Monthly Archives: April 2013

Chapter-a-Day

Living in the Mystery

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A walk in the dark
(Photo credit: Mozzer502)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

I ran into a wise old friend a few weeks ago and asked him how things are going for him. He laughed when I asked and responded, “When I was a young man I thought I had to have all the right answers. Then I got older and I thought I had to ask all the right questions. Now, I’m at a place where I’m just trying to learn to live in the mystery.”

I memorized the verses above when I was a young man, and each time we come back to this chapter I am reminded of their wisdom. Like my friend, I have long ago given up thinking that I understand all the answers. In recent years my life journey has taken me places where at times even my questions lack any potency to ease my heart and mind. I am caught in the mystery of the silence when I mutter “Why?,” “I don’t get it,” and “Father God, I simply don’t understand.”

Today, I am reminded by familiar words not to rely on my own understanding. I am reminded that this journey I am on is a journey of faith and faith requires trust when my own senses and wisdom fail to comprehend the current path nor its true purpose. Today, I am reminded to seek contentment to live in the mystery knowing that neither the right answers nor the right questions are required. Sometimes faith is the only requirement.

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Chapter-a-Day

We All Follow Footsteps…Choose Well

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Footsteps
Footsteps (Photo credit: courosa)

Follow the steps of good men instead,
    and stay on the paths of the righteous. Proverbs 2:20 (NLT)

As I walk this life journey, I travel in the footsteps of good men and women. I have been blessed with a host of mentors who made a positive difference in my life:

  • Parents who love God and taught their children the values of honesty, hospitality, hard work, loving your neighbors well and serving others the way they’d want to be served.
  • Grandparents who laid their own set of footprints for my parents and siblings.
  • Siblings who loved their little brother, protected him, and let him hang around.
  • Primary teachers who cared about me as a person, who prayed for me without my knowing it and encouraged me to develop my talents and abilities.
  • Friends who encouraged me to do the right things.
  • Spiritual mentors who took me under their wing, taught my by example, and poured more time and energy into me than I deserved.
  • College professors who put up with a young man’s maddening mix of pride and insecurity while patiently pushing and pruning.
  • Business mentors who led me by their every day example.

We all follow in the footsteps of others. Choose well.

If you haven’t chosen well, today is a good day to find different footsteps to follow.

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Chapter-a-Day

Wisdom’s Whisper

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Gold medal spouse
(Photo credit: The U.S. Army)

[Proverbs] purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair. Proverbs 1:3 (NLT)

I heard a call back to the book of Proverbs. Along life’s journey I’ve gone through times when God pushes me to pick up the pace, take a narrow path, and step out of my comfort zone. I’m in one of those times right now. We’re not talking about major life decisions or changes noticeable to the masses. These are small changes in daily trajectory that, over time, take you to a different destination.

So much of “success” in life is about discipline. We see an olympic gold medalist on television for a minute singing a national anthem with their hand over their gold adorned chest. What we don’t see is the years of daily and hourly discipline in time, energy, priorities, diet, exercise, and practice.

I want to finish well and be successful in the things that truly matter. To win that prize I need discipline in the minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day thoughts, words, and actions of this life journey. I need wisdom to make the tweaks in life which will spur me in the right direction.

And so, I’ve heard a whisper in my heart. I’m called back to the book of Proverbs.

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