Is Your Life a Life of Regrets?

At the end of every day do you reflect on the whirlwind of time that you have just been through and WISHED you would have lived that day differently?  We have a tendency to regret doing some things and regret not doing other things.

The interesting thing about life is we only have one try to live it to the fullest.  Our life will pass by quickly and at the end of it what would we have done differently?  How do you use your time?  Is it for important things or just things that you THINK are important?  Paul told the Ephesian believers to, "redeem the time for the days are evil" and this is a word for us to day.  Redeeming the time is to take the most of every opportunity to do something that lasts.

Many will say that they have no time to pray but they have time to clean the house everyday and do all the clothes but fail to spend time with the Master.  Please ladies don’t stop cleaning the house, however, don’t neglect your prayer life either.  At the end of life I will guarantee that you will not say, "I wish I would have cleaned the House more."  You will look back and say, "You know I wish I would have spent more time with Jesus."  There are many areas that we use our time while not making time to pray and study God’s Word.

Friends, while our children are still at home we must take every opportunity to spend time with them and fashion them into men and women of God.  In today’s society, we are raising kids and at the same time, we are trying to be successful in the business world.  We have only one chance to raise these kids.  Would you rather be successful on your job or successful at parenting?  You can have both but you have to balance your time between work and home.  No one ever gets to their death bed and looks back and says, "I wish I would have spent more time at the office."

Life is meant to be a balance.  Live life to the fullest and make sure that you spend more time on the most important things in life.  To live with no regrets means you will do several things:

1.  Live a life of Righteousness – Don’t live with the regrets of failing God
     through sin.

2.  Spend time with God in Prayer and The Word – This is key to having an
     abundant life.  Spending time with Him in this life is a practice run for
     eternity.

3.  Spend time alone with your spouse – The key to a great marriage is building
     oneness now so that when the kids are gone you have a great relationship
     alone.

4.  Spend quality time with your children – Not time watching TV but time
      where you do something they enjoy.  They will never forget the times that
      you spent with them, even when you were tired and worn out.  This will
      help you to develop them in to men and woman of God.

5.  Serve God and His Kingdom – When it comes time to receive rewards in
     Heaven it will be too late to do it over.  Find something to do for God and
     do it as best you can.

These are things you can do that will help you live with no regrets.  Life is too short to blow it.  Take these things to heart and enjoy life.  You won’t regret it.

Where is God when the Storm waters surge
When the people are desperate and hurt

Where is God when we are overwhelmed by the flood
He is there, for He shed His blood

Where is God when the young and old cling to life
Even when there are people who create strife

Where is God when people are confused and lost
He is there for He died upon the cross

Even when all hope is gone with no where to go
God is with them Him, mercy and love He will show

Don’t give up on Him, He is waiting with open arms
He is always your calm in the midst of your storms

I love the faith of a child!  Tonight, Sonya is at the church finishing up the painting of the office.  Therefore, it was my duty to cook dinner.  Let me rephrase that, Hannah wanted me to cook her dinner.  Sonya was going to cook Hannah some macaroni before she left, but Hannah said, “No, I want my daddy to cook it!”  Sonya looks at me with that mischievous grin and said, “okay.”  She said it in the tone of voice that expressed, “Are you sure you know what you are getting into?” 

I can grill anything.  If it cooks on a grill I can cook it.  But macaroni and cheese?  I have a hard time boiling water, but something gourmet like mac and cheese is like cooking a casserole.  The last time I cooked mac and cheese was about 7 years ago for Josh and his friend, Travis.  Travis looked at me and in the nicest way said, “This is gross!”

So tonight, with that in mind, I cooked!  When I was done, I handed the runny mac and cheese to Hannah and waited for the verdict.  She said, “This is good.”  Josh, on the other hand said, “It’s alright.”

Though, I am not a chef, Hannah had faith that I could come through for her.  Such is the faith of a child.  It is this kind of faith that God says we should have.  The faith of a little child.  Jesus said that we enter into the kingdom when we have faith like a child. 

That kind of faith believes that God can do exactly what His Word says.  It is knowing that God is able and even though I haven’t seen the miracle yet, He can still come through.  It is trusting the God who turned water into wine and believing He can also make our paycheck stretch for another week.  It is resting on God’s promise that He will heal, even if we are still suffering in pain.

Child-like faith is trusting in the Father who desires to give good gifts to His children.

Yesterday, our tile job was complete.  It looks incredible!  We are moving along with our project.  The back platform wall is finished and ready for paint.  We are just about ready for the sanctuary to be painted next week.  Excited to see how the sanctuary looks when it is finished.

We stole away to our favorite spot in the Ozarks.  Roaring River State Park in Missouri is the most serene place I have found.  The sound of water, the quiet of the country and no cell phone service; what a marvelous combination.  I took Hannah into the river for a little walk in the water.  I did not bring a change of clothes or a swimming suit because I did not plan on swimming.  I kept preaching to Hannah to be careful and not step on the slippery rocks.  I stepped on a slippery rock and splish splash I was taking a bath.  I got my only set of clothes drenched.  But we had a great time.  It is always nice to get away with Sonya and the kids.

Our foyer tile is being laid today.  It is looking great! 

Yesterday, I spoke on the mistakes and successes of parenting.  Our model as a Father is our Heavenly Father and the most fortunate thing about Him is His grace in the midst of our mistakes.  I am thankful that God is forgiving as well as our kids.

Parenting is not easy, many mistakes to make
Things we do wrong, often make the heart ache

A cross word, an impatient growl
Hurt feelings, an angry scowl

I do not teach them enough, nor do I pray
Yet they look for guidance, what do I say?

At times I seem such a miserable fool
To do this right, I really need a tool

God’s Word, instructions for the making of a treasure
Guides us to success a child for our pleasure

When we look back we often fret over our failures
But with forgiveness and love, those children are still yours

Greater success you had than you will ever say
You cannot go wrong when you train them God’s Way

Bury the hurts and the mistakes of the past
It is your successes, that forever will last.

I need some help for my sermon Sunday.  Please rate how you feel as a parent.  I need honest answers.  Don’t worry, it is completely anonymous.  If your kids are already raised, rate yourself on how you felt raising your kids.