Doing Things That Will Change Your Life | Tracks In The Dust

Archive for the category “Doing Things That Will Change Your Life”

18 Jun 2012

The Mosaic of Life

Some days can seem to drone on for a long time. As the summer days in Texas grow longer and the heat lingers on, it gives me pause to stop and thank God for all the people he has put in my life. They have all created a mosaic of memories and experiences that allow me to get to this point and see what I see. It amazes me. Even on those bland and simple days , where nothing eventful of note has left its mark, there is always the reflection of the events and people that have been before this moment.

I miss many of them, but they had their own roads to take and lives to travel. I am better for having them in my life’s paths, and hopefully I helped be a piece of who they are too… Not all of them were the greatest of friends, in fact some were foes. But they all made a difference.

I am also thankful that I have my family. Through the laughter, the tears, the frustrations and triumphs we work through them together as best we know how, with God’s countenance and grace to watch over us. I haven’t seen one of my sons in nearly nine years, and I pray that he is learning this to be true. But I love him still. I am fortunate for my three other children and my wonderful wife that have been in my life these many years.

As the US recognized Fathers Day this past weekend, I want to hope that I have reflected some of the greatness of my father on my children. I think I have. I am fortunate to be able to say that, (when so many don’t wish or want it so)…my children never really got to know my father before he died- but I see him in them. Such precious little time with their other grandfather was hopefully enough to see the man he was and what pieces of him exist in them as well.

So I continue to be amazed. And I hope you can reflect on the mosaic of your life that has brought you to each day, and be amazed along with me in the light it produces. Be good with what makes you who you are today, share it with your family and friends, and be joyful for what adventures lie ahead in the time here on Earth.

“Family” by Joe Walsh

I’ve been alone most of my life
I’ve never known what it was like
To end up somewhere and not have to pack
To be among friends I know have my back

But now I’m here where I belong
I’ve finally found a wife and a home
And a family that matters, means more to me
Than anything I have ever believed

And when we are gathered together
Tell me how blessed can somebody be

Give thanks, break bread, say grace, bow heads
For all of this love that surrounds me
We laugh, we cry, stand together that’s why
It’s all being part of a family

Tried it before, never felt right
I never dreamed that someday I might
Be part of something bigger than me
It makes me feel humble, finally I see

All that we have is each other
And that’s all that I’ll ever need

Give thanks, take time to say that I’m
So grateful for all that surrounds me
We laugh, we cry, stand together that’s why
It’s all being part of a family

15 Jun 2012

Hit the Reset Button!

Go ahead. Push the reset button. It may be hard to find, your own personal reset may be in a complicated place in your mind. It may be in a complex set of your own personal wiring that will be hard to find. But go ahead. Do it.

A while back my wife and I spent some time with some friends in this cabin in Oklahoma (pictured here) and just kind of stopped the pattern we had all been following for so many months before. Like taking a deep breath and exhaling back out, just some times you have to stop. It was so needed we didn’t even recognise it until we were there.

Sit back in that quiet cabin in the woods, or take a bit of time to stroll through the park, or sit on the steps outside of where you live. Watch the world go by, because it doesn’t stop just because you did. But you have to be good with it anyway. You aren’t really missing anything that can’t wait for you to hit that “reset” button.

Just like when your computer gets so bogged down, or your wireless network stops transmitting the way you expect. You can hit the button and hope for the best. Let it all out. I know that we can, but then I know that often I wont. Keep insisting that I’d better plow forward with the “to do” list, to get those things done that have made me the “pro”-crastinator ( not an amateur believe me). Oh that reward of a feeling of accomplishment… feels good. So in this case, the accomplishment: Hit the button. Reset. It will still all be there to sort out. But maybe it will be much clearer than it was before…

Where ever it is, however you get there. Just take that time to make it yours and make sure that you clear the cache memory (for you geeks out there – you’ll get it). Then you can move on… it’s your time.

Posted in Before and After Things Change, Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged cherish, choices, Joy, life is precious, Oklahoma, Reality Check, Reset button, Slow Down, Sprituality

14 Jun 2012

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Contentment

Truth is, the grass is never greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it. Being content is a reward in itself, and worthy of pursuit.

And godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).

So many times it appears that there is so much pain in our search for richness in our lives, that for many of my friends and family we tend to forget the simple reward… that is contentment itself. Like a wise friend of mine, a man of God recently recalled the old adage that the grass is never greener on the other side, it is greener where you nurture [water] it.

Some times it makes me sad to see how hard people are working for that contentment. Doesn’t it seem to you that many people are working so hard to define it and pursue it that they don’t realize it is right in front of them? So often we are making plans for the next thing that will get us to the goals we seek, that we don’t stop to see the simplicity of what is right in our path.

We can help others through kindness and compassion,endurance, love and gentleness as so many of my fellow bloggers have said in so many great ways. We can make the world around us a place we want to be. But not through anger and resentment, but through faith in ourselves. But we have to nurture that, we have work to do on making our “grass” on our side of living be green.

