Monthly Archives: October 2017

DIY-Life

 

It seems that DIY (Do It Yourself) is a big thing these days. Some examples I have seen are working and others, perhaps not. I enjoyed a video made of a young woman who had escaped a cubical desk job as a photoshop editor. She bought a camper-trailer and took her photography and photoshop skills on the road. Her travels take her all over the USA, and she seems to be complete and doing what she loves to do! she has less money and has no personal bathroom or kitchen, but she has the great outdoors. It might not be appealing to everyone, but for this DIY’er life is good!

The question that begs to be asked. DIY-Happy or Normal-boring? Sounds like an easy choice, but what risk is involved? Whom does this involve besides me? If it does not go well, do I have the time and intensity to recover?

Many people are struggling with what I call direction. They ask, “What should I do?” I think that is really the wrong question, however. I think the question most people should be asking is, “Who am I?” Discovering your own identity is the starting point. When you know who you really are, then understanding what you should do is much easier to discover.

I think the question most people should be asking is, “Who am I?”

Are you a DIY-Life kind of person, or not? Are you a business-minded person, a risk-taker, an adventure seeker? Are you full of ideas, energy, and determination? Are you willing to put your faith in you? I promise you, if you do not believe in you, no one else will either! On the other hand, if you always play it safe, like always being consistent and resisting change, the DIY-Life may not be for you. Knowing who you are is the prerequisite to knowing what to do.

If you were made to be a Lincoln Touring Car, you should not go to work for a High Country Hunting Expedition. That might be fun for a little while, but it is going to tear you up in no time at all! You are not a Jeep; you are a Lincoln! What you do needs to match with who you are. When that happens, you will find life very fulfilling!

There is a little book in the glove box that can help you! It is called the manufacturer’s handbook. It will tell you exactly who you are and what you were built to do! So nice!

Oops! You are not a car; you are a human! The good news is that we have one of those books, too! Your manufacturer took the time to write one just for you!

You were fearfully and wonderfully made! You were made in the image of God! Man plans his ways, but God directs his steps. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things you have need of knowing. There is a lot more good stuff about you in the Bible! It even tells you how to DIY with God’s really awesome YouTube Channel (Holy Spirit) showing you the way.

2 Corinthians 5:17 If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.

Do It Yourself but only after you are in Christ!

The top shelf discovery you can make is this: Knowing Who you are in Christ Jesus!

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org

Choices

 

We make them all day long in a million situations, so why are some choices so easy and some so hard? Complexity, weightiness, timing, cost, opinions, repercussions, collateral damage, so many factors can be in play. So how can we do this well?

The choices we make today shape the direction our lives take tomorrow.

Choices, big or small. We always want to make the correct call, right?

There are tons of factors and influencing voices involved in decision-making. All in all, they are still our choices to make. I remember a trip to Russia the summer after the wall came down. I was shocked at the almost total inability of the people there to make even the smallest decisions on their own. Seventy years of being told every single thing to do and never having the freedom to make their own choices had very obvious effects upon the people. They were very well versed in history, art, and science. All seemed to have some level of education in these areas, but in what we call common sense or decision-making, they were stifled or undeveloped. Today I see this same thing in overprotected children that never are allowed or encouraged to make their own choices. Today in the USA we have college-aged kids who do not possess the power of making good choices on their own. Like the Russians in the first years of freedom, these students are being exploited because of this inability to make wise choices. They soon have overwhelming student loans and credit card debt looming over their heads and hopelessness gripping their lives. They are not being prepared to make decisions at home or school. We have so many immigrants coming into our country who take the base level jobs. Our kids used to hold those jobs that developed their work ethic and decision-making skills.

Not that immigrants are bad, I am just saying that things are different today compared to even a decade ago. Therefore, we must work to train our children and ourselves how to make better and wiser choices. Decisions are not only in the daily things of life but also in spiritual things as well! Four decades ago most kids knew how to milk a cow. Today, most kids do not know that milk comes from a cow! They are afraid of it if it’s not “organic,” even though they have no idea what that means! We fill them with fear, not wisdom, or experience. Someone might respond, “Well, they all have the internet!” That may be a big part of the problem. If the internet was actually the infallible word of all wisdom that might work, but it leads them to a million and one bad choices while they are looking for the right choice! This brings me back to those spiritual things!

Most generations of Americans were raised with an understanding of one absolute authority that would never fail them. There is one real infallible truth that built our country’s base moral fiber and held us in a common unity up until the last few decades of American history. That truth was inscribed on the walls of our justice system and the halls of our Congress. It was written into our establishing documents and ratified with the blood of the brave men and women before us. The Truth! The Word of God! The Bible! The present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit! This is the ultimate standard by which wisdom is gained.

The Word of God is the one true source of how to live, love, invest, treat people, and win in life by making great choices. It’s your choice! What will you use to help you make the next choice? The internet or The Truth?

Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; …… Your call! Today it is your choice! Your kids are watching! You also influence others; they are watching, too.

I am not trying to be condemning, I am trying to point the way to making great choices in your life and teaching others how to do the same.

Your Choices are so important! They link together and reveal your true heart and integrity. They define your destiny.

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org