Centered Life

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I want to have input that is going to bring life. Input that is going to be encouraging. I want to have council that is going to help me grow and to become larger in life. Fulfilling my destiny — my purpose for existence.

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Someone who is blessed – Someone who is centered – Someone who is living a life that everyone else wants to live.

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Compromise is one of those things that we live by, deal with, participate in, but we never have value for — because something always has to give.

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I believe as we approach the presence of God, we will find purpose, order and peace — a true centered life.

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Everybody wants to have their life in order — everybody has this eternity in their hearts that drives them…

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Passion is missing in most people’s lives, and especially their expression of hope for the future.

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we have this desire to fulfill a need for significance

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Excerpt from today’s audio post:

“…always dissatisfied with where I am at. It seems like the explanations are not clear enough, not deep enough, not organized enough for me to hold on to or build my life on.” – Jeff Collene

How is your stress level? Overbearing? Maintaining? Or all under control? (Yea, right!)

Sometimes we feel like we’re at the end of our rope and it’s frayed. Life piles up. Efforts appear fruitless. The world is in opposition and our closest friends seem oblivious. It seems that many are drawing strength from us even though we’ve felt empty for some time!

Well. Does this describe your occasional bout with the pressures of life or your daily routine?

A recent personal example; I graded out a few acres of land and sowed hundreds of dollars worth of seed. Immediately following this effort we had one of the hardest rains in months. So much effort washed away. I now see new grass growing in the ditch, in the driveway and other unintended areas. Wow, what a colossal waste of time and money. Conventional wisdom says, forget it, just give up and let the weeds take over. My checkbook creeks at the waste. My family and friends probably wonder what evil lurks in the closet of my life. My mind reels with its own questions. Stress! And this example is really peanuts compared to my growing list of family and friends that suffer from life threatening illnesses and work and family pressures.

What is the right response? “Centered Life” keeps the big picture in focus. Keeping the main thing the main thing. I cannot allow disappointments and pressures to alter my values. If my values are diminished, so am I.

So, why do we abhor the very pressure that we need to improve? Why do we resist the needed repetitions to build our strength? Why do we constantly pursue the escape hatch of temporary relief with entertainment, sleep, deceptive and selfish relationships, or life altering drugs or alcohol?

We forget! We forget or we have never really known. We lose sight of our humanity and our destiny. We allow our values to be ignored or altered for a temporary pleasure, a fleeting feeling, a false comfort. When we forget who we are then we can forget what we believe. Ultimately, “I do what I believe.” Therefore, I must come to believe that which will allow me to manage the stresses of life so that the results are my ultimate benefit. I must define a value system that honors life and the source of life. Values that move me to do what is best, what is “right.”

An old prophet was given a simple maxim for life,

“I have told thee, oh man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:8

jc

Life is a constant juggling of demands, defined priorities, pressing crisis, current desires and future hopes. We find ourselves chasing the “best” and settling for the “mediocre.” Our frustration leads us to believe that we cannot find balance and success with the current process of living.

I suggest that we need to settle into the path of trust and obedience to find true balance. The internal conflicts of reality and integrity tear at our peace. The external pressures of the “mob” and “conventional wisdom” direct us down paths of greater conflict.

Following the global recognition and Christian celebration of the “hinge” of history; the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we should reconsider our direction and purpose and reestablish our path in light of this reality!

The “Centered Life” of balance is found only on the fulcrum of truth, resting on the hinge of history, the One who was dead and now look, He is alive forever more! Begin the adventure, follow Him.

jc