And that takes more than just wishing it so, it takes acceptance and peace of mind that by living it – it will come to us. That is the faith in which we need to fight for. Take hold of the eternal life we all can have. It is simple and not complicated, yet we run the other way in pursuit of something that may give us satisfaction, or instant gratification. Like if we grab that golden ring, wow… life will be so much different.

But the reality of life is that it is tough, it isn’t simple in its own daily turn of the clock. It contains the frustration or sadness of death, failures, illness, hate and fear among so many things. The reality won’t change, but you can. Accept that the grass can be green where you stand, with the water you provide to make it grow.

I recall fondly the old movie “Field of Dreams” where a farmer constructs a full baseball field in the middle of his farm in Iowa for what appears to be no reason. “If you build it they will come” the voice whispers. In fact they will come…just grow your faith in what is there in front of you, because others will see it. They will see that your grass is greener and join you for the celebration. The celebration of contentment and the richness of those who will be there with you in this otherwise complicated life while we are here on Earth.

Posted in Before and After Things Change, Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, Faith, Field of Dreams, Grace, Reality Check, Religion and Spirituality, Sprituality, tracks in the dust

13 Jun 2012

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Save It For Later?

I noticed that throughout my life, I have had a tendency to save things and collect things. A good friend and fellow blogger recently discussed this on his site, and it just reminded me of how good I had gotten. Perhaps too good.

Do you put aside things in places like drawers,closets,garages, trunks or other places in your life? You move them to a place that you can remember, and “save it for later”. Silly things like papers, clippings, pens, pictures, along with collectables like magazines or CD’s ( I have way too much old vinyl records by the way still in storage).

What do you save? What do you find yourself putting aside for safe keeping?

Today I have to give my kids credit, they don’t save nearly as much. So much more mobile than the past generation. That can be good I no doubt, but once again my pack-rat mentality says “what if you need it later?” or “you are such a disposable generation” – like they don’t appreciate the value of their “stuff”. Just accumulating stuff though is not an accomplishment.

Collecting and saving money or valuable things or family mementos isn’t a bad thing necessarily…cherishing history is essential to understanding why you are where you are today. It keeps you from making the same mistakes as your ancestors and appreciating the ways in which they survived to get you where you are in life’s timeline. But there are more important collections. Collecting friends and people around you that you can share in God’s grace and enjoy your time while here on Earth. Not putting aside God in your life. Those are the most valuable things I think. They don’t need to be locked up, they are in your heart and in your mind as those you need and want most.

So for some of us I guess we need to find ways to shake the habit, or make sure we understand that eventually we will run out of room or places for our possessions. For others traveling light and having the fundamental things is all that matters. Either way cherish the people and the spirit of the Word in your life, and things can be good. Real good.

PRACTICAL PROVERBS

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged being remembered, cherish, Divine grace, Eternity, Grace, Happiness, Life, Memories, tracks in the dust

08 Jun 2012

4 Comments

Celebrate Milestones

Milestones.

Measuring the passing of things can sometimes bring sadness, because it serves as a reminder that we are all getting older. It’s a fact of life we cannot deny, and as long as we are alive on Earth it is a reality we will experience.

Over the years I have changed my view of things. When I was younger, milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, and those significant days that help to provide keepsakes that will live in our memories…were all fleeting by at a very high-speed. Perhaps friends and family would gather together, while other times life just got too busy to really make time to celebrate or pause. That seemed okay because after all it seemed, “it was just another day” on the calendar to mark time.

As I have gotten older (not “old” by-the-way) I have become much less cynical about the milestones, they need to be observed. They need to be cherished for the place they signify on the timeline of our lives. Sure some of that can generate melancholy that can just bring the tone down on the very thing we should be celebrating. But it doesn’t have to. And if we let it , we are missing an opportunity to be thankful for the occasion to count it. What are we observing/counting anyway?

Our milestones (however small or significant) are there to provide us the chance to remember. Remember the good, the bad, the joyful times and the struggles that we have lived through. It is part of life, so in fact we are celebrating life in all of its detail. We are also celebrating the people and loved ones in it, and that simple fact that God is there to surround you in the moments each and every minute of them.

So this weekend my wife and I will celebrate 33 years of marriage. I used to think that sounded like something just old people would be happy about, but I don’t consider myself “old”. I enjoy the same humor, same music, same movies, same books, same food, same need for relationships and life’s validation as my children and their friends. I can feel older since my body has certainly begun to show wear. I can know that I am wearing out because of a date on the calendar, but it is the collective experiences I have had over the last 33 years that make me the richer person for it. I love my wife and the children we raised as the most Earthly rewards either of us could ask for. I look forward to eternity with them someday.

I am also positive that someday it will end, and as someone who fights cancer everyday there are special anniversaries to celebrate with my loved ones and with God. They are everyday milestones. It’s the reason and need to keep going and enjoy the passage of time. Like the ads say “celebrate more birthdays”.

So it seems – everyone has milestones to pass along the calendar of our lives. Some we may not observe but should, others may pass with little celebration. For some souls, time is too short and they leave us behind to keep time. For those of us that get more – we need to grab hold of the minutes and make them be the best.

Here’s a song that says it all from one of my favorite musicals, RENT.