Tag Archives: quotes

“What’s past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare

All of your years have prepared you for this one.  Donald Miller is big on story and seeing our lives from a narrative perspective.  A couple of years back he was teaching at a retreat I attended and asked us to discuss an interesting thought in our small groups: if your life was released on DVD what would be on the cover? The responses were very telling for it revealed how we view our lives as primarily comedies or tragedies. We also had a fun time considering what our DVD might be rated.

I suspect that we would feel a great deal more confident in our lives if we agreed with Shakespeare and viewed our past as prologue.  I also think we would have an easier time making peace with our past if we thought of it this way.  The good, the bad and even the ugly stuff can bring about great things in our future if we choose to let it.

What wisdom have the years given you? Where do you see this chapter of your life taking you based on what you learned in past chapters?

(BTW: This is the final post in the 12for12 blog series…I trust that you have enjoyed it and pray some of the quotes stick with you throughout this New Year.  Be blessed my friends for…The Best Is Yet To Come!)

“A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” – Knights of Pythagoras

One of the absolute greatest joys in my life has come from investing in the lives of young people. Whether you call it mentoring, befriending, pastoring, counseling, or even parenting I believe it’s part of the grand design for older people to pass their wisdom along to the next generation. Wisdom?!? You might be wondering what wisdom you have to pass on, but I think it’s pretty easy to find some; simply consider what you wish you had known at the age a particular child is at. Also what was passed on to you that you think positively impacted your journey? While there is certainly more, just sharing on those two would be huge.  I know this is challenging in our individualistic and busy culture, but I would submit that there isn’t a greater need in our world than investing in the next generation.

What investment are you making in the life of a child? Who is on your radar? You probably dont need to search very far; a niece, nephew? neighbor? Maybe a student at your church? Don’t let another year pass without helping a young person navigate in this tough new world we live in.

“Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.” – Socrates

What does being busy do for us? While we don’t typically give it much thought…I think we are often busy simply because we think it’s what “normal” people do.  In our culture the people who aren’t busy are often labeled lazy, weak, mentally/physically handicapped or some other title that isn’t a positive one.  I know personally life can seem just plain overwhelming at times. While it can run at a pace that I usually keep up with, I don’t feel like I am excelling in much of it.  This is what I believe Socrates was driving at with this quote…we tend to think that it’s the busy people who live fulfilling lives and yet if we aren’t careful, being busy can steal life right out from under us.

The picture that comes to mind is that of running on a treadmill.  Very determined we can run at a fast pace, exerting alot of energy and yet remain in the exact same spot. Most of us don’t need to work harder we need to work smarter.  Instead of investing small amounts of ourselves in a lot of places, we have a far greater impact with large investments in fewer places.

What are some things you can stop doing in 2012? How can you invest smarter in a few areas?

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”  - Walter Winchell

I have been observing as I continue in this blog series how many of the quotes center on relationships.  No doubt this has to do with how essential they are to our lives.  When our relationships are going good then life is going good…when they are going bad then our lives tend to be as well.

In today’s world it’s not uncommon for us to have 100′s of “friends” on Facebook and yet feel lonely. We have increased our skill of relating to lots of people on a shallow/surface level and yet at the same time have lost many vital face-to-face relationships that are required when life gets rough.  Think about the toughest moments of your life…when you were experiencing something that brought you low, drained your emotions and you were in great need.  Who called you? Who showed up? No doubt I’ve discovered friends I didn’t even know I had in these seasons of life.  Ironically some of the people we wished had called or showed up were no where to be found. Though we longed for their care and concern they just didn’t come through.  Life has a way of revealing who our true friends are.

Bottom-line is that we need eachother on the journey of life…be the kind of friend in 2012 that sticks it out through the tough times…especially the tough times

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.” –  Landrum Bolling

Maybe the reason we don’t forgive people who have wronged us has less to do with letting them “off the hook” and more to do giving up the hope of a better past. If you’re like me there are allot of things in your past that you wish had been different. Sadly this includes people who while in relationship had wronged us and we continually choose not to forgive them.

Who do you need to forgive in 2012? Who could you write an email to, pick up the phone and call? Give up the hope of a better past…allow it to be the past and move on.

