Read Online Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week by Joel Osteen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Joel Osteen
Tags: REL012000
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the Journey
A friend of mine received an invitation to visit the White House and meet with the president. He was very excited about this great honor. But then his son’s basketball team won their division and they kept advancing to higher levels. And it just so happened that the state championship was on the same day my friend was supposed to go to Washington. So he had to decide whether to stay and see his son play or to meet with the president of the United States.
He could have thought,
Well, I can watch the game later by video. I can call and get updates. I can probably hear it on the radio.
Instead, he didn’t think twice. He had his staff inform the president’s office that he would not be able to attend. He went to his son’s game and it turned out to be a very exciting and very close match. The two teams exchanged the lead several times throughout the game, and with just a few seconds remaining his son’s team was down by one point. It looked like they would come up short. But in the final seconds his son hit the game-winning shot, and they won the state championship.
Afterward, my friend said, “I would not have traded that moment for anything in the world, not even a meeting with the president.”
Life is not really about getting to a destination. It’s about how we live along the way. It’s easy to become so goal-oriented and so focused on our dreams that we overlook the simple things we should be enjoying each day. Life is a journey. There is no such thing as the finish line. Once weaccomplish this dream, God will give us another. When we overcome that challenge, there will be another. There is always another mountain to climb.
If you make the mistake of living just for the destination, you will look up one day and realize you’ve missed out on the biggest part of life. Most of life is routine. Most of us get up every morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and then do it all again. There are very few mountaintops; you graduate from school, you get married, you have a child. The high times are few and far between.
But many people live only for the mountaintops. They’re so focused on earning promotions, they work night and day. They don’t really enjoy their families. They’re so stressed raising their children, they don’t enjoy their children. They’re so caught up in solving daily problems, they don’t enjoy the best moments of each day.
Slow down and enjoy the journey. This is what I had to do. Before I was married I traveled overseas with my father a couple of times a year. I lived for those big trips. I couldn’t wait. When one trip was over, I immediately started counting down the months, the weeks, and hurried through the days to get to the next trip.
One day I realized I was hurrying through life just trying to get to my big events. Of course it’s good to have things to look forward to. It’s good to have goals in front of you. But don’t put your life on hold until those things happen. Enjoy each day along the way.
Former football star Deion Sanders had a dream to win the Super Bowl. That’s what he wanted more than anything else. He trained and trained, year after year, working tirelessly. One day his dream came to pass. His team, the San Francisco 49ers, won the Super Bowl after the 1994 season. After the big celebration, he was so disappointed.
Is this all that it is?
he thought.
I’ve worked and reached the pinnacle of my career. I thought it would be different. Yes, I’m happy. Yes, God has blessed me. But it’s just not what I thought it would be.
Some spend their whole lives trying to reach a goal, only to find out it’s not what it was all cracked up to be. My friend, the real joy is in the simple things. It’s in being with your family, getting up early and seeing the sunrise, taking a walk through the park, taking your daughter to lunch, going on a bike ride with your spouse. Of course, the goals andaccomplishments bring us a sense of
A friend of mine received an invitation to visit the White House and meet with the president. He was very excited about this great honor. But then his son’s basketball team won their division and they kept advancing to higher levels. And it just so happened that the state championship was on the same day my friend was supposed to go to Washington. So he had to decide whether to stay and see his son play or to meet with the president of the United States.
He could have thought,
Well, I can watch the game later by video. I can call and get updates. I can probably hear it on the radio.
Instead, he didn’t think twice. He had his staff inform the president’s office that he would not be able to attend. He went to his son’s game and it turned out to be a very exciting and very close match. The two teams exchanged the lead several times throughout the game, and with just a few seconds remaining his son’s team was down by one point. It looked like they would come up short. But in the final seconds his son hit the game-winning shot, and they won the state championship.
Afterward, my friend said, “I would not have traded that moment for anything in the world, not even a meeting with the president.”
Life is not really about getting to a destination. It’s about how we live along the way. It’s easy to become so goal-oriented and so focused on our dreams that we overlook the simple things we should be enjoying each day. Life is a journey. There is no such thing as the finish line. Once weaccomplish this dream, God will give us another. When we overcome that challenge, there will be another. There is always another mountain to climb.
If you make the mistake of living just for the destination, you will look up one day and realize you’ve missed out on the biggest part of life. Most of life is routine. Most of us get up every morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and then do it all again. There are very few mountaintops; you graduate from school, you get married, you have a child. The high times are few and far between.
But many people live only for the mountaintops. They’re so focused on earning promotions, they work night and day. They don’t really enjoy their families. They’re so stressed raising their children, they don’t enjoy their children. They’re so caught up in solving daily problems, they don’t enjoy the best moments of each day.
Slow down and enjoy the journey. This is what I had to do. Before I was married I traveled overseas with my father a couple of times a year. I lived for those big trips. I couldn’t wait. When one trip was over, I immediately started counting down the months, the weeks, and hurried through the days to get to the next trip.
One day I realized I was hurrying through life just trying to get to my big events. Of course it’s good to have things to look forward to. It’s good to have goals in front of you. But don’t put your life on hold until those things happen. Enjoy each day along the way.
Former football star Deion Sanders had a dream to win the Super Bowl. That’s what he wanted more than anything else. He trained and trained, year after year, working tirelessly. One day his dream came to pass. His team, the San Francisco 49ers, won the Super Bowl after the 1994 season. After the big celebration, he was so disappointed.
Is this all that it is?
he thought.
I’ve worked and reached the pinnacle of my career. I thought it would be different. Yes, I’m happy. Yes, God has blessed me. But it’s just not what I thought it would be.
Some spend their whole lives trying to reach a goal, only to find out it’s not what it was all cracked up to be. My friend, the real joy is in the simple things. It’s in being with your family, getting up early and seeing the sunrise, taking a walk through the park, taking your daughter to lunch, going on a bike ride with your spouse. Of course, the goals andaccomplishments bring us a sense of
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