Life is a series of problems

[alicem]

I received the following in an e-mail and was asked to pass it on. I could not think of a better group to share this with than all of you, my Her2 Family.

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD...
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

[lyce]

Thank you for sharing this interview. I have read Rick Warren's book and found it interesting and inspiring. I have always tried to find purposes greater than myself and have a need to examine my own life, as many of us have. Many people are able to find positives as they move through life's greatest trials, even knowing that they aren't able to change the trial or the outcome of that challenge. Guess we see that in many people here. lyce

[Bill]

Thank you, Alice. How inspiring! That's one to read over and over again.

[sassy]

Thank you for sharing.

I especially appreciate the quote:

"That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."

[Believe51]

This was a nice thread and I thank you for passing it along to us. Part of me feels pleased to be able to post in "today's joy" as I am usually going through something trying. If I feel the bad then I am damn well going to feel the good; happy to just feel at all I guess. Alot of this hit home for me, especially the railroad track part.>>Believe51

[alicem]

Marie, you were the first person I thought of when I read this so, of course, I wanted to post it for you.

xoxoxo

[Believe51]

Alice, you are too good to me. Try not to spoil me like my Mother does, you see the damage she did (laughing).>>Believe51

[hutchibk]

Thanks Alice... great read!

Hey - I'm in Austin, too. We need to get together and say hello! Coffee?

[Mary Anne in TX]

Many thanks Alice! ma

[alicem]

That would be great Hutchibk! I sent you a PM with my info. Mary Anne, if you ever make it to Austin, would you care to join us?

[Sheila]

Alice
Thank you for posting that powerful message...you made my day!

[alicem]

Sheila,

I love your picture! I read your quote first and it took me a minute to realize that you were referring to your picture! What a wonderful picture it is, and how happy you look.

Two weeks ago, as I celebrated my birthday, memories of my dad came flooding in. One thing that I will always remember, every year as I came out for breakfast on my birthday he would always ask me . . . "Well, you're another year older, can you run any faster?" Even in my forties, he would still pose that question to me over the phone. How I wish I could hear those words again.

I guess with my cancer, I am choosing to look for blessings hidden in disguise. One of those blessings is my newfound acute awareness that Life is INDEED Short. I keep trying to do ALL of the things that you mentioned. Thank you, for that reminder to me!

I hope this day is a good one for you, and for all the people here.

[suzan w]

what a great quote! thanks for sharing it and giving me another great thought for the day!