What if Life is a Song?: Composing the Melody of Our Divine Purpose
If we take time to relax and listen, we will bring ourselves into harmony with God.
I was riding down the road this morning listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer and he made a wonderful observation about living life to the fullest. He said, “Don’t die with your music still in you.”
What a wonderful admonition. As I pondered this, I began thinking about how our life is like a song, and how important it is that the music of our lives is in harmony with the will of God.
Here are 5 Ways to Compose the Music of a Fulfilling Life:
1. Be in Tune
I’m a novice guitar player, but at the young age of 12 I quickly learned that it didn’t matter how well I played the instrument if it was out of tune. The same is true with us. Our natural gifts and abilities cannot be fully utilized if we are not in tune with the Source from which those gifts emanate. One of the most wonderful blessings of this life is that we have the ability to do spiritual ‘tuning’. We can tweak the keys of our spiritual instruments and bring them into harmony with the Almighty. He has even provided a spiritual tuning fork in the form of the Holy Spirit that makes it clear to us when we are off key and require adjustment. Just as the concert musician tunes the instrument before a performance, so too is being in tune with God the most fundamental step one can take toward living a fulfilling life.
2. Choose the right instrument
We all have natural strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of how hard I tried, I could never learn to play the flute on a professional level. I’m a bulky, large framed guy and I’m simply to dang awkward to play an instrument that requires such finesse. If I wanted to become a concert musician I would need to find and instrument that was more compatible with my natural abilities like a stand-up bass, or even a tuba….heaven forbid! It’s easy to look out at others, see their success, and attempt to emulate them. However, this is not necessarily God’s plan. Imagine a symphony orchestra with only flutists…that doesn’t sound too appealing. It's the congruency of all of the instruments in the orchestra that creates the moving influence on the listener. Let’s make the effort to insure we are wielding the instrument God intends us to play.
3. Don’t try to Play Solo
God does not intend you to be a solo artist. If you feel otherwise, take a moment to consider what we take with us when we leave this life. We come in with nothing and we leave with nothing….no-thing. We leave our ‘stuff’ and our accomplishments behind. All we can take with us is what we have learned and the relationships that we’ve established. In fact, it’s been my experience that the greatest blessings of this life occur when they are shared with others. Center stage is over-rated. Regardless of our talent and ambition, let’s make sure to share the best things this life has to offer with others.
4. Practice until your Spiritual Fingers bleed
I remember when I first began playing guitar how incredibly sore my fingers were. I can still remember the pain in my left hand as I forced myself to pick up the guitar and continue to practice despite the fact that my finger tips were on fire. Spiritually, we are the same. It is very difficult to begin to change our lives for the better. Initially, it causes acute pain. But as we continue to pick up our instrument and practice, our spiritual muscles begin to memorize the movements, our emotional fingers adapt and become tougher, and playing the true song of our life becomes second nature. I remember the first time I picked the guitar up and simply played a song without even thinking about it. At that point I knew it had become habit and the long painful practice was paying off. Let’s work to achieve this on a spiritual level; to get to a point where following God is such a part of our nature that we are not able to discern His will from our own.
5. Write you Own Music
The song of your life does not belong on Top 40 radio. Music created for the ‘main stream’ audience is stripped of originality and creativity. The same applies to the song of our lives. Our Heavenly Father would have us compose music that is uniquely our own. In fact, I would say that it’s impossible for two people who are genuinely following God to create the same song. This is how unique and special we are! To live our lives focused on the acceptance of others, or in other words writing a song based on the reactions of the audience, simply strips us of our divine purpose. Digging deep and finding this purpose will ultimately mean finding God, and through this, others will inevitably be touched. "Seek the world and all is lost, seek God and you have the world thrown in", as C.S. Lewis puts it.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all composing a song in this life. To bring our lives into harmony with God is to compose a melody that will bring peace and joy into our life as well as the lives of others.
I’ll have to admit, I’m actually metal head at heart. I’m wondering into what genre of music my life’s song would belong: classical, jazz, classic rock, r and b? How about you?
Please feel free to comment below.
