Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Good vs. Bad


A lot has happened since my last post. Some very good. Some very bad. OK. Not VERY bad, but bad enough.

Let's start with some of the bad and finish with the good.

Life got the best of me. Busyness, fatigue, bad decisions, and general junk. I truly allowed it to take over. No excuses. No whining. Just the facts.

The Good: We have baptized people the last three weeks and have baptisms scheduled for the next several weeks. Very cool! I got to baptize a guy in the hospital. Awesome! Our services have been directed and attended by the Holy Spirit lately in a significant way. My youngest son and I have been riding motorcycles a lot. My daughter is getting smarter, older, and prettier (OK, that one is good and bad for a Dad). My wife is more beautiful and awesome than ever. My oldest son is having a great summer in NC. My dad turned 71 and is in great health.

I could go on for a while.

So what?

My good list is longer than the bad list. I think that's how God wants it to be for us. He never said things would always be great in life but He did say He would help is through the junk. He promises to forgive us when we are stupid and love us through the consequences of our foolishness. And, Bonus, He will even teach us through the junk if we will allow Him.

Check your lists. See how they compare. Make the necessary changes in your life to grow the good list and shrink the bad list. After all, that's what God's Best is all about.

5 comments:

Kim said...

I need to make a list, and check it twice! This is good advice, glad I read the ol' blog!
Kim

Doug said...

Thanks for your comment Kim. Happy list making!

Kelly Mans said...

Ya know it's funny how sometimes people seem to assume that pastors are people who don't have problems and life is just so easy going and never have worries...I love how you let us know that "hey, i'm human too". That reminds me gotta go make some lists of my own!!! Thx..Kelly ;)

Doug said...

Thanks Kelly. We ALL face the same kind of stuff. We just need to learn how God wants us to deal with it and what He wants us to learn from it.

Arla said...

Isn't it amazing how quickly the "bad" list can grow if we do not watch our focus. Satan really has fun with it and distracts us. So much better to focus on Jesus and let His peace and healing help us deal with the bad and get on with all the good that HE wants to bless us with..."what time I am afraid...I WILL trust in HIM!"
Thanks for the reminder and thanks for putting yourself out there to be the example, Arla