Day by Day

Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own worries. The troubles we have in a day are enough for one day.
– Jesus, Matthew 6: 34 (New Living Translation, NLT)

I am once again learning to live by this wisdom. I’ve got to take it day by day. I cannot live my whole life in one day. I know that I will fail my Lord on some of the days of my life. I cannot muster up enough faith to live a complete life of wisdom; but I can live for Jesus today. Then, I can live for Jesus in the next day that is called “today.” Tomorrow is not yet here; but, today, today, today, and today, I can live for Jesus.

Day By Day

By DC Talk; Welcome to the Freak Show: DC Talk Live in Concert

(See the DC Talk YouTube video here)

Bottom of Form

I live a simple life, I take a day at a time
I spend my mornings with God before I hit the grind
The subtleties of darkness never cease to amaze
As a physical world creates a spiritual haze

Blinded by distractions
Lost in matterless affairs
Reaching through the darkness
Trusting You will meet me there

Day by day
(Day by day)
Day by day
(Day by day)

Oh dear Lord, three things I pray
(One, two, three)
To see Thee more clearly
(Day by day)

To love Thee more dearly
(Day by day)
To follow Thee more nearly
(I got to take it)
Day by day

You cruise around the corner
You watch your back
You sweep your feet down alley streets
Sometimes you creep, I never see you coming
Monday, man you're on my back
Like a knapsack strapped with my heavy burden

No, You cannot condemn me
I won't buy your bag of goods
You've got nothing for me anyway
That's why I pray 

Day by day
(Day by day)
Day by day
(Day by day)

Oh dear Lord, three things I pray
(One, two, three)
To see Thee more clearly
(Day by day)

To love Thee more dearly
(Day by day)
To follow Thee more nearly
(I got to take it)
Day by day

Songwriters: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; arrangement and additional lyrics by DC Talk. (See the Godspell YouTube version here)

Day by day I seek to live my life for my Lord. Will you join me?

How We Spend Our Days

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” - Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives; and how we spend our lives, of course, determines the person we become.” - Keith Shields, Thirst

If I spend my days writing, I will become a writer. If I spend my days leading, I will become a leader. If I spend my days painting, I will become a painter. If I spend my days wasting time on frivolous pursuits, I will become a waster of time.

At a certain point in my life I dreamed of becoming a traveling singer-songwriter who made his living as an entertainer. I spent some time writing songs, singing, and even entertaining. Yet, I spent much more time working as a Lab Scientist in a Molecular Diagnostic Lab, studying theology at Regent College, being a father to my children, and being a husband to my wife. In that time, I became a Lab Scientist, a student, a father, and a husband (occasionally I got the order of these wrong). I did not become a professional entertainer. How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives; and how we spend our lives, of course, determines the person we become.

Today is the day to take a one or two hour meditative break. Get away to a quiet place, alone with your thoughts, and make some decisions about how you want to spend your days, how you want to spend your life, and the person you want to become. One or two hours may not be enough. Perhaps you will need to take two or three days away at a retreat centre in quiet meditation, deep thinking, and active listening to your mind and spirit. Retreats of this nature work best when guided by the ancient words of scripture and the companioning words of others who have been in a similar place. Annie Dillard spent a full year in quiet contemplation on the banks of Tinker Creek, meditating, exploring, and writing about what she saw. In the process, she became an influential writer and penned Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

Who will you become? Time moves on at a constant pace; but feels ever more rapid. The way we spend our hours, will be the way we spend our days, will be the way we spend our lives, and will determine who we are. Will we be unintentional or intentional about the person we become?