"I sure wish you would treat
me like you did when we were engaged and first
married." Jeana said. Ronnie knew she was right.
It wasn't that he loved her less, it was that
life began to distract him from the primary
object of his love: his wife. "It was never my
intention," Ronnie said, "but after a while I
lost my passion for my wife."
The love was still there. It
was just that Ronnie stopped doing the little
things for her that made her feel special. By
taking her for granted, Ronnie was responsible
for them drifting apart.
Whenever this happened Ronnie
made it a point to renew their relationship and
"reconnect" with his wife. It is possible for
the same thing to happen in any relationship,
even our relationship with God. When we begin to
drift, it is important to rekindle our passion
with God. Begin to pay attention to why He is
special and make it a point to spend time with
Him.
—Ronnie Floyd, Reconnecting:
How to Renew & Preserve the 3 Vital Elements
of a Powerful Spiritual Life, p. 89 Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson
For more information on
Reconnecting, go to
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805460888/fm082-20
________________________________________
PASSION
In his 84 years, Thomas
Edison patented over a thousand inventions. He
is most famous for inventing the light bulb, but
made more money off the alkaline battery.
Edison was a bulldog,
unwilling to accept failure as a final outcome
to his efforts. Before he successfully invented
the alkaline battery, he failed 9000 times!
Edison credited his success to hard work.
"Genius is one percent inspiration," Edison
said, "and 99 percent perspiration." No one will
debate the fact that Edison was a hard worker.
He built a laboratory beside his vacation home
in Fort Myers, FL and he is famous for sleeping
very little. On his 80th birthday, he announced
the formation of a company to do research to
develop rubber. He was relentless.
—Smithsonian, Dec. 1999, p.
136-149 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Why did he work so hard? Was
it determination? Was it will power? No. I
believe the key to Edison's success was his
passion to invent. Determination and will power
will only take a person so far, but passion is
unstoppable!
Great people have passion. A
force that consumes their lives and directs
their energy. They are not always the strongest
or the brightest of their peers, but they
consistently outperform them. Their greatness
cannot be explained by their education,
privileges or talents, because their
accomplishments always exceed their abilities.
They are driven. Not by the spirit of
competition or self-discipline, but by passion.
________________________________________
PASSION
With his life in disarray,
Steven Lavaggi sat on his bedroom's wooden
floor, and began searching his Bible for
answers. His wife had just left him to marry a
writer for The Rolling Stone Magazine. Ten days
later, Steven discovered his son was stricken
with Juvenile Diabetes. As if coping with the
personal crisis wasn't enough, Lavaggi also lost
his graphic art business.
Unemployed, abandoned, and
worrying about his son, Lavaggi turned to God's
Word. As Steven read, he skipped over the black
letters, only wanting to read the words of
Jesus. The Risen Christ emerged from the pages.
Lavaggi gave his life to Jesus.
As a new Christian, he clung
to Psalms 91:11: "For he shall give his angels
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."
Out of his brokenness, came a passion to create
and message of hope. He left the lucrative world
of graphic art to become a fine artist.
Since Steven's passion is to
minister through fine art, he moved to
California, to influence the people who
influence the world—Hollywood.
He is doing just that. The
response to his work is overwhelming. Inspired
by the Psalmist's words he painted a 4' X 5'
angel. When a friend encouraged him to make the
image three dimensional, he collaborated with a
sculptor, and together they cast the angel.
While speaking to a crowd of
thirty-five hundred natives in Soweto, South
Africa, Lavaggi held a 20" sculpture of a black
angel above his head. When he did, the crowd
erupted with enthusiasm. A man on the stage told
him that just a few days before, a preacher had
said, "One of the things we need is for
international artists to express the love of God
through art, perhaps even painting angels in
black." When Lavaggi heard this, he grabbed a
20" white angel, held it above his head and
said, "these angels were created to be like
brothers and sisters, even as we are supposed to
be." Later, as he reflected on the day, he
decided to call the sculptures, "The Angels of
Reconciliation."
His creation graces the cover
of the Winter 2000 GROWING CHURCHES magazine and
two 20" bronze statues are in the city of Lake
Village, Arkansas symbolizing the hope of racial
reconciliation in the deep South.
Steven's message would not
exist without his passion! His message is easy
to see it is in the light, but remember, his
passion was born in the dark, on a wooden floor
while he grieved the loss of his wife, his job
and his son's health. Through the struggle, he
gained a passion, and today, he is changing the
world.
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
________________________________________
SPIRITUAL PASSION
One afternoon I was looking
for my Dad after I finished mowing the church
lawn. He wasn't in his office, but his car was
in the parking lot, so I opened the Sanctuary
door to see if he was in there. He was. To this
day I don't think he knows I saw what he was
doing. He was on his knees with his face buried
in his hands on the front pew. Quietly, I backed
out of the room and shut the door.
I also recall several times
seeing my Mother sitting in her chair, wrapped
in her quilted robe, sipping a cup of coffee and
reading her devotional. To this day, she still
has her devotional material and her Bible beside
her chair, and when I visit, I can still "catch"
her walking with the Lord.
We don't build "spiritual
fires" with our words. We build them with our
actions. Have your children caught you "walking
with the Lord" lately?
--Illustration by Jim L.
Wilson
Job 1:5 "And it came about,
when the days of feasting had completed their
cycle, that Job would send and consecrate them,
rising up early in the morning and offering
burnt offerings according to the number of them
all; for Job said, 'Perhaps my sons have sinned
and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did
continually."
PASSION
In "The Servant Leader:
Transforming Your Heart, Head, Hands &
Habits", Blanchard and Hodges write, "No
organization will rise above the passion of the
leader."