Memoirs of a Christian Entrepreneur: The Thunderstorm Miracle
Several years ago I had an amazing experience on a jobsite that was nothing short of a miracle. I was working with two other guys on an inground pool project during the ‘dog days’ of summer. It was mid afternoon and we were working to complete a portion of the job that would be absolutely destroyed if it rained. But there was no rain in the forecast and we were making good progress....no worries right? At least until we heard a clap of thunder in the distance.
If you know anything about concrete work you know perfectly well what that sound does to your blood pressure in situations like this. I immediately stopped what I was doing and looked up to discover the other two guys glaring at me with that ‘deer in the headlights' look. Within 5 minutes the storm was right on top of us, the thunder was so loud it was rattling the windows, and the rain was starting to fall.
Now let me tell you a little bit about the two guys I was working with. One was a great friend whom I attend church with. We relished the idea of working together because, if you work construction at all, you know that many of the guys in that field aren’t exactly uplifting to work around. The other guy pretty much fell into that category. He was a great dude, but not exactly on the straight and narrow (I ain’t judging, I’m just sayin’).
So the rain is really starting to come down and I started barking orders to get everything covered up. We all scrambled to preserve what had taken us three days to accomplish when the bottom just fell out. It was a torrential downpour. At that point I don’t know what went through my mind but I just looked at the guys and said “Stop! We’re going to pray.”
So here we are, three guys standing in a downpour with lightning touching down all around us while our work is on the verge of utter ruin and we decide we’re going to pray. Probably not the first thing that comes to mind....huh? That's what the one guy was thinking because he looked at me and said “What! You’ve got to be freaking crazy!” We rather enthusiastically encourage him to stand in and he reluctantly walked over shaking his head in disgust, but he did join us.
By the time we finished the prayer the rain had stopped and within 30 seconds the clouds had parted and the sun was shining. The job was fine. I kid you not!
What do you think was going though the guys mind?
I can tell you exactly what was going through his mind because he shared it with us.
He said that it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his life. That it was an absolute miracle and any doubts he had about the reality of God were resolved because he had seen His work first hand. Talk about a wake-up call!
Why am I writing this?
The short answer is to bring glory to God. The long answer is because I believe that Christian Business Owners have a unique opportunity to bless the lives of others and to accomplish God’s work. I consider this experience sacred because, along with many other experiences, it has helped sure the foundation of my faith. But it is only one small example of the miracles that can occur and the impact that we can have on people’s lives if we are willing to exercise our faith within the parameters of our businesses. I’m not talking about preaching it; I’m talking about living it. No, we’re not perfect and yes, we all screw up. But that’s not the point. The point is that every day we have chances to exercise our faith. Whether it’s during a rainstorm on a jobsite, on a difficult phone call with a client, or in making key strategic decisions for the future of our business, God wants to be involved. He will work miracles that will bless our lives as well as those around us.
What awesome experiences have you had in your life or in your business?
Who’s Your Head Coach in the Game of Life?
Yep, we've got it all figured out!
Have you ever had a phenomenal coach? You know, the type that you never forget; that inspired you to do more than you thought possible and taught lessons you remember to this day? What made them great? I’ve been blessed to have many wonderful coaches and they all had the same things in common: they cared, they were great teachers, and they set high expectations. So if life is a big game, who’s your head coach?
Who better to coach us through life than Jesus Christ?
The best coaches are the most dedicated. They spend hours upon hours in preparation for the team; pouring over books and film, attending coaches clinics, etc. They want the best for the team as well as each individual player. They care, and they are willing to sacrifice their time and energy for the benefit of the team. Christ cares so much for us He sacrificed His life! Not for His own glory, not for ‘coach of the year’, but for the glory of His Father in Heaven and for our benefit. Rest assured…..He cares about you.
When I reflect on the things I learned in athletics, for the life of me I can’t recall being taught any actual sports skills. No drills, technique, or any of that. I learned those things, I just can’t remember them being taught to me. All I can seem to remember being taught are life lessons…..hard work, dedication, sacrifice, brotherhood. It seems that the greatest coaches are life coaches. They are teachers of principles that transcend any single sports season or phase of life. I’m here to tell you that there is no better teacher of life lessons than Jesus Christ. His teachings are as applicable today as they were 2,000 years ago, and I would submit that we need them more today than ever. I liked a line in the new movie ‘Avatar’, “You can’t fill a cup that’s already full.” Let’s allow ourselves to be taught by Him.
