college coach in the nation. As coaches go Urban Meyer is a legend – well at least in Florida. He has now retired from coaching and is currently working for ESPN as a football annalist.
In the interview Coach Meyer discussed some of the reasons he chose to leave coaching. He told the story of the day his daughter was going have her college sport signing event. Urban’s secretary all but begged him to take some time and attend the event with his daughter. During the signing his daughter made a statement and said, “mom I want to thank you for being here today. You have been with me all along the way you have never missed a game and you took me to practice everyday. I could not have done this without you. Dad, you have never been there, but thank you for coming today.” That was the moment when the coach knew his coaching days were numbered. He had accomplished so much in sports and he was making unbelievable money, but his carrier was costing him more than he could bare to pay. He was married to football and the team was his family. He made the decision to get his life back in focus and return to what is truly important to him. He retired from coaching and now has a job that allows him the time to be the husband and father he desires to be.
During you life you will loose a number of things that are not important in the big picture. You will loose your glasses, phone, car keys etc… you may even loose your job or a close friend. You can get more glasses and another phone. You can even find another job and make new friends, but there are a couple of things you can loose and never get back. One is time and the other is opportunities. Once you’ve missed something that moment in time is gone forever. There are no time machines for do over’s. The kids stuff you miss out on today is over and gone and those opportunities will never be replayed. There may be other games or events, but the one you miss today is over.
I am not trying to give anyone a guilt trip that doesn’t need one; I am trying to wake up parents who are missing the most important things in life. I know that when your children are young it is easy to think that there will be plenty of opportunities to see you children in sports, plays, recitals etc… but guess what… in the blink of an eye it’s over and time has passed you by and your are attending college graduation or giving away your daughter in marriage and you will wonder, “where did the time go?”
Moms and dads take my advice and go to all the events you can while you can even if you have to stay up late to finish that report or reply to emails or balance the books. Do it for your children and do it for yourself. In life you can look back, but you can’t go back. So as much as possible do it right the first time.
Love God. Go Love Others.
In the interview Coach Meyer discussed some of the reasons he chose to leave coaching. He told the story of the day his daughter was going have her college sport signing event. Urban’s secretary all but begged him to take some time and attend the event with his daughter. During the signing his daughter made a statement and said, “mom I want to thank you for being here today. You have been with me all along the way you have never missed a game and you took me to practice everyday. I could not have done this without you. Dad, you have never been there, but thank you for coming today.” That was the moment when the coach knew his coaching days were numbered. He had accomplished so much in sports and he was making unbelievable money, but his carrier was costing him more than he could bare to pay. He was married to football and the team was his family. He made the decision to get his life back in focus and return to what is truly important to him. He retired from coaching and now has a job that allows him the time to be the husband and father he desires to be.
During you life you will loose a number of things that are not important in the big picture. You will loose your glasses, phone, car keys etc… you may even loose your job or a close friend. You can get more glasses and another phone. You can even find another job and make new friends, but there are a couple of things you can loose and never get back. One is time and the other is opportunities. Once you’ve missed something that moment in time is gone forever. There are no time machines for do over’s. The kids stuff you miss out on today is over and gone and those opportunities will never be replayed. There may be other games or events, but the one you miss today is over.
I am not trying to give anyone a guilt trip that doesn’t need one; I am trying to wake up parents who are missing the most important things in life. I know that when your children are young it is easy to think that there will be plenty of opportunities to see you children in sports, plays, recitals etc… but guess what… in the blink of an eye it’s over and time has passed you by and your are attending college graduation or giving away your daughter in marriage and you will wonder, “where did the time go?”
Moms and dads take my advice and go to all the events you can while you can even if you have to stay up late to finish that report or reply to emails or balance the books. Do it for your children and do it for yourself. In life you can look back, but you can’t go back. So as much as possible do it right the first time.
Love God. Go Love Others.
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