70 Aha's Gleaned From 7 Decades

Excitement mounts within me as I prepare, on September 17th, to celebrate my 70th birthday. From Psalm 145:7 comes my God-given, heartfelt theme:

“They will celebrate His abundant goodness.”

With joy, I offer 70 Aha’s Gleaned From 7 Decades … lessons for living life to the full—fully alive.

1. Give everything—anything, each thing, all things—to Jesus.

2. Make daily, private worship an unequivocal commitment.

3. Choose the right spouse, no compromise; wait as long as it takes for God’s best.

4. Devote yourself to being a student of the Scriptures. Love the Word of God—read it, study it, memorize it, meditate upon it, talk about it, devour it. Within its Pages rest the keys for vibrant living.

5. Continually yield to the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit within your being.

6. Make family a priority.

7. Love people! Listen to people, learn from people, live life alongside of people.

8. Develop the heart habit of being a grateful person.

9. Honor the simple components of life: eat correctly (enjoy splurges), exercise regularly, sleep sufficiently.

10. Recognize that hard places are holy places.

11. Remember: Jesus is so sweet and pain is an incredible teacher.

12. Never forget, you can’t out give God.

13. Pray big.

14. Share the Gospel.

15. Learn to embrace life on two levels, sorrowful, yet rejoicing.

16. Go where God wants you to go; stay away from any place God wants you to avoid.

17. Let it go! When an unpleasantness threatens to set up housekeeping within you, let it go. Release it and refuse to give it a life.

18. Be a learner.

19. Cultivate a life value for ongoing personal growth.

20. Live life looking for the next hill to climb.

21. Consciously counter complaining with praise. In everything give thanks. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

22. Be a reader.

23. Send flowers to your mother on your birthday.

24. Invest in friendships across a broad spectrum of ages.

25. Keep a journal.

26. Choose your media wisely.

27. Rebound quickly.

28. Say “yes” whenever you can.

29. Remember, “No” is a complete sentence.

30. If in doubt, don’t say it, don’t take it, don’t do it.

31. Be generous.

32. Continually ask God to bring every area of your life into harmony with His Word.

33. Belong to a small group.

34. Enjoy the ritual of Afternoon Tea.

35. Savor the sunrise and the sunset.

36. Remember, It’s amazing what praising can do.

37. Guard your heart, your mind, your tongue, your eyes.

38. Take the initiative; this is always the right thing to do.

39. Honor simple everyday habits: call your mother, floss your teeth, make your bed.

40. Learn to play a sport.

41. Transition with grace through each season of life.

42. Give heed to the voice of pain—physical, spiritual, and emotional.

43. Refuse to be bitter.

44. Learn to speak a language other than your own.

45. Be quick to extend forgiveness—to others and to yourself.

46. Remember, the Bible is not just a good suggestion.

47. Be quick to pray the prayer that always gets answered: “Thy will be done.”

48. Value the significance of hard work.

49. Enjoy each season as the calendar changes.

50. Learn to knit.

51. Be eager to celebrate another’s success.

52. Give your undivided attention, whether speaking with a prince or a pauper.

53. Always Start where you stand.

54. Develop a fascination for the weather.

55. Accept your weaknesses as fertile soil for God’s strength.

56. At some point in your life: own a dog, sing in a choir, go on a camp out, teach Sunday School, paint a picture, volunteer in a hospital, visit the Grand Canyon.

57. Be hospitable.

58. Learn to laugh at yourself.

59. Take advantage of cultural opportunities: theatre, opera, symphonies, museums.

60. Get an annual physical.

61. Don’t be afraid to change your mind.

62. Delight in spontaneity.

63. Be in tune with the attributes of God.

64. Never forget, Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15).

65. Nurture lifelong friendships.

66. Seek to be a person of love, a person of joy, a person of peace.

67. Realize that broken is beautiful.

68. Insist on stillness within your life of activity.

69. Enjoy flowers; buy them for yourself, buy them for others.

70. Celebrate birthdays!

Devote yourself to Living With Eternal Intentionality®; invest in God, God’s Word, and people, for only these will last forever.

“Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1).

A Long Walk to the Mailbox

Looking out the window, I saw more than the green tree climbing higher than the slanted roof. I saw more that the two chairs nestled on the lawn waiting for a conversation between friends. And, I saw more than the squirrel dancing on the ground in search of a meal. I saw the mail truck. The sight of the vehicle produced a flutter in my stomach and catch in my throat. Would the mail deliver the next step in a sought-after dream?

Once again, I must take a long walk to the mailbox.

One hot, dusty summer Sunday morning, I pulled my eight-year-old self out of bed feeling propelled forward by a strange feeling of excitement mixed with an ever-present dread. The see-saw emotional experience, which dominated my whole being the day before, promptly greeted me “good morning.”

For weeks now, I set my hopes on winning a contest sponsored by our regional newspaper. The coveted prized was a trip to Disneyland for the winner and two additional guests. With all my heart, I longed to win.

The contest guidelines were straightforward. Any contestant under the age of ten simply had to write on a white postcard the following: Why I Want to Win a Trip to Disneyland. Since the rules allowed for multiple entries, I worked like a bee and submitted numerous compositions.

One particular piece seemed destined to win—my poem. Using poetry, I poured out my eight-year-old heart and expressed my deep longing of this coveted prize. With words bubbling like a mountain stream, I articulated one rhyming phrase after another. This creation felt marked to rise to the top and capture the judges’ award.

Certain of victory, I even discussed with my mother a babysitting plan for my 8-week-old baby brother, who would need to be left behind.

