My daughters recently completed 11th and 8th grade. It was a monumental moment for me because now in the fall they will be a Senior and a Freshman...back at the same school for one year together. When they were in the 2nd and 5th grade with the oldest about to embark into 6th grade which is middle school here, I pondered and told them they will not be at the same school again until 9th and 12th grade. The day I said that seems like yesterday. Here it is. Now.
As a present this year, I took them to see Kenny Chesney at the Wharf in Orange Beach....strangely enough he labeled it the “Here and Now” tour.
Another devotional I recently read was on being in the present. And yet again my devotion yesterday was...master time or it will master you. As I’m sitting here in the Keys on vacation, I am forced to be in the now. It is a good moment. It reminds me that the past is past and the future is always tomorrow. We must be present. In the now. The moment. If we live in the past, we are missing the present. If we worry of what’s to come of the future we are robbing ourselves of the actual moment we are in. Trust me...I of all people am the one that need this same advise I’m giving you. Don’t bring the past into the present because it’ll rob you of your future. Similarly don’t let the worry of the future rob you of this very moment. The Present. Maybe that’s why we use the word ‘Present’ for presents because it truly is a gift. BE. Here and Now.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own time.
Psalm 118:24, ESV This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…
Colossians 4:5-6, ESV Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.