July 2007 Newsletter
Hi All,
Choices. So many choices. How do we know what to choose? If I choose this one I may find out that I wanted the other one. If I decide to go one place and have a miserable time did I make the wrong decision? How will I know if I made the right choice? Maybe I should just ignore it and hope that it goes away. Wait, if I do that I made a choice, a choice to not make a choice. There are just too many choices.
When I was in high school I had to make choices on what activities I wanted to be a part of. My doctor already made some choices for me. He told me that if I continued to play contact sports or throw a ball too much that I could eventually lose the use of my arms. That took out baseball and football. I did not wrestle. I did continue to play basketball, sort of. I was not very good so I spent a lot of time on the bench which was ok considering my motive for playing was to be in good shape at the beginning of the track season. In the long run this was a good choice because my freshman year I broke a 25 year old record for the 400 meter hurdles and I would go on to break my own record several times over the next 4 years. Just out of curiosity I checked my high schools website to see if the records were on there and they are! The record is no longer mine. The last time it was broken was in 2000. I knew it was going to happen and I am glad that it did. Records are made to be broken. I always looked at records as a benchmark to strive for and every time that a record is broken someone has the desire to break it.
In 8th grade I made the choice to go through confirmation, at least that is how I remember it. Maybe it was my parents helping me to get the "desire" to do it. Regardless of how I ended up there I ultimately made a choice to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Choices later in life would draw me away, not completely, but far enough that God was not the focal point of my life. I finally figured out that my choices (not all of them) were not living up to the benchmark that God had set for my life. Those choices had taken away the desire. Then one Friday night in September 2003 God got through and I once again desired to choose God. I finally knew where the benchmark was or so I thought. I prayed and with God's help set some goals. As soon as those goals were broken I found that God would raise the bar and I had a new benchmark to reach. That is how my walk with Him has been going. I like it because I now realize that He really does only give us what we can handle. Now most of my choices are good ones. I slip up just like everyone else does. The difference is that I really try to learn from those slip-ups and that helps me grow even more as a Christian. God has also shown me just how big He really is by using my choices, good and bad, in a variety of ways. Who knew that my experience in restaurants and with computers would come in so handy working in youth ministry? God did. He has had it under control the whole time, even when I felt like life was spinning out of control.
1To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. 2All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. 3Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. 4The LORD works out everything for his own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster. 5The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. 6Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. 7When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. 8Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. 9In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:1-9 NIV)
What ever you choose, choose it with love and give it to God because He is going to make it work out in the end. Verse 9 says that we can make the plans but God guides our steps. If you desire to do what God wants and choose wisely you will break your own records and have a new benchmark to shoot for.
Because of Him ~ Terry
