Life’s short. We seem to think that we will live forever. We spend time and money as though we will always be here. We buy shiny things as if they matter a lot and are worth the debt and stress of attachment. We put off the the trip of a lifetime for another year, because we assume we have another year. We don’t tell the ones we love how much we love them because we assume there is always tomorrow. And we fear. We stick it out in miserable job and situations because we’re afraid of the risk of stepping out. We don’t reach high enough or far enough because we’re worried we’ll fail, forgetting, or never realizing that it’s better to fail spectacularly while reaching for the stars than it is to succeed at something we never really wanted in the first place.

We think we’ve got forever and that these concerns that weigh us down are so pressing. We worry about the trivial to the neglect of the most precious thing we have: moments we’ll never see again. We talk of killing time, passing time, and getting through the week, forgetting we’re wishing away the moments that comprise our lives. We say time is money when in fact the time we have is ALL we have. Money can be borrowed, time can’t. We fear taking risks, unaware that the biggest risk we run in playing it safe is in fact living as long as we hope and never doing the things we dreamed of. And then it’s too late.

Whatever your dream is, find a way to make it happen. Your job can wait. I know there are so many reasons we can’t do whatever we want and some of them are valid. Life is not only short, it is also sometimes profoundly hard. But I think sometimes our reasons are in fact only excuses. Its all about living the dream. It’s the realization that life is short and no one is going to live my life on my behalf. And one day soon – because it’ll seem that way, I know it – my candle will burn out; I want it to burn hot and bright while it’s still lit. I want it to light fires and set others ablaze.

Life is short. Live it now. And live it with all your strength and passion now. Don’t keep it in reserve against a day you might not have. Be bold about it, even if your circumstances mean all you have is to love boldly and laugh boldly. Because now is all we have, and these dreams won’t chase themselves.

Author Unknown

 
Have you ever had to deal with the thought process of why God would ever choose you after everything that you have ever done to Him? Why He still wants to use you to reach a lost and dying world?

I think everyone has had or will have to deal with that thought process as some point in their life. I personally have and have been for some time. Yeah, I grew up in the church. Saved, sanctified and on Fire for God but … everyone falls short. I fell short big time. There was a time in my life where I acted like all was great … but was in the hospital every other week if not weekly due to a deep depression. There was a time in my life, when a bar … was a highlight. A place I could go and just have fun. To get away. I for some reason tried to be someone I wasn’t and at the same time … completely found who I was.

Years later, that time of my life still “haunts” my thought process. Why would God ever still choose to use someone like me?. Why would He keep His Word for my life? The very words He spoke to me at age 13 still ring clear in my head and is what fuels my passion for children’s ministry. The very vision He gave me at age 16 still can be seen and is seen often. Why?

Why do we forget that God is a forgiving God? Why do we forget that when we ask God for forgiveness that He washes it all away? It’s gone. We are the only ones that remember it. Why do we keep ourselves back from being all that God wants us to be?

While in California, at Catalyst West, from the moment the conference started to the moment it ended God was dealing with my heart and my mind. I really thought about my life and how my time of rebellion has held me back. How God has redeemed my life but how I still keep thinking in the back of my head that God could never use me like He originally planned. Let me tell you, that’s a bold face lie. He has great plans for you and I!

Don’t let your past hold you back. Some of the greatest things ever done in history came from people’s who chose not to allow past failures to hold them back. No matter what your past has been, you have a spotless future.

Today, I tell you, take courage … walk boldly … accomplish everything that God has for you to accomplish. Stop allowing the things of the past to hold you back. If we could just move past all our failures like God has, we could change the world. It’s our decision though. Move forward … stop hiding … stop running … fly … spread your wings and fly.