Since the winner was to be announced on a certain Saturday, all that day I sat by our black rotary telephone, a symbolism of the 1950s. No amount of persuasion could convince me to venture out into the sunshine for normal activities. I even declined a trip to the pool for fear the newspaper would phone in our absence!

The kitchen table served as my post, and I kept a vigil, hour by hour, willing a ring to break the dead air. When silence prevailed—still confident of winning—I reasoned that the newspaper staff was preoccupied with the next day’s Sunday edition. (After all, why else would they not have phoned?)

Eventually, nightfall forced me to leave my post and get ready for bed. Bewildered, I told myself that the morning newspaper would certainly herald my success.

So, up with the sun, I dressed quickly and walked my barefooted self down the gravel road and out to the mailbox. Step by step, my dream came closer and closer into focus.

With heart racing, I poked my slender hand into the medal box, and nervously pulled out the bundle of the Sunday Edition recently shoved inside by the delivery man. Ceremoniously, I positioned myself in the perfect spot to open the paper and unveil my prize. My fumbling fingers trembled as I reverentially stared at the object which contained the culmination of my dream to go to Disneyland. One-fold … two-folds … front page ANNOUNCEMENT!

What? Oh, no! How could this be? There must be a mistake!

My heart shattered as I stood frozen on that dirt path and stared back at the grinning face of another dark-haired little girl, the one selected as the contest winner. Her photo left no doubt. Whatever I wrote on my multiple postcard entries was not deemed worthy to win; whatever she wrote convinced the judges to award her the prize.

Shuffling back along the dusty path, disappointment claimed every single spot dream previously occupied.

Walking slower now, I calculated the ramifications: our summer plans would be ordinary, California would not be on the agenda, I would not be meeting Cinderella, and I did not need a babysitting plan for my infant brother. With each barefooted step back to our house, I tried to figure out why she won and why I did not.

The life lesson from that summer produced far more value than a set of Mickey Mouse ears. I learned firsthand that on the road to a dream, disappointment travels as the unseen partner, and the ground under our feet must be sturdy enough to simultaneously embrace both.

Fast-forward to today. Yet again, I must make a long walk to the mailbox. What news did the postman bring? Did the publisher like my manuscript proposal? Will a letter of acceptance be waiting, or … will the box contain the disappointing rejection of a heartfelt dream?

Now, on a long walk to the mailbox, the little girl wears shoes.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength (Psalm 84:5,7).

From the back of the room, a hand popped up. “So what does your subtitle, Living With Eternal Intentionality®, actually mean?”

On this May evening, forty friends gathered in our home for praise, prayer, and dedication of my (then) newly released book, The Leader’s Wife, Living With Eternal Intentionality®. We called it, “A God Party.” While the group mingled and enjoyed Polish and Hungarian appetizers, Larry slipped to the garage and returned with a nondescript cardboard box. I stared in disbelief as he placed the sealed carton containing the copies of this brand-new publication on the hearth.

Moments later, with anticipation at a peak, we invited our guests to be seated and to join us for the unveiling. Suspense mounted as all eyes—mine included—focused on the brown box now placed front and center on a tall stool. Larry reverently pulled back the folded flaps and I gasped. Speechless, with tears, I lifted the first copy from the top of the stack, and marveled at a dream come true.

Oh, I wish you could have been there to join us in praising God! That night, we did, indeed, dedicate this book with a mission to His glory and to the encouragement of women.

Following a brief interview—during questions and answers—my friend asked, “What does Living With Eternal Intentionality® actually mean?”

My answer is as follows:

For you and me—followers of Jesus—Living With Eternal Intentionality offers a personal manifesto for ordinary people who choose to live extraordinary lives—wholeheartedly for the glory of God. As pastor Matthew Heard says, “I am not the star of the story.”

Three words constitute our ethos: acknowledge, dedicate, reaffirm.

• I acknowledge my life is not my own; I belong to my Savior Who set me free.

• I dedicate myself to God and to His purposes for me.

• I reaffirm on a daily basis my submission to His will.

I acknowledge that my life is not my own.

The Designer signed His Autograph across my heart, and His Words formulate my thinking: You were bought at a price (I Cor. 6:20). And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2 Cor. 5:15).

With every fiber of my being I desire to bring honor to Him. This decision forms the bedrock foundation for life at its richest and best.

I dedicate myself to Him and His purposes for me.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will prove what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

I view my earthly sojourn as a stewardship from God. My relationships, choices, pursuits, priorities, hobbies, hopes, habits, interests, investments, dreams, and decisions are offered to Him for His glory and my good. Thus, my life in all aspects and arenas is His. Whatever you do, do your work heartily for the Lord … (Col. 3:23a).

I reaffirm on a daily basis my submission to His will.

Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

My eternal destiny sets my daily direction. With His supernatural power filling me, and His anointed Word guiding me, I sift each aspect of life through the grid of my commitment to Him. This perspective—neither a formula nor a fix—emerges out of a burning desire to please Him. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it (2 Corinthians 5:9).

When challenges drain our spiritual vitality, and they do –

When self-focus shifts our gaze, and it does –

When cravings tempt us to chase empty pursuits, and they will –

… we recall our commitment and realign our sights. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we lean long and hard into The One leading us in our pursuit of Living With Eternal Intentionality. After all, in His presence is fullness of joy both now and forever (Psalm 16:1b NASB).

As Chris Tiegreen aptly says, “Eternity is in your heart because God wanted you to live with that perspective. Step into His Story in every area of your life, and live as though everything has meaning. Because it does.”

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and I accept Thy will for my life. I give up myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all of my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take second place in my heart. Fill me now and seal me with Thy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, for to me to live is Christ. Amen. -Betty Scott Stamm

https://www.reviveourhearts.com/true-woman/blog/betty-scott-stam-life-surrender/

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