Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Think Long Theme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Monday, February 25, 2002
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January/February 200251Think LongTheme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Think Long Theme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Monday, February 25
Key Bible Verse: I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: … to reach the end of the race and receive the prize (Philippians 3:13–14). Bonus Reading:Philippians 3:12–14, 20
When I was a kid, a bunch of us were always playing football in the street. The play of choice for quarterback-of-the-day was simple. Go long. The rest of his team would sprint with arms flailing and legs pumping, and he’d heave the ball as far as he could. Occasionally ball and receiver were in harmony, and we had street-football bliss.
Think long. Think of your life when you’re really old, say 35. Don’t give up your goals and dreams; just stretch out the timeline. Thinking long-term gives you a better shot at achieving them. What qualities do you want to dominate your life at 35? (If you’re already past 35, add 15 or 20 years.) What values will transform you? What character traits do you want to define your life? What do you want your legacy to be? Don’t be shy—aim high!
Benjamin Mays, former president of Morehouse College, put it well: “The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal … [but] in having no goal. … It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but … not to dream.”
What do you want your life characterized by 15 years from now?
—Paul Tokunaga in Faith on the Edge
My Response: I’ll ask God to point me to a customized, life-size goal.
Thought to Apply: Before you score, you must have a goal. —Source unknown
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