“If before choosing a course of action; you look around, look within, look ahead and look up, you will make much better choices and achieve much greater results.”

This is another short excerpt from The Samson Syndrome. It’s a very challenging thought on many levels.  It speaks to the element of patience which I’ve already talked about a couple of times here on my blog, and I’m still working on that.  It also speaks to the issue of integrity, looking around and looking within before you choose a particular course of action.  But most importantly, it speaks to the issue of spiritual character. When you “look up” before you choose your course of action, you then make the decision to continue on or choose a different course based on what you’ve seen in God. “Looking up“ is about acknowledging the beauty of God and making your decisions based on what you’ve seen. It’s the author’s contention, and mine as well, that if we look up and truly see the beauty and heart of God, it will or should change our course of action for the better.

Challenging thoughts for those of us who follow Christ:  Look around, look within, look ahead and LOOK UP!

You got to give this guy some credit I guess, at least he got back up and tried to continue on with his gig.  Although he does look a little dazed… 

A mile long processional of vehicles. Over 900 people in attendance. This was the scene I was engulfed in today when attending the memorial service of Scott Kemp.  Scott was an ordinary man, a devoted follower of Christ, but most of all he was a man who left an amazing legacy behind. As I listened to the different people talk about Scott from the stage, the overarching theme they spoke of was the fact that he lived his life with no regrets. He spent over 30 years of his life committed to one church family, and it’s not the kind of commitment that some would confuse with codependency; he served, he lead, he counseled, and he loved thousands of people over the course of those 30 years.  He left an incredible legacy.

Scott’s passing was highly unexpected to all of us.  But, even with such an unexpected passing, we couldn’t help but focus on the way he LIVED his life and not the way he passed into the next.  Scott was incredible man, and I am blessed to have known him.  I can only hope that I will live the kind of life that he did.  A life of honor, commitment, true devotion to Christ, love for his family and the people he encountered on a daily basis.  That’s the kind of man I want to be - I want to be remembered for how I lived my life, for my dedication to my family, and my commitment to my Lord.

Just trying to keep some things in perspective.  : )