A Journey from Surviving to Thriving

As I sit down to draft this post, trusting God for inspiration on what to write, I sense the Lord saying, "Don, write from your heart, not your head." That was a new one for me and I’m still not exactly sure what God means by all that.  But I believe He is telling me to simply write about something I’m feeling in my heart as I travel this pathway from surviving to thriving—though I do sense Him cautioning me against my usual (engineering-like) lists of bulleted ideas and Scripture verses.   After pondering this thought for a bit, the word “Hope” clearly came to mind.  So the purpose of this post is simply to share how Hope resonates in my heart and to describe how it gives me the confidence to keep going and even put a bounce into my steps.  Well, that last statement is a bit rhetorical in that I take fewer steps these days, but you know what I mean.  This simply encourages and excites me to trust Jesus even more.   WHAT IS HOPE? Some people might knock on wood or cross

I confess there are times when I almost tell myself, “This is just too tough to handle,” and want to give up.  But immediately a thought from 2 Corinthians 4:16 crashes into my brain, “Therefore, we do not give up,” and I sense a new pump of adrenaline keeping me going.  Is “perseverance” a gift from God?  I’m not certain, but it definitely seems that at the right times God gives us what we need to persevere in running the journey—not out of our own strength, but out of His.  The purpose of this post is to ruminate on the thought of perseverance and discuss how this helps us thrive.  Maybe “ruminate” is a new word for you.  I remember my dad talking to me about chewing on God’s Word and using the cows on our farm as an example.  You see, cows eat grass, then typically lie down and continue chewing their slightly chewed and swallowed cud.  (Cud is the portion of food returned from a cow’s first stomach to her mouth to be chewed for the second time).  Cows have four stomachs.  Their cud

I'm finding that God often meets my deepest needs primarily through three different avenues—through His Word, through friends and family, and through music.   I’ve discussed at length in previous posts the blessings and value of constantly being “wrapped” in God’s Word (Psalm 119:114 TPT). I’ve also discussed how God is using the friendship and support of family and friends to keep me going. On occasion, I’ve included a song in a post that was encouraging me, but without expressing just how meaningful that particular song was to me.   Hence, the purpose of this post is to identify and enjoy again some of these songs that have been encouraging me and drawing me closer to the heart of God. Actually, this could be more for my benefit than yours. But I welcome you to join with me in this delightful journey, as you wish. I realize that everyone’s choice of songs differs. I am simply identifying a few songs that have been especially encouraging to me during the last several years. Some