Life Turn – Church

As I work through “Creating Your Life Plan” by Donald Miller, I am recording “Life Turn” events.   The worksheet asks for a title and a rating from -10 to +10.   I gave this Life Turn the title of “Church.”

I remember the first night we went to a Wednesday night Bible class.  I was so excited.  I remember asking my new mom if I could wear my suit,  which someone probably gave me (I didn’t wear my suit.)  My excitement was most likely because my aunt (before she died), had taken us to Sunday School  a few months earlier to Friendly Lane Baptist Church in Haltom City, Texas.  This is my first memory of ever being inside a church building.  What I remember most about this experience was that the Sunday School class sang to me, “We’re Glad You are Here” to the tune of “Happy Birthday to You.”  This experience was like getting a hug from God!  So, with this in mind, it was exciting  going to church.  I gave this Life Turn a +10!  Thank you, Mom!

 

Dreams of Failure

For about a year now, I have had dreams of past failures.  These dreams have involved almost every aspect of my life.  Often times I wake up feeling depressed.  I know my thought life triggers these dreams, especially ruminations.  These glitches in my thinking are the result of trying to work out the past in my mind to get a different result, as it that were even possible!   I have decided to change, to think differently, which is to think redemptively.

Thinking redemptively acknowledges the past, yet does not try to fix it.  As is often said,   “it is what it is.” What can I learn from them and move on?  How can I relate to others who have had similar experiences?  How has God worked through these circumstances?  How do these “Life Turns” fit into my story?

This is a journey I am looking forward to as I work through the “Creating Your Life Plan” by Donald Miller.  For more information go to http://www.storylineblog.com .

Living a Redemptive Life

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. – Friedrich Nietzsche

This morning, as a part of my summer rejuvenation project, I started working through Storyline (storylineblog.com), created by author Donald Miller.  After the first video, I immediately realized something that has been missing in my life for awhile.  It is what I refer to as ” the why behind the what.”  For most of my life I believed that what has happened to me, since birth, transpired  for a reason, which is that God has a purpose and a plan for my life.   This concept is something I have wrestled with over the years, intellectually, spiritually  as well as by praxis.

At the heart of this purpose is to “comfort those with the comfort I have received.”  This puts my life into perspective.  What can I do to help the triple A?  (Not the American Automobile Association).  My triple A is those who have been abandoned, abused, and adopted, and those affected by someone who has.

Because of this thinking, I decided to begin writing a new blog.  Hopefully, this one will not end up in the blog dump, but will glorify God and make a difference in someone’s life.