Tomorrow is Today

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The “tide in the affairs of men” does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. We may cry out deperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: “Too late.”

These are timeless thoughts that transcend context and circumstance – words that take us to The Intersection of Purpose and Now.  
Friends, take time to understand your Purpose. Learn to articulate it and act On Purpose.  Don’t wait for circumstance to define your course of action; don’t wait for the authority of rank to pursue your dreams. If your direction is right, others will follow your lead. Dispense with your questions of “time management”, of meaning, of direction, of what to do next and when and whether you should act on your ideas. “…there is such a thing as being too late.”  Now is your time.
This is certainly one of my favorite quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, from his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech given on April 4, 1967.

Thank you Dr. King.

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Magic Carpet Ride Redux – Part 4

From Part 3:

“What if the rug pulled out from under you was really a magic carpet ride designed by God?”


Part 4:

Celebrating Possibilities
I consider one phase of my career as a 9-year “staging area” that God was using to prepare me for what would happen next. I couldn’t understand “how I got here” or why I was thrust into new, undesirable circumstances. I often was unhappy with my circumstances, but I sure am happy where God took me and all He has produced from those years. 

Those 9 years followed a situation in which I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me, and they led to my Magic Carpet Ride. I wouldn’t trade my magic carpet ride for anything.
  • I found the love of my life and got married.
  • I found my Purpose, which guides my every day.
  • I developed the skills, attitudes, resources and stories to build my own business.
  • I wrote a book that shapes what is as much my ministry as it is part of my business.
  • I became the father of three boys, and Ryan (our third) has brought so much more meaning to our lives because God, during those 9 years, was preparing my wife and I for the fact that Ryan has Down Syndrome. 

Other new parents in similar circumstances were grieving; we were celebrating the possibilities this new child would bring into our lives.


Why not take the Magic Carpet Ride?

Things may be bad for you right now. Maybe you wouldn’t wish your circumstances on anyone. Maybe despair is beginning to edge out your faith and your trust in God. Maybe you are lost, feeling alone and forgotten by God. But there is hope when you put your trust in God.  Trust that He has a plan for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Please, continue to join me at The Intersection of Purpose & Now.
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Magic Carpet Ride Redux – Part 3

From Part 2:

“What if your praise for God wasn’t so circumstantial? What if you mixed things up a bit, instead of thanking God for the circumstances you appreciate and begging Him to correct those you cannot appreciate, what if you praised Him throughout – knowing that He IS in charge of your direction?”



Part 3: 
A struggle designed by God
What if the rug that has been pulled out from under you was really a magic carpet ride designed by God? What if your prayer was “Lord, things are BAD; Jesus take the wheel”? That’s our usual response. We fail to recognize that, maybe, we need to keep the wheel but allow Jesus to navigate. He has the map but he may be taking us on a most adventurous ride, on some of the roughest terrain possible. That’s what makes life fun, adventurous, meaningful and memorable. Faith doesn’t keep us safe; faith traps us at the river’s edge where only God knows what will happen next. He does not want us to “wait and see”; He wants us to take the first step and see what He will do in response to our faith.

But we keep trying to grab control. Our problem isn’t circumstances. Our problem is perspective.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version)

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

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