Tracks In The Dust

A Father's Advice About Learning the Mission of Life

Archive for the tag “Hope”

19 Dec 2014

House Full Of Love

Something that has become much more evident since my wife and I became “empty-nesters.” We love the evenings of solitude, but we miss the “activity” of the house we once had. Four grown up kids later we realize that with that activity came much more.

Sure there was the worry about where your kids were in those teen years when they were “just going out with friends”. Yes there were those late night phone calls with urgent requirements ( I won’t explain, but some of you understand I am certain).

In the end the house was full of motion. We tried to create a “house full of love” that our children could feel comfortable to bring their friends to. To share in the laughter and the angst of growing up together. Rock music bumping loud enough to rattle the ceiling fans. video games going into the early mornings, mysteriously missing food from the pantry, laughter and doors opening and closing frequently.

Believe me some of it got on our nerves as parents, but we knew it would end someday and we were happy to know that our kids were okay. Several of their friends have become like part of our family and we still enjoy hearing from them. Sometimes we hit and sometimes we missed with our kids. Some of our kids understood it and some truly didn’t understand the gift.

Today as they are all adults and moved out, we still truly enjoy them bringing friends (significant others too) over, sharing a meal, relating to the world in so many more levels now than in years gone by. What joy it can bring.

It really is a gift of life, and makes for great moments to share and remember.As my wife and I work to enjoy the passage of time, as we have come to realize that our time here on earth is short and we have come to cherish it even more. At this holiday season what we want more than anything that can be wrapped up with a bow is to embrace our “house full of love”.

For your parents out there with younger kids or adults, you will no doubt at one point or another in the next few weeks step back and take in the moment. It is the only one like it and then time moves on. Embrace it as one of the greatest gifts.

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Advice, Change, choices, Christmas, Faith, Family, Grace, Happiness, Hope, Joy, life is precious, Memories, moments, Parents, Self-Awareness

04 Nov 2014

Remaining In Hope

I will admit it, over the past couple of years posting things to this blog I have addressed hope. It comes to us in many ways but in the end it just comes down to one thing. Our ability to not let things get to the point of hopelessness.

For us Christians ( which many of you may not be) there is a simple passage that I was reminded of the other day.

“Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope” (Lamentations 3: 21-24).

The focus is on hope. Regardless of the circumstances, It is honestly healthy to face your feelings. Share them with others and with God. So many times in the past I have held them in, tried to manage them on my own. Like a “strong” person I was showing my strength by not letting things get to me when in actuality they were.

So I am hopeful that some way God will see to it that the quality of my life with my wife, my family and friends continues to be the treasure it has been. I want to be sure that they have hope. Regardless of the time left ahead in this life, there will be more after that.

In the meantime there is no reason not to have hope. It would be a very rough road if we let hope slip away. It would be hopeless. But that cannot happen with Him. And it is my hope that it will not happen with my friends and family.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, attitude, Cancer, Change, choices, Dealing with Disease, Doubt, Eternity, Faith, God, Hope, mental-health, Postive Thinking, Sprituality, Truth, Without Hope

02 Oct 2014

Hopelessness and Despair

What amazes me today what appears to be that there are so many lost people in the world. People looking for a purpose. People feeling helpless and out of control of their lives. There have always been lost people with who feel hopeless and heavy with despair. It is nothing new, it is a human ailment since time began. .

But these days there are non-stop 24/7 reports of people around the world who are struggling with their lives, with their vision on what they want from life. They feel alone and seek to find acknowledgement from others that they are something.

Feeling alone can result in evil things happening. Evil provides hope by authority, allowing people to reach for bad things that will make them feel in-charge. It is a kind of hope that is easy to come by with when one is alone. It seems ironic that in a world so “full” of people hope on things we should not

But that is what is means to be hopeless I think. Thinking there is no way out. And then today it is so much easier to let things leak in from everywhere. 24/7 – lonely in front of a glowing monitor as it speaks. The appearance that the world around us is “so bad” and everything is wrong. The government cannot help you, there is no end in sight and the news is not good . Negative piles on to the despair one may already feel.

What is truly sad is that the positive messages get lost in the balance. There is the rub. Embracing the messages of hope and promise are hard to do, it means being confident in its existence. Feeling as though there is some way to make something out of life. Not seeing the short time on this Earth as worthless. Looking for answers from those who are willing to help lift you up.

The answer is there. It is in the spirit of the human being to focus on the simple. Too many people make the simple salvation too complicated. They find all the rules they can to provide you with hurdles- when salvation is only one faithful step away. Choose it.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, Change, choices, Dispair, Doubt, Faith, Hope, Hopelessness, Postive Thinking, Religion and Spirituality, Who Are You

25 Sep 2014

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The Colors of Your Mood

Changing moods. Something that we all experience at many times in the course our lives, in the course of a minute, hour or day in fact.. Although we may dream that we can be happy every day, there are going to be a lot of times that we are not.

Our moods come in all colors in our lives don’t they?

Blue- we have those days. We have those times. We sing them, we are them. Blues

Black- those specific days we want to never live again – the black day

Red- Those angry days

Grey- those days of emotion, of loneliness or despair

Yellow- happiness? caution? urgency?

Our best answer to manage our lives is to understand our “true colors” and make the choices that help to color our attitudes.

What are the colors of your moods? The color of your world?

Cyndi Lauper – True Colors

Donovan- Colours – a songwriter of many colors indeed.

Posted in Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged choices, Cyndi Lauper, Donovan, Emotion, Happiness, Hope, Joy, life is precious, Memories, moments, Music, Postive Thinking, Self-Awareness, Sprituality

12 Jun 2014

Take The Weight Off

No, it is not a diet edict. This weight is the weight we all carry, regardless of our physical appearance. It is the weight that becomes a burden that we come to be dependent upon. It is that heaviness that we don’t want, but no change in diet or physical exercise is going to remove it.

It is the weight of information. and we are all subject to that these days. One time stored in encyclopedias, reported in newspapers and magazines and complied in text books – the information for those of us who have access to the Internet seems nearly infinite. Mistaking that for knowledge is another thing. The nearly infinite source does not have a definitive declaration of the truth, but only the versions of the truth we come to find there.

I love the Tom Waits picture below. It is pretty profound. It is the weight of the things in our lives. Here in America we collect things to make us more important. From what I can tell is that way in many other places around the world too. The more we have (information, possessions, money,friends, etc) the more we think we will be happy. Abundance can sometimes seem to translate to safer life, or a better life. But hopefully that is understood. It is not going to ever be enough. And as the adage says “you can’t take it with you”.

Kids, my advice is to understand where you are, and know how you should see it? There is more.

DO you have the weight of the world carting around on your soul? Of have you found that there is much more than that?