Thursday, October 30, 2014

What are you doing with the time you have left?

How are we using the waking hours of our days?

Are we spending time doing something that will last longer than just a few months or years?

Are we investing our hours and talents in something that can outlive us?

Some people drift through life

without pondering deep questions

without wondering about life’s purposes.

It’s easy to get caught up in the here and now: getting to work on time, paying bills, putting money in savings, keeping up with housework and yard work, following our favorite sports teams, and exercising.

And we must do grocery shopping, laundry, meal prep, dishes, and car maintenance.

And we make efforts to raise good kids, and we drive them to soccer games and baseball practices, and maybe we even help coach those teams.

Some of us take Bible studies and volunteer at church and in the community.

And we keep up with friends—Facebook, texting, email, hanging out.

Now, those are good and important things, but living life well is so much more.

Deep down we really want to make a difference. We want to be a blessing, to make a lasting impact that leaves our corner of the world a better place for our family and friends.

We can do that only if we are intentional. And committed. And tenacious.

We must take seriously what Jesus said: “Go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

The Old Testament tells us, “Let each generation tell its children of [God’s] mighty acts; let them proclaim [His] power” (Psalm 145:4).

And of course there’s our theme verse here at SM 101, “Always remember what you’ve seen God do for you and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

You don’t know how much longer you’ll have to write your stories. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have.

Writing stories for families should be on everyone’s bucket list.

We must to give priority to writing our stories because when we do, we’re investing in the eternal for the sake of our families. There’s no better way to spend our time!

Tony Evans says,

“When you invest your time, talent,
and treasure in the eternal,
your investments have a Divine return.”

That’s our goal—that Divine return. We might not live long enough to see the goal fulfilled, but it’s a worthy goal nevertheless: writing a memoir that will have a Divine return in our family members’ lives.

Love the Lord your God with all
your heart
and your soul
and your strength.
Commit wholeheartedly to
these commands that I give you today.
Impress them upon your children.
Talk about them when you’re at home
and when you’re traveling,
when you’re lying down and when you’re getting up.
Tie them as reminders on your hands
and bind them to your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates—so that
you and your children may flourish.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9, Deuteronomy 11:18-20

You are part of a story much bigger than yourself, and God has entrusted you with stories only you can write.

Don’t drift through life.

Writing your memoir will require you to ponder deep questions,

examine God and His Word,


grapple with God’s purposes for your life,

and recognize, maybe for the first time, just how involved God has been—sometimes in miraculous ways, but mostly in everyday ways.


Writing your memoir, and what you uncover in the process, will be among the richest experiences of your life. It can fortify your faith. Writing your memoir is one way to honor God and it will shower blessings upon your readers. It’s a win-win situation!

Brooke Warner observed that “… before a memoir can become a memoir, it’s a seed of an idea—planted into the writer who is available and ready.”

Are you available? Are you ready?

Write your stories!





4 comments:

  1. Such a great post Linda. I admit I haven't done much about writing my personal memoirs now for quite some time. This last year has flown by and I have been so very busy with the daily task of looking after my health and caregiving for family. The year previous was even more difficult in terms of making real gains. But I have the odd post on my blog which I can use for inclusion (after rewrites). I need to try to carve out time in 2015 for picking up where I left off. Blessings.

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    1. Always wonderful to hear from you, Penny. Yes, your blog posts are a source of stories. Go for it! Old emails and letters have important information that you might want to consider, too. Bless you as you minister in so many ways, Penny!

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  2. Hello Linda! You write on! Thanks for this inspirational read about writing! It's so hard to make time for it, isn't it? So easy to let just about ANYTHING else get in the way. You're reminding me that I need to pursue excellence and get to that blog post awaiting me! :-)

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    1. Hi, Betsy, your blog posts are always inspirational and informative. Bless you as you minister through not only your writing but your many other activities there in your part of the world, as well. Many of your blog posts could be used in the future for memoir material. Bless you!

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