In high school football I remember running “the hills”. Man I thought I would die! Back in the woods behind the school was a huge hill. Several times a week the coach would take us back there and we would all line up single file at the bottom. Upon the coaches word “go” our objective was to catch up with and pass the runner ahead of us. We would run our hardest all the way to the top, trot back down, and repeat (there was wailing and gnashing of teeth!). What stands out to me after all this time isn’t the pain, but it was how hard we were pushed. No one resented the coach; we knew it was for our own benefit. In retrospect, I appreciate the demand placed upon me. It made me a better football player and a better person. The same holds true in life. I have a major problem with the popular notion that Jesus does not demand anything of us. That it’s alright to worship Him with our lips and not our heart. I would submit that He demands everything of us……in fact not everything we have, but our entire selves as C.S. Lewis puts it. He knows, and deep down we know as well, that this is the only way we will be the best “player” we can be.
The Danger of being our Own Head Coach
Sometimes I like to think I have it all figured out. Strangely enough, this seems to always happen right before I do something really stupid! I’m beginning to think that maybe there’s some sort of connection here. I mean really, let’s look at this for a second from a football perspective. How effectively could the quarterback coach the entire team while still in the game? Better yet, let’s say he played both ways, offense and defense, and still had to coach the entire team. Granted, some people would do a lot better job than others, but doesn’t that sound like a recipe for failure? You say, ‘but in life I’m not responsible for an entire team, I’m only responsible for myself and I can manage myself’. But that’s not the point. The point is that we can’t see everything while were in the game. The defense if blitzing, the offense has called an audible, and we miss all that because we can only see what right in front of our faces. We have Lombardy standing on the sidelines waving his hands screaming "let me help, let me help!", but we dig in and call another play.
We have the opportunity to be lead by the perfect Head Coach! All we have to do is admit that we need Him and hand over the whistle. It’s my testimony that he will transform as much of us as we are willing to give Him into things of beauty….into Heavenly Super Bowl Champs.
What say you?
How to Break out of A BAD MOOD in less than 10 seconds…..guaranteed!
Hi there grumpy! Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Someone do a number in your corn flakes? I know the feeling….and the worst part I seldom know why I feel that way. One thing that I do know is that I despise being in a bad mood. Lucky for you (and me), there’s a quick solution.
Let’s think about this for a second. What kinds of things do we normally think or say when we’re in a bad mood? I don' know abou you but I’m the most impatient and irritable when focused on myself. I’m worried about my problems and the things that I want. This is not a percentage of the time, but every single time I’m in a bad mood it’s because of a selfish way of thinking. So what’s the 10 second solution?
Here’s how to Bust the Bad Mood Dude!
Step One:
Forget yourself….period. You don’t exist. If you don’t exist, neither do your nagging problems or whatever else you found an excuse to gripe about.
Step Two:
Find someone to serve. Do it now! Find your spouse and start a spontaneous back massage. Call a friend and tell them how much you appreciate them. Do something kind for a complete stranger. The possibilities are endless!
Upon doing this you will find that as soon as your focus is off yourself, you simply start to feel better. But then you need to shift the focus elsewhere, and where better than another person. The self imposed negative energy is converted to outward positive energy. ‘Won’t our problems still be there waiting for us?’ you may ask. Sure, if you really had any problems to start with. Let’s be honest, when we’re in a bad mood we find things to be negative about….right? It all boils down to this point: regardless of our circumstances, we chose our attitude and our behavior. The problem is that sometimes we get bogged down and have a hard time choosing to be positive, and that’s when focusing our energy on serving others will help us snap out of it. If you do have significant problems in your life then this service paradigm is exponentially more important to you because it will bring a greater feeling of peace when you most need it. In fact, it’s my opinion that serving others can do far more than cure us of a bad mood….although that’s a start. When seeking to serve others, we are serving our God. Jesus taught “what you have done unto the least of these my brethren, you have done unto me.”, and it’s my testimony this work brings us closer to God and gives us an increase of joy in this life. But what do you think? Your comments are always welcome and feel free to subscribe at the bottom of the page. Take care and until next time, God bless.
