Fountain of Youth

Ashley's Adopted Grannies

Photo © Paul O’Rear

From the time Ashley and Justin were young, they always had lots of adopted grandparents. The picture above is one of my many favorites of Ashley. It was taken at a Valentine Banquet that the young people at church hosted for the “Golden Agers” each year. The three ladies surrounding Ashley are some of her adopted grannies, whom she absolutely adored.

The List

My friend PamPam Nelson, a dear friend and high school classmate, recently posted to her Facebook status a thought-provoking list of “to do” items that will make anyone’s life more meaningful. I was intrigued as to the source of the list, so I Googled a few of the list items and found several websites with a nearly-identical list of 39 items, including the items from Pam’s Facebook list. I have edited the list in a few places for increased clarity or meaning, and have included relevant sources where appropriate. I want to share the list with you on the eve of this new year. Some of the list items will resonate with you more than others. That’s OK. Pick and choose the ones that mean the most to you, and resolve to incorporate them into your daily journey. I pray God’s richest blessings on you and yours for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

To Save a Life

 

To Save a Life Movie Poster

To Save a Life Movie Poster

Jake Taylor has it all: friends, fame, a basketball scholarship and the hottest girl in school. What could be better?

Enter Roger Dawson. Roger has nothing. No friends. No hope. Nothing but putdowns and getting pushed aside. Things couldn’t get worse … could they?

Jake and Roger were best friends when they were kids. But the politics of high school quickly pulled them apart. Now Roger doesn’t fit in Jake’s — or anyone’s — circle, and he’s had enough. He walks onto campus with a gun in his pocket and pain in his heart and makes a tragic move.

Jake’s last-ditch effort can’t stop Roger, and the sudden tragedy rocks Jake’s world. Something breaks loose inside and sends him questioning everything. Most of all, he can’t shake the question, Could I have saved Roger? In a quest for answers, Jake finds himself looking for the next Roger and reaching out to the geeks, losers and loners. But he quickly finds that crossing class castes threatens everything he’s built his world on. And it could cost him his own friends, his girl, his dreams and even his reputation. Is it worth the price to find the answer to his ultimate question: What do I want my life to be about?

Make Your Life Count

Cemetery on a Crisp October Day with vivid Leaves

© Robert Elias – Fotolia.com

When you are dead and gone, what will your life have counted for? Will the world be a better place because you were here?

One of my biggest fears in life is mediocrity – just sort of drifting through life without ever really accomplishing anything worthwhile. I don’t want to come to the end of my life, look back over all those years, and wonder, “What was that all about?” I want to know that my life counted for something, that I somehow made other people’s lives better. I don’t want to just take up space.

Every one of us has the ability to make our lives count for something. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are, how famous or unknown; it doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you live on, what color your skin is, or whether you are male or female. No one is destined for mediocrity. Your life matters, and you can make other people’s lives better. And the really cool thing is, you have the unique ability to do that in a way that no one else can!

So I challenge you to rise above mediocrity. Make your life count for something. Make the world a better place. Here are four ways you can do just that.

Irish Blessings

(cc) janet farthing - Flickr

(cc) janet farthing - Flickr

I discovered the following Irish Blessings at https://islandireland.com/Pages/folk/sets/bless.html, and thought some of you might enjoy them as well.

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.