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
Aimless in Sanibel Theme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Wednesday, February 27, 2002
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January/February 200251Aimless in SanibelTheme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Aimless in Sanibel Theme for this Week: Putting Purpose in Your Life Wednesday, February 27
Key Bible Verse: “Why be … concerned about these things? … make the Kingdom of God your … concern” (Matthew 6: 32-33). Bonus Reading:Matt.6: 24-4
Upscale retirees settling into Florida’s gated communities enjoy the American dream come true: no worries and no work.
Following a predictable pattern, Charlie eagerly trots off to the golf course every morning, ends up on the 19th hole for a few drinks, then heads home to scan the Wall Street Journal. At five o’clock, Charlie’s off to a cocktail party thrown by his neighbors either at their home or at the club. After six weeks or so the hosting cycle repeats.
After a cycle or two, the banal cocktail chatter about weather, neighbors, and taxes is hollowing out Charlie’s brain. He finds his enthusiasm for golf waning, and yearns for the old days when he had to read the Journal.
Charlie’s losing interest in books or current events. And he’s drinking too much. He’s easily angered by incompetent plumbers and yard people. When someone’s car door dings his new Mercedes, he gets really depressed. He wakes up at night wondering how many golf games he has left before he dies.
Sadly, I know a lot of Charlies—once vital, productive people who long for a sense of fulfillment that no amount of pleasure provides.
—Charles Colson in How Now Shall We Live?
My Response: I’d like to upgrade my retirement goals from leisure to …
Thought to Apply: The best kept secret today: people would rather work hard for something they believe in than enjoy a life of pampered idleness. —John Gardner
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