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I'm reading a great book right now called
"David - A Man of Passion and Destiny" .... I was named after King David so I figured I should read more about him and this book by
Charles Swindoll is awesome!
One of the things that I read today was that David tried to live his life with
"nothing to prove and nothing to lose." I think that's a good message for us as well. It's so easy to get wrapped up in this desire to prove ourself. I think it's really a death trap because if that desire consumes us we will never be able to focus on doing the things we were meant to do.
In skimming ahead in the book I also came across David's three major failures and it was eye opening because these are all areas of my life that I struggle with.
- "He become so involved with public pursuits that he lost control of his family." Of course I don't have a family (yet) but I have at times felt like I've lost my life because of my pursuits and I know how geared I am to pursue these ventures and so this was a good reminder to keep my priorities straight.
- "He indulged himself in extravagent extremes of passion. Whatever he did he did it with all of his heart" This is me to a T. Since I was very little I was an "All-In" sorta kid. Whether it was soccer, magic, paintball, girlfriends, ninjitsu I was 100% into something. My life has never had "balance" and I actually don't seek balance the way most people would define it...but I do understand the importance of having dimensions to ones life that blend together simultaneously.
- "He became a victim of self sufficiency and pride" Yup - me again. Probably the most baffling thing in my life is how cyclical it is and although I feel like I'm making progress I still find myself making the same mistakes I did years ago. I remember talking with my friend Dane Sanders years ago about how great it would be to get to the place where we didn't have to think about the decisions we were making because our gut decisions would be the right ones. Maybe someday I'll get there but until then I need help and reminders of who I am, where I've been, and what I'm about and so I'm always thankful for books, my family and friends and most of all God for continually reminding me of that.
Ok... wow...that's a long one.
:)
DJ