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Preface

 

I am writing this book as much for the reader as I am for myself. I don’t pretend to be the one with all the answers. I’d like to be a writer in the vein of Philip Yancey who I recall once described his writing style as that of a pilgrim; setting off on a journey and seeing where it leads us. So, hopefully along the way we will both learn something about ourselves. My life is not and will certainly never be ‘altogether.’

My goal is always ‘more.’ I cannot be content with just the status quo. I remember years ago, when I was just a baby Christian, reading a book about the late Keith Green. He was so consumed with his Christian walk and witness that he was at it non-stop. He seemed more than a 24/7 Christian if that’s even possible. I read that book thinking “Wow, this guy is on fire! If he isn’t careful he will burn up!” And he did. And it was all good; a life well lived. A life lived without passion, without a burning desire and energy to effectuate change and progress is a life devoid of much of its potential meaning and effect. Do we often read stories of the mediocre? Do we look up to average? I guess we do if we are below average, and that should tell us something right there!

I think we all need to have, or had to have had, a complete paradigm shift. Not merely a minor change in the way we look at life, but a major shift in perspective. If we look at life as just something to get through or merely endure, or as something that is controlling us and not as something that we are controlling, then we are missing out on our purpose and our destiny.

If the chicken never crossed the road, would we still be talking about it? Of course not. Likewise, we need to move. We need to act. We need to make decisions. Don’t be like the squirrel crossing the road, hesitant and confused.

We’ve all seen many times how that ends. 

Whatever is going to enable you to take those steps, or that step, that will lead you onto your path of destiny, onto your path of making a difference in the world, in your world, you need to find out what that may be. Many times, this discovery is not easy. This world throws so much confusion our way. The static and distractions we face, all day, every day, often keep us so distracted from the knowledge of our need to grow through life. Many times, our daily grind, the busyness, the exhaustion, and the desire to have a few moments to just be still, keeps us from realizing that where we are is not where we are meant to be. This isn’t the life we are meant for and capable of having. This is not the grand design. Mediocrity is not a goal! Getting by is not a goal! Complacency is to be avoided at all costs! I am not saying that we are all destined to become world leaders, captains of industry, famous celebrities, millionaires or people in the news. What I am suggesting to many is that you are not where you belong. You are not where you need to be. You are not where you want to be. You are not where you dreamt you’d be. You have let those dreams die a slow death over the years.

My goal here is to encourage you to find what is holding you back from living a life that you would be proud to look back on. Proud of how you lived it for the dreams you have or have had for yourself, not for how others may view your journey, not for how accommodating you were to the world, not for the size of your house or your financial status. I want you to realize that you deserve to live a life that not only makes you proud of your accomplishments, but proud as well of the path you took. You want to be able to look back on the way you conducted yourself on your journey and be able to smile and say to yourself “Well done!”  I wonder sometimes (too many times) how some people can look back on their

accomplishments and be happy and satisfied with themselves while ignoring the train wrecks they caused along the way to their ‘success.’

My purpose as I begin to write is not to preach, not to come off as someone who thinks he has got life all figured out, because I don’t. I hope my life journey continues to have me asking more questions than I am comfortable asking. If we think we know it all, if we think we have ever ‘arrived’ or completed our quest, then I believe that is the time we have stopped growing, stopped learning, stopped challenging ourselves and we can begin to look at the start of our spiritual, emotional and probably even physical decline. I do not want to be in decline until I am at death’s door! And even then, I want the life I lived to have had a positive impact on others. I want to have had an impact that will live on long after I am gone, one that will be seen for generations. I desire to live a life that will change the course of other people’s lives for the better, change the directions that families will travel, and to have lived a life that is an inspiration to others so that not only do we follow our dreams, but we use our God-given gifts to be a blessing to others.