Do you see the days ahead as brighter or gloomier than the days behind? (I'm not talking about the weather--for those of you living in western PA!)  The one idea that God has been laying on my mind over the past week, while I prayed and fasted was, "The days ahead will be more productive for My Kingdom than the years behind."  For a guy who turns fifty-four in a couple of months that's an awesome idea to ponder. 

Do you see the days ahead in your life as more productive for what God will do in your life than the years behind?  That attitude messes with your head and heart--in a good way!  I keep praying for God to make that impression a reality, which means I keep looking for opportunities for God to use me TODAY , which means He has been using me every day in ways that have been surprising and fun.  An example: on Saturday Mark Geppert were on our way to lunch at Shurina's and he drove past a house that had a yard full of junked cars.  He said, "That's a school in Cambodia."  I said, "What?"  He said, "Those cars taken to a salvage yard translate into money for a school in Cambodia."  I asked, "Do you want to stop and see if he's interested in donating?"  (I have driven past that yard at least 100 times in the last four years and it never occurred to me to stop.)  He said we'd stop after lunch.  I agreed.  After lunch Mark and I went our separate ways, and Nancy and I were riding home together, so I stopped and asked the guy.  He said he wasn't interested in giving his cars away or selling them either.  You say, "That doesn't sound like God at work."  How do we know?  I had the opportunity to plant a seed in a man's mind and maybe his heart, about using junk for God's Kingdom.  He didn't say, "Yes," that day, but who knows how that seed will sprout.  The bottom line is I was open to being used by God that day in a way I hadn't been in the years behind.  Each day AHEAD will be a gift when we come to it.  God wants to use each one to advance His Kingdom.  He WILL use anyone who is open to Him and to His Spirit's work within us, so my prayer is that I will be open and that YOU will be open and that together the idea God impressed (and continues to impress) on my heart and mind over the past week:  the days ahead will be more productive for My Kingdom than the years behind--will become a reality!