“Throw Back Thursday”

“Throw Back Thursday” is a time, primarily on Facebook & Social Media,  to relive memories by posting a photo from either your childhood or any time in your past. I have grown to anticipate Thursdays. It is fun to reminisce with people about fun times Back in the Day.

I love the notion of #ThrowBackThursday. It is a great way to: RESPECT the Past; APPRECIATE the Present; and TRUST GOD with your Future…because, guess what? GOD is already there!

Oftentimes, we are so busy “beating ourselves up” and "wallowing" in the regrets of our past, that we ignore the present, and have no vision of our future.

The PAST:

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly…Your Successes & Failures. Your Triumphs & Tragedies. Your Setbacks & Your Comebacks. It is the foundation & the framework of who you are TODAY.

The PRESENT:

The Right-Here-And-Now. This moment. Your awareness of the very breath you are taking right now. The gift from God in your hands at this instant. That is why it is a gift. That’s why it’s called the PRESENT.

The FUTURE:

Tim Tebow was quoted after being released from the New York Jets football team: “I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future.”

You can make plans, set goals, and have the grandest of intentions. But…be prepared to have them ALL changed. GOD typically has WAY more in store for you that will exceed your expectations or anything you can ever imagine. It will actually blow your best-laid-plans out of the water!

Jeremiah 29:11(NKJV) says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

“We can’t always see where the road leads, but God promises that there is something better up ahead if we’d just Trust God.” -  refer to Psalm 56:3 (NKJV): “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

Every PAST experience is a patch in the quilt of who you are. We can wrap the quilt around us, but we cannot dwell in it. The “patches” are being added daily.

Powerful Quotes To Note:

• “Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made. If you want a different result, make a different choice.” – unknown
• “You may not always end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you were meant to be.” – unknown
• “The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don’t want to spoil any of it fretting about the future.” – Audrey Hepburn
• “Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, stop figuring out precisely how we feel, stop deciding exactly what we want, and just see what happens.” – Carrie Bradshaw, Sex in the City
• “Don’t look back. You are not going that way.” – unknown

 May this serve as a vivid reminder:

“We might not be where we want to be…but we are still here…and much further down the road of LIFE than we were before. And with Forgiveness, Wisdom, Lessons-Learned, & the Grace of God, we still have an exciting adventure lying before us.” - Janette McGowen

We might want to celebrate this… J