Tag Archives: purpose

20,000 Days and Counting [Book Review]

“What can you and I do right now in order to make the most out of the years in front of us? What can we do to accomplish more, to celebrate more, to touch more lives in our remaining years than we have to this point? How can we live our next days to the fullest?”

That is what Robert D. Smith is going after in this book and he is very intentional with his thoughts and actions.

Want to maximize every single day? Here are a three practical steps Smith suggests:

1 – Discover your purpose in life in twenty minutes!
Step 1. Get a blank sheet of paper. Title it, “My Purpose in Life.”

Step 2. Start writing. Right now. Write. Write all you can. Words, phrases, complete sentences. Just write. Don’t stop. Write some more.

Step 3. Repeat step two until you get the answer that makes you either cry or jump up and down with excitement. Condense it into one sentence. This is your purpose.

2 – Give the first hour of your day to the TOP thing you want to accomplish. 
Prioritize your daily list of things to do by what’s most important and rewarding, well before you start.

3 – Become a planner. How do you do this?
Become a process fanatic. Love the activity. List what you have thought about and what you are to become. Your life will take place whether you have a plan or not, so have a plan. Choose one. 

To become a master of time, you must master your mind and have a strategy. This book is a tremendous jump start to living each day with huge purpose. I will certainly come back to this book as reference and inspiration.

—

20,000 Days and Counting
By Robert D. Smith
2013

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson in exchange for this review.

Chasing the Wrong Thing

I put pressure on myself to get married by age 22.

All throughout college, finding a girlfriend and getting married was the goal. That sounds like the plot to another crappy “American Pie” movie, but it’s true. My three-plus year relationship had come to a screeching halt during the dead of winter, sophomore year, and I was crushed.

The two-below-zero temperatures outside felt like 200-below.

I don’t know why age 22 was my target for getting married. Maybe it’s because I had it stuck in my head that that was around that age of my parents when they brought me into the world and I felt internal pressure to “keep pace.” I’m not even certain of their age though, and that makes my “Married by 22″ declaration even more ridiculous.

Now, after the breakup and without a girlfriend, at 21 years old, I was left to search. But I was searching for the wrong thing: another girlfriend to replace the one I had lost.

Psalm 91 is a Psalm about God’s faithfulness. God is our refuge, our fortress, He saves us, and protects us. God is faithful no matter the circumstances, good or bad. He’s there whether you feel like it or not:

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection. The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
-Psalm 91:1-4, 14-16 NLT

God knew I didn’t need another girlfriend. He knew I desired a wife. He also knew that my first love is to be the Lord, a lesson that took me a couple years to acknowledge.

Two years after the breakup, I prayed for God to be my focus and desire. It was a re-commitment of sorts when I put down the video game controller and picked up the Bible. I was praying more regularly and making decisions to honor God with my time, money, and in my relationships with family and friends. By no means was I perfect, but my first love became clear: God.

A short while later, Liz and I met. And in a flash we were married. Not because we had to beat the buzzer on an age limit, but because we realized the faithfulness of God and the work he had done in our lives.

He was faithful.  He simply needed me to be faithful as well.

Everybody’s journey is different as they grow in Christ, but God’s faithfulness is always the same. Thank God for his faithfulness and take comfort in knowing He will always be there for you.

Question: How have you experienced God’s faithfulness throughout your life? Click here to comment.

Remember

There is nothing God can’t do. As Richard from Tommy Boy would say, “He could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves.”

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a shrine for elite baseball players. Only those with an elite career magnitude make it in and are honored with a plaque so that a young son can ask his father, “Tell me about what he did, Dad.”

Or when I played AAU Basketball, our team won its fair share of trophies and medals, each one of them a symbol of what our team accomplished at that specific tournament.  The box full of trophies, medals, and awards currently collect dust in my basement but they are still a reminder to those experiences.

We want to remember the good times and preserve greatness from going grey.  And God wants you to remember the good things he has provided as well. In Joshua chapter 4, we read about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery, through the desert, and into the Promised Land. He delivered on his promise to take them from slavery to freedom.

