This IS the day

For those that don't know we have been having all kind of things going on with the family this year. Don't get me wrong it has been a great holiday and Christmas season but there have been some struggles we have faced that we may not have been able to get through if each of us in the family didn't have one another to lean on. Believe it or not I am going somewhere with this.....

Today I was at church with Haley (Whitney was visiting her mom in the hospital so she was not able to make it) It was the first service of the new year and there was a great energy in the room and a big message on the screens about 2013 and the new year. The sermon that was given today spoke to me and inspired me to write this so I figured I would. I told everyone I would be posting more this year and really have not yet but decided this was the best start to a new year to start posting more often again.

The scripture reading was Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it" Now I am not going to spend any time going over what was said in the sermon because that would not do the Pastor Mack Strange any favors as there is no way I could relay the message with the same passion and meaning that Mack gives in all his sermons but I can say this, most of which came from the sermon. Each of us no matter who we are is given the same 24 hours in our day, we all spend those 24 hours trying to cram WAY more time into those 24 hours then we can. I know I am very guilty of it, I spend all kinds of time working my two jobs, trying to be a family man, and studying for my CISSP test (that I passed by the way) and didn't spend the time as meaningfully as I could have during the holiday season. There is one thing about time, when it is gone it is gone, so that time is away but that does not mean I don't have the rest of today and every new day to make the most of it, to wake up and rejoice in the day that I have been given. Think about that for a minute, don't spend time wondering what you are going to be doing the next day or worry over how much you have to get done and how you are going to get it all done. Just wake up and rejoice in the day you were given and make the most of it, if you don't get everything done or it ended up not being a great day because of work, a fight at home, some bad news, whatever just know that soon that day will be over and tomorrow is a brand new gift.

Here is my challenge to everyone, make the most out of your day, spend your time to the best of your abilities, peal yourself away from the TV or Facebook and do something meaningful with your time. Spend time with the family, go for a walk, call someone you have not talked to in a while, volunteer somewhere, sit and pray with someone that needs it, or even walk up to a total stranger or someone you see running and tell them how awesome they are. You never know what a small thing like that can do for someone and their day.

Over the Christmas time the family (Whitney's idea so I won't take credit) focused on making the time about giving and others. We did things such as giving out cookies to the police and firemen, and both of us kept candy canes in the car with little notes on them that we could hand out to whoever we wanted. You would be amazed at the big smiles and the thank you's I got from something so small, what you do to make an impact on someone does not have to be huge, the smallest things can make the biggest difference. Perhaps the person you give a cookie to has had hard times and has not eaten in a day and a half. Perhaps the runner you see is taking their first run after an event that kept them off the road, perhaps even you are finding someone that is taking the first step towards making a change and is worried about the road to come and that one little "way to go" is just what they needed to hear to know they can do it. You don't have to move mountains with a bulldozer, it can be done one stone at a time.

Anyways just something to think about.