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posted by Robert on 01/3/09

I spent some time wandering through a graveyard today. It amazes me how walking through a graveyard can impact a person’s outlook on life.

My great great uncle Arthur Bland passed away on Tuesday and today was the funeral. Since he was a veteran of a foreign war, the burial ceremony was recognized with a three-gun salute, the folding of the flag, and a trumpeter playing the slow and haunting notes of Taps. Emotions welled up inside me and I could hardly keep back the tears.

Afterwards I meandered from tombstone to tombstone, reading the names, pondering the lifespans, and considering the lives of person after person. Each of these people had dreams, goals, and aspirations, just like me. Slowly the things that were really important in life came into focus as being really important. And the things that really weren’t so important didn’t look so important.

Here’s a good thought to keep in mind as I make my happy little New Year’s resolutions, "What am I doing now that is going to matter when my body is lying under a tombstone in a lonely country grave?"

Happy New Year!

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Robert on 01/1/09

As I sit here typing away on my laptop, I can overhear my brother Jonathan up in his room. He’s working diligently on memorizing a verse of Scripture—II Timothy 2:2! This is because several of us have taken on a New Year’s Challenge. From now to January 26th we’re going to be helping each other work toward a common goal: memorizing the entire 2nd chapter of II Timothy—26 verses in 26 days!

The character quality connected to this New Year’s resolution would definitely be Determination: Purposing to accomplish God’s goals in God’s time regardless of the opposition.

The team at livingthejourney.com is encouraging Journey to the Heart alumni along the same lines and they will have a daily word of insight or encouragement from each verse of the chapter. I enjoyed what Chad Paine shared from II Timothy 2:1 this morning.

May God bless each of us with good success as we daily meditate on His Word in the New Year!

2 Comments » | posted in Tidbits