Curtis Dahlgren
The latest diet: Desserts can save your life!
By Curtis Dahlgren
"Never look back."—Satchel Paige
"Unless there's a runner on second base."—Curtis Dahlgren
When the clock struck 12 on new year's eve, where was your mind and what were you thinking? Were you thinking about the Californians who lost their homes last year? About tens of thousands of Iranians who lost both their homes and their lives? Or how about the one million Americans who were either buried in landfills or burned in incinerators last year (labeled as "Medical Waste")? I'm talking about the babies who were intentionally killed in their own afterbirth before the fact — "interruption of pregnancy" — "turn out the lights; the party's over!"
Probably not, because a lot of people, while adding to their waistlines, were thinking about nothing more than the latest lottery and "Why not me?" Very, very, few people were thinking about the reason they were born instead of aborted. There's a divine purpose for every human, for every "fetus" in fact, but few are aware of it. In my daily "readings" is this little poem:
Utopians look for differences and "inequities" and then look for scapegoats. Realists know that real progress is only made on a case-by-case, individual basis without alibis or excuses. To boil down what I'm saying to its quintessential parts, let's first dissect the word STRESSED:
Speaking of the lottery, there's a story about a man who prayed every day of his life, "Please, help me win the lottery; please, please, please!" Then one day the sky opened up like a curtain and a trumpet sounded a deafening blast, and a Voice boomed out, "Buy a TICKET!!"
I don't actually advocate THAT, but must admit that there must be a lesson in that joke somewhere there. Too many people start the new year thinking about lottery "megabucks" instead of looking for an organized, logical success program (whether spiritual or general). As I said, the root of the word "desserts" means "clear the table" and it's a cousin to the word "desert" (as in "just deserts").
To get right to the nitty-gritty, the bottom-line question here is, when God "runs the table," are you going to be behind the 8-ball, or maybe a cue-stick in His hand? The late Johnny Cash (?-2003) used to sing, "Because you're mine, I walk the Line." There's no week like the present one to resolve to do so.
When God clears the table, what will you leave behind, anyway? Torn-up lottery tickets? Gold bricks (paving blocks)? Or just an empty dish? The Psalmist said, "I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts!"
If you get the drift, say Amen.
© Curtis Dahlgren
"Never look back."
"Unless there's a runner on second base."
When the clock struck 12 on new year's eve, where was your mind and what were you thinking? Were you thinking about the Californians who lost their homes last year? About tens of thousands of Iranians who lost both their homes and their lives? Or how about the one million Americans who were either buried in landfills or burned in incinerators last year (labeled as "Medical Waste")? I'm talking about the babies who were intentionally killed in their own afterbirth before the fact — "interruption of pregnancy" — "turn out the lights; the party's over!"
Probably not, because a lot of people, while adding to their waistlines, were thinking about nothing more than the latest lottery and "Why not me?" Very, very, few people were thinking about the reason they were born instead of aborted. There's a divine purpose for every human, for every "fetus" in fact, but few are aware of it. In my daily "readings" is this little poem:
-
There are a number of us who creep
Into the world, to eat and sleep,
And know no reason why we're born
Save only to consume the corn,
Devour the cattle flock and fish,
And leave behind an empty dish.
Utopians look for differences and "inequities" and then look for scapegoats. Realists know that real progress is only made on a case-by-case, individual basis without alibis or excuses. To boil down what I'm saying to its quintessential parts, let's first dissect the word STRESSED:
-
S= self-centeredness
T= thanklessness
R= rationalization
E= emotionalism
S= society (pop culture)
S= Satan (2/3 of us believe he exists)
E= envy
D= defeat (and ultimate death)
-
D= dedication (commitment to something Higher than man)
E= enthusiasm (that word means God-in-us)
S= spiritual-mindedness
S= substance-over-symbolism
E= expectations (Faith)
R= responsibility
T= Truth
S= SUCCESS (and ultimate salvation)!
Speaking of the lottery, there's a story about a man who prayed every day of his life, "Please, help me win the lottery; please, please, please!" Then one day the sky opened up like a curtain and a trumpet sounded a deafening blast, and a Voice boomed out, "Buy a TICKET!!"
I don't actually advocate THAT, but must admit that there must be a lesson in that joke somewhere there. Too many people start the new year thinking about lottery "megabucks" instead of looking for an organized, logical success program (whether spiritual or general). As I said, the root of the word "desserts" means "clear the table" and it's a cousin to the word "desert" (as in "just deserts").
To get right to the nitty-gritty, the bottom-line question here is, when God "runs the table," are you going to be behind the 8-ball, or maybe a cue-stick in His hand? The late Johnny Cash (?-2003) used to sing, "Because you're mine, I walk the Line." There's no week like the present one to resolve to do so.
When God clears the table, what will you leave behind, anyway? Torn-up lottery tickets? Gold bricks (paving blocks)? Or just an empty dish? The Psalmist said, "I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts!"
If you get the drift, say Amen.
© Curtis Dahlgren
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
