Vol. 16 No. 21 | May 27, 2013
Watch closely. Pay attention. Slow down. Take time. Life comes at us full force from the first breath and does not slow down until the last. There is no time to waste.

Scripture calls it “a vapor”.

Paul said, “Make the most of every opportunity.”

Jesus offers in “abundance.”

How many reminders do we need for us to get the message? Life happens fast!

Pull out your box of photos, or photo album, or pull up your photos on your computer and you will be amazed how quickly life has happened. “Where did that little girl go?” “How did he grow up so fast?” “Wow! He looks old!”

Watch the news. Another horrific tornado where lives were lost and property were destroyed in seconds. A plane goes down. An automobile accident on the Interstate. A shooting in the city. A murder in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods. A heart attack took the life of a young husband and father.

Life happens fast. It comes so fast that about the time we get comfortable in one phase of life we move into a different phase. We start feeling good being single, and suddenly we are talking marriage. Then, we work and work at being the best husband or the best wife and here come children. We feel like we get the parenting thing figured out, we are grandparents.

With life coming (and going) so fast how do we manage it? Here are a few things to remember.

Live today, not tomorrow or yesterday. Spend too much time looking ahead or behind and you will miss what is happening in the present. Jesus said, “Take no thought in tomorrow.” Paul said, “Forgetting what it behind I press on.”

Slow down. Try to eliminate hurry from your life. If you have small children try not to say, “Hurry up!” too many times. When you get on the freeway, drive the speed limit. When you are walking if you see something worth looking at, stop and look at it. Remind yourself that you have all the time you need to do what God wants us to do.

Enjoy the moment. When you work, work hard. When you rest, rest. When you are with friends, shut your phone off and be with your friends. When you are with your spouse, really be with her. When you are with your children, be with them.

Life happens fast, but it does not have to overwhelm us, we do not have to miss it, and we can enjoy it. God has given us life and life abundantly. We have the tools to live it at His pace and in His time and like He wants us to.

This week I hope you can receive the life God has planned for you and enjoy it to the fullest.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2013. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 20 | May 20, 2013

Sometimes words come slowly. My head and my heart are filled with so many thoughts that it is difficult to bring any single thought out into the open. As I clear my mind and open my heart the thought that surfaces is that of being abundantly grateful.

I find myself feeling grateful for life. The sixty plus years I have lived have been good and blessed and filled with joy. Yes, there have been (and surely will be) times of deep sorrow and great pain, but gratitude is the theme of this morning. Thank You, Giver of life, for bringing me into this world to enjoy Your creation and experience the “abundant life” You have given me.

I sense this abundant gratitude when I look at my wife and my children, their spouses, and my granddaughter. They are healthy. They are beautiful. They are living in and through Your Spirit. They are walking in Your ways and loving Your people. When I have time with them in any form I am filled with abundant joy for the blessing of these people.

I feel abundant gratitude when I look at Your creation. What a world You have made! There is so much of it I have never seen, and will never seen, but there is so much of it that I have seen. The ocean. The mountains. The forests. The cities. The rivers and streams. The view from an airplane. The view from a walkway through the green places. The sunrises I have seen. The sunsets I have marveled at the colors and the peacefulness of a day well spent as it ends.

I feel abundant gratitude for the people. My family, my friends, my colleagues, my coworkers, the people I have spent decades with sharing our journey through this world. Each one has played a role in shaping my view of life, enhancing my view of people, and enlarging my view of God.

I am abundantly grateful for the people I know only as “that man”, or “that woman”, or “that boy”, or “that girl”. I am abundantly grateful for the man or woman I exchanged eye contact with for a brief moment on a sidewalk, in a hall, or across a crowded room.The woman selling papers on the street corner. The young man ringing up my groceries at the super market. The countless men and women who have served me a meal, cleaned a room, given me change, cleaned my shirts, or greeted me with a smile. I am abundantly grateful for God’s timing and the way He placed each one there in my midst for that brief moment.

I am abundantly grateful for times of rest. I am grateful for those rare times when there has been no schedule, there has been no agenda, and the only plan for the day has been to enjoy it to the fullest. There are times when the question, “What is next?” has been replaced with “Let’s enjoy this moment.” There are times when sleep is more important than seeing the sunrise, or finishing the project, or sending the email. I am abundantly grateful for those times with I have heeded God’s invitation to “Come away with me and get some rest,” when I have taken his yoke upon me, and when I have just been still and reflected upon God.