Because of what he did, God did not ever want the Israelites to forget the magnitude of this promise, the miracles he performed, and what a mighty and powerful God he is:

5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”  -Joshua 4:5-7

Think back for a minute. God has done some amazing and powerful things in your life. He may have performed a miracle or healing or taken you from an addiction and into your own Promised Land.  Take some time today to remember the mighty things that God has done for you.

For me, he restored relationships with my family members, delivered me from binge drinking, has blessed me as a husband and also as a father.  All of these things point to God’s incredible love, grace, power, and promise that I don’t want to forget.  They give me hope, comfort and courage for today.

Praise Him and commit that you will not forget the amazing and wonderful things he has done for you.

Question: What is something God has done for you?  Click here to comment.

Jump!

The story is told of a young boy who liked to jump into the arms of his father. The son would stand at the top of the stairs and leap gleefully into his dad’s secure arms. But, the rule was, the boy was only to jump after he heard his father’s voice inviting him to take flight.

One night, the father changed the game. The boy, anticipating this nightly routine, stood perched at the top of the stairs waiting for the familiar voice of his father. But this time, the father turned off the hall lights and the boy could not see the face of his father or the strong arms that always caught him in mid-flight.

“Jump!” the father shouted.

“I can’t see you,” came the wary reply of the son.

Again, the father gave the usual command, “Jump!” “But I can’t see you,” said the boy with fear rising in his voice. The father’s response was calm and sure. “Jump!” And, with terror in his heart, the boy leaped into the air and landed safely and securely in his father’s arms.

This is a great story illustrating the concepts of faith and trust!

In the story of Peter walking on water, we often the focus on Peter’s lack of faith as he begins to sink. But what if this story really isn’t about lack of faith, but rather what a person can experience if he or she takes the invitation of Jesus seriously?  Check it out:

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “ Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
-Matthew 14:27-29

Peter’s response to Jesus is amazing and bold.  It’s as if he was playing a game of “Truth or Dare.”

Motive aside, we know that Jesus invited Peter to join Him on the water.  As Peter gets out of the boat he learns that Jesus can be trusted as he experiences the impossible.

Today, Jesus invites you to Him.  No matter how dark or hopeless your situation seems, get out of the boat and follow!

Question: What is in the way of stepping out of the boat?  Click here to comment.

Remember Who You Are

My 9th grade basketball coach made it clear to our team: “Ben is the 3-point shooter.”  He designed four specific inbound plays for our team to run when we had to get the ball in from underneath our basket.  All four of these plays worked to get me a 3-point shot and there wasn’t any confusion.  That coach gave me the most clear description for who I was as a player and what role I was to fill on the team.

The Apostle Paul was clear about his identity as well.  There wasn’t much confusion in how Paul saw himself.  No lack of clarity once God had taken a hold of him and told him who he was.

In today’s world, it is easy to be confused about who we are or what we’re to do.  We don’t understand the core of our identity and need to claim who God is and what that means for our life.  Make these statements your own.  Know it, live it!

“I follow Christ.” When the disciples were first called Christians, it was because they were “like Christ.” Their beliefs were worked out in the actions of their lives. They joined Jesus on a journey. Believe that God has called you to this journey as well…to a life-long process of being conformed to His image.

“I’m a regular guy/gal.” Many of us struggle with thinking we are the center of the universe. There’s only one star in the Kingdom of God – and it’s not you or me. His name is Jesus.

“I’m called to make a difference.” Jesus’ plan was to make His love real to people through us, His followers. Be an influence or be influenced.

“I love life.” In light of eternity, we are given a small amount of time on this planet. Jesus said that He has come to give us life to the full. While we’re here, let’s finish the race, fight the good fight, and keep the faith.

“I am not finished, not even close.” Look for God at work and you will see him.Pray for more of Jesus, more of His love, more of His power in your life, more of His nature living in and through you.

Question: What would you add to the list of claiming your identity in Christ? Click here to comment.