Life in your years....

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years. -Abraham Lincoln; found online at http://www.mylifevantage.com/michaelandlisafields/truetv.aspx?page=6&sort=0 (click on Dr. Joe McCord's quote for a 1 minute music video with several awesome quotes)

i truly think i really am (hows that for emphasis?) a slow learner.  abraham lincoln (president of the u.s.) has this awesome quote that basically says what luigi giussani (catholic priest from italy), and many others, say.  live life to the full!  live life with gusto!

i often wish there was an instruction manual to tell me exactly how to do that.  i think it's because i'm afraid i'll make the wrong decisions along the way.  i remember once when i was a boy, i didn't know what kind of sandwich i wanted; and my grandmother, 'Maws,' would not decide for me.   she told me i had to decide.  isn't that weird? i've always thought it was weird (that i couldn't decide what sandwich i wanted).  i think G-d, like my grandmother, would look at me and say 'you decide michael; what do you want?'

throughout my life, i've learned this lesson over and over.  once, i was really struggling with G-ds 'will' in my life and what i should do.... -my mentor, ed, would tell me (in his way) not to make G-d so small!  that G-d didn't care what i did that day!  (within reason) -ed was trying to teach me that G-d wants me to make decisions - he wants me to do what my 'i' wants to do.  G-d gives us gaurd rails in life (the 10 commandments and the 2 'great' commandments that Jesus taught, for example); and beyond that, he wants us to go live life in abundance 'on the broad highway' -to put life in our days....

G-d cared enough to give us some instructions -and some warnings.  and, we get to do this thing (life) in relationship with him which is beyond cool.  and, he cared enough to give us free will.  i guess he expects us to use it.