The Good Life

"The good life, the one that truly satisfies, exists only when we stop wanting a better one.  It is the condition of Savoring what is instead of longing for what might be"  Read that again....  I read it several times this morning, letting  it really soak in because it strikes a cord of truth often overlooked.  It is so easy to fall into the pattern of wishing for something different. It is easy to see what's out there and want more or better than what we currently have.  Cars age, lose their shine, and have little quirks that a new care doesn't... but do they still get us where we need to go?   Houses always seem to need something in the way of repair or maintenance, but do they provide shelter and a place to come to at the end of the day?  Clothing and shoes become outdated but do they still cover us and keep us warm?  Relationships, can pale in comparison to the make believe we see on TV or read in books, but they are exactly that... make believe.
I think that this desire for more or better is a meticulously orchestrated plan of satan's to keep us constantly off balance. His plan is to keep us always searching, never satisfied. He breeds in us discontent, dissatisfaction, discord and often depression as we see all that we lack.  How can we be truly joyful if nothing in life ever measures up to our "ideal"?
So back to the original quote... What is the good life?  "It is the condition of SAVORING what is, rather than longing for what might be."
I LOVE THAT!!!  So savor each day, each relationship and each blessing for all that it IS.. that's the good life.

Resolutions

    I've never been one to make New years resolutions. Probably because I know that eventually my best intentions will fall prey to the "Tyranny of the Urgent"  Instead, I look back over the year and ask myself if there has been any positive change or growth. What impact did I have on the lives of those around me and was it good?
    Who really wants to do this "aging gracefully" thing if it doesn't bring with it positive growth?
However, this year I did make somewhat of a resolution and it can be summed up in two words...BE INTENTIONAL.
    It is so easy for a day to come and go and for every part of it to just "happen". I guess that's why someone coined the phrase "life happens".  But, I don't want life to just happen around me because that can mean missed opportunities.
So... this year I want to be more intentional in my relationships, both heavenly and earthly ones.  I want to be more intentional where my health and fitness is concerned.  More intentional in my finances and the use of God's resources, and I'm sure as the year progresses, I'll see more areas that this applies to. I'm not looking to do great things just maybe a lot of little good things.
    I am now the same age as my mother was when she received her cancer diagnosis. She was gone from this life less than 4 years later.  That is a sobering reality.  So as Psalms 90:12 says..
"Teach us to make the most of our time so that we may grow in wisdom"

Worry

Phillipians 4:6,7   Do  not be anxious about anything but IN everything, BY prayer and petition, WITH thanksgiving, PRESENT your requests to God and... the PEACE of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  WOW  Just writing out those words hits me with how powerful the process of giving worries over to God is.  Chuck Swindoll breaks it down even more by keying in on 2 main thoughts.
 "Worry about nothing, Pray about everything"     What qualifies as worry?  Anything that robs you of your joy.  So often it is the things we can do nothing about, we can't change it, and chances are we aren't even responsible for  it.  It can be a thing, a person, a situation that we cannot control,  It torments us , keeping us awake when we so desperately need to sleep.
God tells us that every item in our list of worries should be transferred to our prayer list.  One  by one we should relinquish them over to God ( he is already aware of them all), "present" them as the verse says, and then what???
Does He make them go away?  No.... He says he will give us peace, a peace that will protect our hearts and minds.
It is an intentional act of surrender done over and over again with each new concern and it often requires giving back the same old worry that we keep re-visiting.
But ultimately, peace does come, and our trust in Him grows as we see how he is able to handle the things we cannot.
So much of this walk with God requires choices on our part.  He has done all the work and has already provided all that we need to live victoriously, full of joy and hope...but we choose what to do with it.
So when worry creeps in, as it so expertly does, turn it into prayer.  Do this over and over and over again until the day God calls us home and worry is no more.  Herein lies peace.