What lyrics are pumped through your ear buds into your eardrums? What words travel along your auditory nerve to your brain? What are your frequently played songs? Have you analyzed them lately? Often what we sing about is what we think about and what we think about we sing about. It’s a tight loop.

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Do you have a supply of those little yellow sticky pads for posting notes in your Bible or on your fridge or the dash of your car? What do you use the yellow stickies for? What kind of notes do you write to yourself?

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I know the official line is that ‘heaven is a wonderful place’ but would you ever ‘fess up to having some doubts about how exciting Heaven will really be? Have you ever been to a ‘loooooong’ hymn sing? As much as you enjoyed the hymns, it went way too long! Your voice was hoarse and you wondered: “Why do I always get stuck standing beside someone with a shrill, off-pitch voice?” And that was just an hour! Would it really be exciting to sing for all eternity?

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I know the official line is that ‘heaven is a wonderful place’ but would you ever ‘fess up to having some doubts about how exciting Heaven will really be? Have you ever been to a ‘loooooong’ hymn sing? As much as you enjoyed the hymns, it went way too long! Your voice was hoarse and you wondered: “Why do I always get stuck standing beside someone with a shrill, off-pitch voice?” And that was just an hour! Would it really be exciting to sing for all eternity?

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Eagles soar to lofty heights but they don’t hold the record for flying the highest! On November 29, 1975, a plane flying 7 miles above the earth sucked into one of its jet engines a Rüppell's griffon vulture. Now that’s high! The Apostle Paul soared even higher than that one day. He was caught up to Heaven itself – the place where God dwells. He heard things up there he could not speak about on earth. (2 Corinthians 12:1-6)

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Sometimes I get depressed with myself. Every time I look at myself, my heart sinks with disappointment. I’m not what I want to be; I’m not what I thought I would be and I’m not what I should be. That’s a rather depressing opener. You say: “If it’s that bad, give up while you’re ahead. Pack it in. Call it quits. It can only get worse.” That’s where your thinking is wrong. Am I destined only to get worse? A resounding NO! If you’re fed up with yourself as a failing Christian, you need to know that your lapses and failures will come to an end.

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“So how’s the job going? How are the perks and benefits?” Have you ever regretted asking someone that question? It’s like unplugging a clogged pipe. With force and fury it spews out, almost knocking you over. There aren’t enough words to describe the intensity of their pent up feelings. “Sickeningly stingy! Pathetically mean! Down right cheap!”

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So what thoughts crossed your mind when you flipped through the Fortune 500 magazine in the waiting room? Incredible salaries! Did you drool over some of the luxury items and lifestyles advertised - the clothes; the jewelry; the SUVs and exotic cars; the vacations; the homes and the contented and confident expressions of the people featured in the advertisements? Did you have a momentary desire to be rich? Did your heart beat a bit quicker when you allowed yourself to imagine living like that? Did you see anything that made you think: “If only I could have that, life would be so different.”

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How long have you been in the same place? Do you have any plans to leave or are you quite comfortable right where you are? Sometimes we get stuck at the base of the mountain and fail to move on. We enjoy the scenery. We like the shelter and the shade of the mountain – not to mention its security. Even if the situation is less than ideal, it is often more tempting to stay then to move on. At least where we are, we know what to expect. To move on, introduces us to the unknown and all our vulnerabilities are unmasked.

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