“Only in fellowship do we learn to be rightly alone and only in aloneness do we learn to be rightly in fellowship.”  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When people ask me if I consider myself to be an introvert or an extrovert I respond that I am a weird mix of both.  Sometimes I love being the life of the party; spending time with groups of people doesn’t scare me and usually brings joy.  On the other hand I also enjoy time alone; hikes in the woods, nights in…which is why I have chosen over the years to live alone rather than with a roommate.  In reality I don’t know if I buy into the “extrovert/introvert” labels. I believe Bonhoeffer nailed it, as I think God intends for each of us to spend time alone as well as with others in healthy community.  Often people use the label introvert to avoid stepping out into uncomfortable situations and making friends.  Still others argue since they are extroverts that always have to be in a relationship even when that relationship is unhealthy or even abusive.

Lets strive to live 2012 with a balance of time alone as well as time in community. While we each have developed a tendency towards one, lets step out and grow this year.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”  – C.S. Lewis

A lot of people view their faith as an add-on to their life…but I don’t think this does anything but frustrate people.  True Christianity, as in the kind of Christianity that looks like a couple of brothers dropping their nets, a rich man selling all his possessions and a murderer turned missionary spreading the message of Christ throughout the vast Roman empire.

With this new year I think it’s time we do away with this counterfeit lukewarm Christianity and decide to go all-in or stop identifying ourselves as Christians altogether. May your faith light up things this year that you have never seen before.

“We must build bridges of relationship that can bear the weight of truth.”  – William P.Young (Author of The Shack)

How many people in your life can you be completely honest with, hold nothing back and know that it will not effect the closeness of your relationship? Sadly this number is small for most of us…as we tend to run from relationships the minute they get challenging.  No body likes to be told their wrong, shown their flaws or told what to do…but an essential part of becoming mature adults is being able to hear tough words that allow us the opportunity of growing.  How can we grow up if no one ever tells us the truth? Just think of the countless singers who have had their dreams crushed when standing in front of Simon on American Idol they said it was the first time anyone had told them they couldn’t sing.

I want to build relationships in 2012 that I can be authentic, completely who I am while I am with them. I know that trust takes time to develop and cannot be rushed.  Are you willing to put extra effort into building strong relationships so both of you can be truly honest with each-other?

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live.”  -Norman Cousins

One of the huge blessings of living back in Michigan is being able to be part of my nieces lives. They are 7 and 10 years old and have brought great joy to our family.  The other day I caught my oldest niece Aida smiling for no apparent reason. I asked her why she was smiling and she said something to the effect: “I don’t know why I am just happy!”  

What happens from age 10 on where we lose that default setting of joy? That is a huge question which I’m sure psychologists have well researched answers for…personally I think it has to do with how this world beats us down. When we were young we had big dreams of becoming astronauts, musicians and presidents, nearly everyone is happy to see us, they always greeted us with smiles and spent lots of money on us at birthdays and Christmas.  As we grow into adolescents more is expected of us, and more is demanded of us. Few invest in showing us the path into adulthood and soon we are just expected to act like adults. We learn along this journey that the world isn’t a very friendly place and that few attain their childhood dreams.  Instead of feeling “special” (see THIS post) we begin to feel like just a number, a “normal” person whose chief goal is simply to survive.  I hate the counsel usually given to parents of teens today that the teenage years are years which they need to survive. No wonder something dies within us…

We can learn a lot from children…perhaps the greatest being how to have joy in our lives for no reason at all.  What has recently died in you that could be resurrected in 2012? 

“If I have learned one thing in this life, it is that God will not tie my shoes without me.”  – Doug Boyd

A simple quote with a profound amount of theology wrapped up in it.  A lot of Christians I talk with hold a view of God (theology) that has Him in complete control of their lives.  I see this as an escape from responsibility more than anything else.  It is a very bad theology that doesn’t recognize the clear teaching from the Scriptures that the type of relationship God desires with humanity is that of a partnership. He doesn’t want to do all the work and invites us to share control with Him.  In other words I believe there are things that we don’t have to ask God permission to do…paths we can take in life with confidence that God will walk with us.

What area of your life are you waiting for God to tie your shoes? Maybe the very best resolution you could make this year is to start tying your own shoes.