10 things…

Your top ten may look drastically different than mine, but here goes…

10) Cherish Life!

 “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” 
― Helen Keller, The Open Door

That’s right don’t take a minute of this life for granted, no matter how mundane or boring it can sometimes get.  Today, for example, the outdoor temperature is currently -15 below zero with a windchill of -40 below…so you can imagine we are not doing much outside today.  Regardless if life is entertaining or not, cherish this gift, this spark of life that we have all be given!  

9) Perspective.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” 
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

We don’t (or shouldn’t) live life in a box.  Meaning that life and the living of it is so much broader than our own interpretation of life.  So it’s important to understand our interpretation of life as well as other people’s perspective on this vital subject.  If we only view life from our perspective then we fail to view humanity as a whole.  It may sound rather philosophical but if we are to truly appreciate this gift of life and to cherish it, we ought to understand more than just our little box of living.  Stepping back, viewing the world from someone else’ perspective might help us to better appreciate what we have in life.  What this “stepping back” will also do is help us to see other people as well.  When we can begin to see other people besides our own wants and needs, we can begin to see God’s handiwork through humanity and creation.  

8) Fun & Laughter

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.” 
― Audrey Hepburn

If we fail to laugh, we fail to live.  I want to and try to find humor in this life.  I don’t want to take myself so seriously that I can’t laugh at my mistakes and my failures.  Laughter and fun heals a lot of issues in life, and I want to make the most of living.  They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile…so I try to smile often.  

7) Healthy Living

A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul; a sick body is a prison. ~Francis Bacon

By now you might begin to think that I’m all about living…and you’d be right.  Why create more pain and issues down the road by NOT living a healthy lifestyle?  Confession time:  I’m not as health conscience as I should be…but I know what I need to do to get there.  I need to eat better and perhaps enjoy smaller portions.  I’m not feeling guilty!  Perhaps I should also stop staring at the elliptical machine and get on it more often.  I want  no I desire to live a healthy life…and eating right as well as exercise will help me.

6) Education

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

As a person who desire to know more about life as well as the One who created this life, it is my desire to read more about Him. There are many good writers out there who have many wonderful perspectives that would not only edify my life but others as well.  In life education never ends.  Education helps us grow as people.  Education cultivates a broader understanding of the spiritual and physical world around us.  My desire is to only stop reading and applying what I’ve learned on my deathbed.  

5) Write about what I know!

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” 
― Ernest Hemingway

Here is where some lists may vary.  I would probably explode if I didn’t write.   When I have gathered inspiration and caught a hint of a spark from the writings of others I just have to share it.  When I write, my world seems clearer and the page becomes my very breath.  Thus, it becomes quite important to share with the world what other words of inspiration have taught me.  

4) Fellowship of Believers

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” 
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

I have been renewed and re-tuned by times of genuine fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ!  I crave it’s support in this life and I desire to grow more deeply in its waters as life progresses forward.  I could delve into what is and isn’t genuine Christian fellowship, but perhaps that is for another time.  Long story short, if you find friends and peers who encourage you and push you further in the faith with love and care, then you too are/have experience(ing) genuine Christian fellowship!  

3) Family

“Family is saying to one another “let’s go another mile together” even if the last was unbearable and painful…family is forever mile after mile.”  -SES

I wouldn’t be where I am without family beside me.  My parents and sister encouraging me, fighting with me and loving me.  My extended family who love me in the best of time and the worst of times.  The love that I feel as I converse with my children within my immediate family now, and the love of my spouse who challenges me to be better than I am right now.  Family, my dear friends is vital to me.  It makes life so much more worth living.  Another aspect of having children is that I now have this important responsibility to teach them how to live appropriately.  They are little mini-me’s walking around looking to me to set a good example of godly living.  Sometimes I fail and sometimes I succeed…all the time I need God’s guidance and wisdom to help me.  Sometimes…family is life.  

2) My Wife

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” 
― Dr. Seuss

Some might say, “What?  You didn’t put her at the #1 spot in your life?”  She knows how important she is to me…at least I hope she does!  My relationship with my Love is one of a kind and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  She is my other half, my friend and my compass.  To say more, might get me in trouble.  

1) My relationship with Christ.

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” 
― Augustine of Hippo

Whether it’s meditating on His words in Scripture or talking with Him through out my day, this relationship has to take the number #1 spot.  But don’t get me wrong, in every other listed thing of importance in my life Christ is invited in.  These things that I list here are nothing without Him in it.  Every moment of every day should be immersed in Him.  I too must confess it is not always so…sometimes it is far from so, but this is my desire!  My relationship with Christ is life, it means life to those who seek after Him, and it means life even after these final breaths on this side of the veil!  

 

What does your top ten look like?