I will also pray for Jack to have the strength and a successful surgery tomorrow.. 

Rick Warren (REMEMBER, HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ's likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,' which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Stardust:Amen.

Stardust: Thank you!

I WANT TO TY YOU TO THOSE WHOM ARE PRAYING FOR MY BROTHER... HIS SURGERY IS JULY 29 AND IT WILL GO BETWEEN 10-12 HOURS LONG... HIM BEING ON BLOOD THINNERS I PRAY HE WILL BE OK...
GOD BLESS YOU TO THE ONES WHO ARE PRAYING....

Three Bullets

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an old rifle and three bullets.
So, he decided that he would go out hunting and kill some wild game for dinner. As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit. He shot at the rabbit and missed it. The rabbit ran away.
Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel and missed it. The squirrel disappeared into a hole in a cottonwood tree.
As he went further, he saw a large wild 'tom' turkey in the tree, but he had only one bullet remaining. A voice spoke to him and said, 'Pray first, aim high and stay focused'.
However, at the same time, he saw a deer which was a better kill. He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a rattlesnake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought the gun down further to shoot the rattlesnake.
Still, the voice said to him, 'I said 'Pray, Aim high and Stay focused.' So, the man decided to listen to God's voice.
He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree and shot the wild turkey. The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer. The handle fell off the gun and hit the snake in the head and killed it. And, when the gun had gone off, it knocked him into a pond. When he stood up to look around, he had fish in all his pockets, a dead deer and a turkey to eat for his family.
The snake (Satan) was dead simply because the man listened to God.

Moral of the story:
Pray first before you do anything, aim high in your goals.
Stay focused on God.
Never let others discourage you concerning your past. The past is exactly that, 'the past.'
Live every day one day at a time and remember that only God knows our future and that He will not put you through any more than you can bear.
Do not look to man for your blessings, but look to the doors that only God has prepared in advance for you in your favor.
Wait, be still and patient: keep God first and everything else will follow.

FROM ONE FRIEND TO ANOTHER...
Don't worry about tomorrow, God is already there!!!

' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you,but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence.....
'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. '

I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE PRAYED FOR MY BROTHER LARRY.. SURGERY WENT WELL I GUESS.. HIS FRIEND IS THERE IN OHIO AND TELLS ME THIS.. GOT ANOTHER CALL THIS AM.. HIS INTAKE OF FLUIDS RIGHT NOW ISNT GOOD BUT THEY ARE PUSHING THEM IN...
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO VERY MUCH ON YOUR PRAYERS...
I PRAY THAT GOD AND JESUS WILL ALWAYS BE WITH THOSE WHO HAVE PRAYED... DONT GIVE UP YET THO.. HE ISNT OUT OF THE WOODS YET... BUT HE IS AWAKE....
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
HUGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

SANDALS: Glad to hear that the surgery went well...now we can pray for a speedy recovery!

AGAIN AND AGAIN I CANT THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS FOR MY BROTHER.. HE SEEMS TO BE DOING OK THANX TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR HIM....
TY TY SO VERY MUCH

SANDALS: That is a wonderful report! Praise the Lord!!

SANDALS:
so very sorry to hear about your brother and I pray that he is ok

Please pray for my mom to have a good recovery..She will be 87 in Oct, she fell Friday and broke her arm and had surgery mondayand now has to go to rehab

I GUESS NOW HE HAS THE INFECTION CALLED MRSV BAD INFECTION I GUESS... IT COULD GO INTO VRE WHICH IM TOLD BY A GOOD SOURCE THAT IS VERY VERY BAD...SO AGAIN COULD YOU KEEP YOUR PRAYERS GOING A BIT LONGER?
TY TY SO MUCH

Marylr: Your Mum is in my prayers and thoughts, I hope she recovers real soon

SANDALS: Your brother is in my thoughts and prayers, I hope he recovers soon, i have followed his progress here, he certainly having a rough time as i know you and the rest of your family are.

IM SORRY THE INFECTION IS CALLED MARSA... I HAD IT WRONG VERY DANGEROUS... TY TY AGAIN

Summer Flame:
thank you so much..she also has a broken pelvis

SANDALS:
it is very dangerous because it is resistent to most antibiotics I pray Larry gets well soon

My thoughts and prayers are with Larry and also Mary's mom!!

Dolittle:
Thank you so much Do that is so nice of you..she needs all the prayers right now

I thought I was doing very well. My back is doing very well without the surgery. Now they are working on my neck. They stretch it and is very painful. I am praying each day that I can recover from all this with God's help. Last Sunday I fell. So happy nothing broke. As I was getting up, somehow I broke my little toe. So trying to get over that. Just a little update on that. We are waiting for Fay to hit tomorrow. We are pretty well prepared.. Right now it sounds like it will go into a hurricane. Just have to ride it out and see what happens.. Please keep all in Fay's path in your prayers. Thanks... BARB

Bubbles Pbarb2: Good to hear from you and you are in my thoughts and prayers. I am surely praying for all those in the path of Fay. May God keep you all safe!!!

Bubbles Pbarb2: you are in my prayers to get well soon and also to be safe during Faye

Please pray for my friend Eric that was just diagnosed with a brain tumor!

Dolittle:
So sorry to hear about your friend Eric..I will certainly pray for him

Marylr: Thank you so much....knew I could depend on you. Eric will appreciate your prayers!

Dolittle:
No problem Dolittle Glad to pray for him I sure hope they help

Thanks for the prayers you have said for me ..They are greatly appreciated..

Bubbles Pbarb2:
you are so very welcome

Snoopy: my deepest sympathies go out to your friend who is in my thoughts and prayers.

Snoopy:
Snoopy so sorry about your friend's loss my thoughts and prayers are with him

Snoopy: My prayers are with your friend. I pray God will give him comfort and strength to make it through these sad days.

I'd like to report that the doctors did all kinds of tests on my friend Eric and have decided to wait 6 months and check him again. That is a good thing and I thank those that prayed for him!

Dolittle:
That is great news about Eric..will continue praying for him

Dolittle: That is good to hear. I will continue to keep him and his wife in my prayers!

Snoopy: my condolences to your friend. May he find strength at this sad time to continue on....

Please pray for all the folks in the path of Ike!!

Tuesday: yeah, you two hanker down..you're in for some weather up your way from this system..it's HUGE..stay safe everyone!

Tuesday: I'm in Spring, TX . They eye is right now projected to go right over our house ..but we are ready....

Tuesday: probably not, but it made me laugh!
We probably won't sleep in our beds tonight, but everyone has clean sheets..I have so much energy I've cleaned the place from top to bottom and done all the laundry!

Tuesday: I always thought that was the silliest thing..if you are in a serious accident, wouldn't the first thing that happens would be that you'd mess your clean panties?

baddessi:

yup- but I bet they were clean ones too!