My darling bride. I love being this wonderful woman’s husband. Words are not enough to express how grateful and thankful I am for her.

Wherever you are. Whatever you are doing. Please know that someone is praying for you right now. We don’t have to know each other. God knows you. I am praying He watches over you and keeps you and shows you His awesome love.

I think I wrote this in 2001. It’s been a long time and I don’t remember. I still really enjoy this one. Hope you like.

Verse 1

You were there before time began. Before You made the heavens or created man. With a simple word you spoke and made the stars. From everlasting to everlasting You are.

Verse 2

Before sin corrupted what You had made You knew the price that would have to be paid. You would give your life and bare those scars. From everlasting to everlasting You are.

Chorus

You are God, You are Father, You are Creator, You are Lord. You are the fulfiller of the promise written in Your word. You’re the hope of our tomorrow. You’re the life of our today. You are the One and only God to whom we give our praise

Tag

You are, You are, You are, You are.

I made a discovery early in life. It is one that I want to share with you today. It is called learning vicariously. Now we have all heard of people that live vicariously through the experiences of others. Maybe you want to go to the beach, but don’t have the money. You might listen to the stories of a friend that went and imagine yourself there. Or perhaps you always wanted to be a great athlete, but never had the coordination. Watching football on the weekends or staying up late for NBA games may be your way to still get a piece of what you wanted.

Just like many people live vicariously through the actions of others, I have found that I can learn vicariously and not make the same mistakes others have. I would like to share with you today some of the mistakes I have observed and how I learned from it.

First, I learned very early how important it is to show mom and dad respect. My brother gave me a shining example of what not to do one fateful day in 1983. I remember parts of it, but have been told the story many times and have filled in the gaps. My brother made less than wise choices and had to live with consequences.

Next, be aware of who you are with and what they are selling. I was reading a book called the Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. In it he told a story of a housewife that developed a gambling problem that took her from her local casino, to multiple trips to vegas and eventually to bankruptcy. What stuck out about the story is this: everyone around her had a plan, she didn’t. In reading this book I was amazed at how quickly she fell into the marketing traps of the casino.

No matter where you may find yourself at this point in your life, I want remind you of something: you were born to do great things. You may say “who? Me?” and I would answer, yes. You. No one that has ever lived had been exactly like you. You are unique. Because of this there are things that you can do that noone else can. People you can help. There is a difference you can make. Choose today to believe it.

Do it. Do great things.