Forwarded Messages

By Tom Norvell A friend of mine calls them dry times. Dry times are those times in  your life, more specifically in your spiritual life, when there seems  to be a void. A time when all the things you typically do to nourish  your soul seem to have stopped working. Some of you understand the dry  times very well. You have lived through them. You may be  going through  one right now. Maybe you have recently come out of such a time. Here  are a few examples of how a dry time may express itself. You are going through life pretty much like you always have, but one  day things seem different. The sky is not as blue. The breeze is not as  cool. The sunshine is not as bright. The snowfall is not as white.  Rainbows don't provide much of a thrill. And very few things seem to  give your heart much of a thrill. You are doing the same things you have always done. Except now you are  enjoying it less. Very few things seem to excite y...

I suspect there are some weary people reading these words. Some are weary because the weekend was filled with activity. The lawn work had to be done. The kids had baseball games to play. It was hot, so the pool was the best place to be. The meals had to be prepared. The laundry had piled up and had to be done. The house had not been cleaned in weeks. The garage had to be cleaned out. The cars and the dog had to be washed. You have a good life and appreciate all the blessings God has given you, but you are weary. Some are weary because it's Sunday morning and you had to get up and go back to the office (for those in Middle East). You've had your coffee or your juice or your diet drink or your workout to get you going. But, you're dragging. Your schedule for the week includes meetings, discussions, phone calls, and possibly some unexpected travel. You like your job and the people you work with but you are weary.

By Tom Norvell Much of our world is in a constant state of change. However, there are some things that never change: * Sometimes the treatment does not work and the patient does not get better. * Sometimes the prodigal does not come home. * Sometimes the working conditions do not improve. * Sometimes the attitude stays the same. * Sometimes the marriage falls apart.

Lord, help me look ahead. It's time to look ahead. Help me to turn my attention away from the things that have already passed and direct my focus toward the things that are yet to be. I've spent too much time looking back. I have spent too much time dwelling on the things that I cannot change. I have spent too little time on the opportunities that lay ahead.