—"The Servant Leader", p. 45.
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
1 John 2:27 (NKJV) "But the
anointing which you have received from Him
abides in you, and you do not need that anyone
teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you
concerning all things, and is true, and is not a
lie, and just as it has taught you, you will
abide in Him."
________________________________________
PASSION
The co-founder of Federal
Express says anyone can have a dream and even
enough money to start a company, but it takes
passion to succeed. Frank McGuire was the
keynote speaker for a series of lectures on
Entrepreneurship. He warned the luncheon
audience that entrepreneurship was far from
easy. He told how he and Fred Smith began
Federal Express April 17, 1973, processing only
16 packages on their first day of business. He
said finding investors to help fund the $52
million start-up wasn't easy.
McGuire said there were times
when he got discouraged, but his partner
wouldn't let him give up. McGuire remembers that
determination when things don't go his way
today. He said on the bad days when he is struck
in traffic or misses a flight he still sings the
same song that kept him going years ago, "This
Little Light of Mine." McGuire said the song
reminds him of the potential he has. He told the
audience, "There's a light in each of you and
it's bigger than you ever thought and it's on
your side. Turn on your light. You can do it,
regardless of your circumstances." McGuire said,
"A lot of people don't like to talk about
passion, it makes them nervous. But that's the
future—how passionate are you?"
—http://www.bgnews.com, FedEx
founder says passion breeds success, May 2,
2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
I would take the question
one-step further. Are you passionate about
letting your light shine?
Matthew 5:15 MSG "If I make
you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to
hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you
on a light stand."
PASSION
After flying as a flight
attendant for 63 years, Ron Akana decided to
retire at the age of 83. What do you think he
plans to do in his retirement years? He plans to
spend it traveling, of course.
While I can’t say for sure,
it strikes me that this man has a passion for
traveling. What do you think? Passion is a
driving force for those that have it. It moves
them to do something with every ounce of their
being. May God grant us as much passion for His
work as Akana has for traveling. --Jim L. Wilson
Flight attendant's career
landing in Guinness Book
http://news.yahoo.com/flight-attendants-career-landing-guinness-book-192854042.html
Accessed
8-29-12
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (HCSB)
“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium
all race, but only one receives the prize? Run
in such a way to win the prize. 25 Now everyone
who competes exercises self-control in
everything. However, they do it to receive a
crown that will fade away, but we a crown that
will never fade away. 26 Therefore I do not run
like one who runs aimlessly or box like one
beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my
body and bring it under strict control, so that
after preaching to others, I myself will not be
disqualified.”
PASSION
Don Gorske, a 64-year-old retired
prison guard from Wisconsin has eaten a Big
Mac every day since May 17, 1972 for a total
of 30,000 Big Macs. Why? According to news
reports it is because “he loves hamburgers.”
The Guinness World Records
recognized him for eating the most Big Mac in
2016 when he was only at 28,788. —Jim L.
Wilson
The truth is, we all tend to make
a habit out of doing things we love.
Tim Tebow is
playing for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the
top Double-A team of the NY Mets. Tim said,
“There’s so many other things that I could be
doing that are a lot more money-driven and
fame-seeking. But when I’m 50-years-old,
that’s not going to matter. What matters is
pursuing a passion and doing something that’s
in your heart.”
What is your
passion? Are you pursuing it with all your
heart? —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
Gutierrez,
Matthew Tim Tebow is Kinda Good at Baseball,
Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2018, p. A12
Philippians 3:13 (CSB)
Brothers
and sisters, I do not consider myself to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and reaching forward to what is
ahead,
PASSION
11-year-old David Marcovici is
passionate about orchids. He is not the only
one. Orchid lovers really love their orchids.
Many of them describe their hobby as an
addiction. It even has a name, Orchidelirium.
Orchid collectors travel far, pay top dollar,
and are looking for rare specimens, rescuing
discarded plants, and collecting different
species. David, for example, spent all his
savings, $267, at one orchid show in New
Jersey. Eventually the collector turns their
kitchen into a mini-rainforest and their
living spaces into veritable jungles.
Back in the 70’s there was a term
for people who were passionate about Jesus.
“Jesus Freaks.” I was called that more than
once, but if I am going to be addicted to
something, let it be Jesus. –Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell.
Philippians 3:13 (CSB)“Brothers
and sisters, I do not consider myself to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and reaching forward to what is
ahead,”
PASSION
Peter Messervy-Gross, A
47-year-old British man went to Mongolia to run
a 100-mile ultra-marathon across a frozen lake.
When he arrived for the race he discovered the
airline had lost his bags. He didn’t have any of
his specialized gear, but his passion for
running took over and he ran the race in his
traveling clothes, and a pair of borrowed
running spikes. He completed the race in four
days.
The Week, April 12, 2019 p. 4
When you have a real passion
for something you don’t let minor, or even
major, inconveniences keep you from the
task.–Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (CSB)
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all
race, but only one receives the prize? Run in
such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who
competes exercises self-control in everything.
They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we
an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one
who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the
air.Instead,
I discipline my body and bring it under strict
control, so that after preaching to others, I
myself will not be disqualified.
PASSION
After her son died, Mirtha
Munoz took up cycling to help her
cope with the tragedy. In doing so, she was
following the advice of some family
members and her psychologist who said, “The bike
could help me get through my
pain. . .”
Likely, the psychologist did
not have a ride through “Death
Road,” on his mind when he gave her that advice.
But that’s want Munoz did. At
70-years-old she is the oldest to ever compete
in the 37+ mile race in Bolivia
that includes riding through “the most dangerous
road in the world,” from the
jungles to the Andes. But she just saw it as a
“natural progression of her
[cycling] passion.”