I am abundantly grateful for memories. Memories of moments that happen only once in a life time. Memories of moments that are repeated and relived every Sunday, every summer, every Christmas holiday, and every time any part of God’s family gathers. Memories that are more vivid than the photographs, speak louder and more clearly than the video recordings. Memories that are housed deep in our hearts and dwell in our souls.

I am abundantly grateful for the love that I have experienced. The love I have received from God. The love I received from my family, from my friends, from my brothers and sisters in Christ, and from strangers. I am grateful for those special God-moments when I have been able to reflect some of that love into the life of another human being.

God is on His throne. Jesus is Lord. My heart is full. My soul is well. I am abundantly grateful.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 19 | May 13, 2013

A light snow was falling in Richmond, Virginia the day the doctor confirmed that we were going to have another baby. At that point we were not sure if we were having a boy or a girl. From early on one sweet woman from our church assured us that this would be a girl. She was right. When the doctor welcomed Laura Lee into the world tears of joy flowed down my face. When I held her in my arms for the first time I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful baby girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care when it is time to let her go.”

The first day of school was hard. I drove to the school for the first time, pulled into the drop-off lane, made certain the card with her name and her teacher’s name card was securely draped around her neck, kissed her, said, “I love you,” opened her door, and watched her walk toward the door and I cried. As I drove away from the school I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful little girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care when it is time to let her go.”

Later on she learned to swim and started to compete. She swam like a fish, only sweeter. She won some races and received a few awards. She was praised by her coach. I watched from the side of the pool as she dove in, swam her laps and hopped out of the pool with a look of “I did it!” on her face. As she learned to compete I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful little girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care when it is time to let her go.”

We rode our bikes through the neighborhoods, we walked the trails of the parks, we were introduced to sleep-overs, and learned more about letting her become her own person. With each new adventure I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful little girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care when it is time to let her go.”

She needed surgery. We discussed the options. We pondered the limitations. We greeted the doctor and nurses, hugged her, told her we loved her. As we watched them roll her away I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful young girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care on days like this when it is time to let her go.”

She continued to grow and mature and we were introduced to high school sports, cheerleading, and the high drama of relationships. Every time she walked out the door I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful young girl. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care when it is time to let her go.”

She finished high school, walked across the stage, we drove her to college, moved her in the dorm, kissed her goodbye, said, “I love you,” and left her there. As we drove away I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful young person. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care each time it is time to let her go.”

She waited as God prepared a man to be her husband, they married, and I pronounced them husband and wife. As they drove away. I prayed: “Father, thank You for this beautiful young woman. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care each time it is time to let her go.”

She has completed her college education, ready to start her life as a nurse, and she and her husband are preparing to make their first move to a new community with the prayerful hope of making a difference. She is strong. She is beautiful. She is determined. She is wise. She loves God and cannot wait to see Jesus. At the end of each visit, and many times in between, I continue to pray: “Father, thank You for this beautiful young woman. Help her to learn Your ways, help her to know Your love, and help me release her into Your care each time it is time to let her go.”

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 18 | May 6, 2013

Luke records the story of Jesus healing a blind man in chapter 18,

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:35-43, NIV)

If you were blind what would you want God to do for you? That is what Jesus asked this blind man. “What do you want me to do for you?” Somewhere in the the depths of our soul we know how we would respond to that question. We may be reluctant to ask, we may be embarrassed to ask, or we may think God does not want us to ask, but if I am reading the story correctly, God wants us to ask.

Here are three lessons that seem to emerge from this story:

We all have that one request we want to make of the Lord.

“Lord, I want to see.”

“Lord, I want to hear.”

“Lord, I want to be healed.”

“Lord, I want to be a good parent.”

“Lord, I want to save my marriage.”

“Lord, I want to be able to help more people.”

“Lord, I want a job.”

“Lord, I want someone to love me.”

“Lord, I want to be forgiven.”

“Lord, I want peace.”

“Lord, I want to know I’m saved.”

“Lord, I want to make a difference in the world.”

“Lord, I want to really live again.”

We need to make the request.

Why not take a moment right now and present your request to the Lord. (Philippians 4:6-8) Get with a friend. Or, get alone. Get with God and lay it all out. Yes, He already knows before you ask. Ask anyway. Pour your heart out to Him. Tell Him what you want Him to do for you.

We need to praise God when our request is granted.

The blind beggar did. The people around him did. The blind man in John 11 did. The people around him did not. When He grants you the request thank Him, praise Him, share what He has done.

God is ready and willing to hear your request. And, He is ready and willing to grant your request in His time and His way. When He does, rejoice and praise Him.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.