Disappointments are Inevitable

Disappointments are Inevitable

We cannot pass through life without getting hurt. Pain and disappointment in this world are inevitable. But how we handle our setbacks shapes our character and prepares us for eternity. Our attitudes are the pivotal factor determining the level of our immunity from strife.

Regardless of the hardships we have faced, and in spite of the mistakes we have made, the end of our lives can either be full of praise and thanksgiving -- or full of misery and complaint. In the final analysis, what we have experienced in life will be as rich as the desires we have had fulfilled or as painful as the things we regret.

The Bible tells us, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). Those deep disappointments in life have a way of never leaving us; they enter our hearts like fire and then harden into our nature like lava. Setbacks can leave us cautious about new ventures and suspicious of new friends.

Our woundedness restricts our openness. We are fearful we will be hurt again by new relationships. Gradually, unless we learn to handle heartache correctly, we become embittered and resentful cynics. We lose the joy of being alive.

The Source of Fulfillment

It is our own desires and the degree of their fulfillment that produce either joy or sorrow in our lives. Even basic desires for marriage or friends can enslave us if they consume our attention. Are these desires evil? No, but if having our desires fulfilled is the main reason we have come to Christ, it is possible our lives simply will not improve until our priorities change.

The Lord is concerned about fulfilling our desires, but to do so He must pry our fingers off our lives and turn our hearts toward Him. Indeed, the reason we are alive is not to fulfill our desires but to become His worshipers.

Personal fulfillment can become an idol; it can develop into such an obsession that we are living for happiness more than living for God. Thus, part of our salvation includes having our desires prioritized by Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, He put it this way: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself" (Matt. 6:33-34). God wants to, and will, satisfy us beyond our dreams, but not before He is first in our hearts.

A wonderful example of this can be seen in the life of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Leah was unattractive, unwanted, and unloved by her husband. Jacob had served Laban, Leah's father, seven years for Rachel, who was Leah's younger sister. On their wedding night, however, Laban put Leah in the nuptial tent instead of Rachel. Although Jacob actually did marry Rachel a week later, he had to work another seven years for her. So Jacob had two wives who were sisters.

The Scriptures tell us that Rachel was loved by Jacob, but Leah was hated: "And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated . . . " (Gen. 29:31, KJV).

We must understand this about the nature of God: The Lord is drawn to those who are hurt. "The Lord saw . . . Leah." What wonderful words! In the same way water descends and fills that which is lowest, so Christ reaches first to the afflicted to fill the lowliest and comfort them.

The Lord saw that Leah was unloved. He saw her pain, loneliness, and heartache. Leah, though unloved by Jacob, was deeply loved by the Lord, and He gave her a son. Leah's reaction was predictable. She said, "Surely now my husband will love me" (v. 32).

Worse than living your life alone is to be married to someone who hates you, as was Leah. How Leah wished that Jacob might share the love he had for Rachel with her. Who could blame her? Leah's desires were justified. She had given him a firstborn son. In her mind, if the Lord could open her womb, He could also open Jacob's heart. But the time was not yet; Jacob still did not love her.

Twice more Leah gave birth to sons, and each time her desire was for her husband. She said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons" (v. 34). Yet, Jacob's heart did not desire her.

For Leah, as well as for us, there is a lesson here: You cannot make another person love you. In fact, the more pressure you place upon others to accept you, the more likely they are to reject you instead. Leah's concept of fulfillment was based on attaining Jacob's love and now her problem was worsening. For not only was she unattractive to Jacob, but her jealousies were adding to her lack of loveliness.

Three times we read in this text that the Lord saw and heard that Leah was unloved. He had seen her affliction. Through all her striving for Jacob and her disappointment with her marital relationship, the Lord was tenderly wooing Leah to Himself.

As Leah became pregnant a fourth time, a miracle of grace occurred within her. She gradually became aware that, while she had not been the focus of her husband's love, she was loved by God. And as this fourth pregnancy drew near to completion, she drew nearer and nearer to God. She became a worshiper of the Almighty.

Now as she gave birth to another son, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord" (v. 35). She named that child Judah, which means "praise." It was from the tribe of Judah that Christ was born.

Leah had been seeking self-fulfillment and found only heartache and pain. But as she became a worshiper of God, she entered life's highest fulfillment: She began to please God.

It is right here that the human soul truly begins to change and enter God's stronghold. As she found fulfillment in God, He began to remove from her the jealousies, insecurities, and heartaches that life had conveyed to her. A true inner beauty started growing in Leah; she became a woman at rest.

Likewise, we each have character defects that we are reluctant or unable to face. Others have seen these things in us, but they have lacked the courage to tell us. Both physically and personally, these flaws in our nature are what leave us anxious, threatened, and unfulfilled.

It is not counsel or classes on success or self-esteem that we need; we simply need to discover God's love for us. As we begin to praise Him in all things, we simultaneously put on the garments of salvation. We are actually being saved from that which would otherwise have destroyed us!

Disappointments and heartaches cannot cling to us, for we are worshipers of God! And, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God" (Rom. 8:28). If we continue to love God, nothing we experience can ultimately turn out harmful!

The Tree of Life

You will remember the verse we quoted, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). The verse concludes with, "but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." As our desires are fulfilled, we are fulfilled. Since it is the fulfillment of our desires that fills us with satisfaction, the secret to a rewarding life is to commit our desires to God.

Let Him choose the times and means of our fulfillment, allowing the Lord to prepare us for Himself along the way. The truth is that in ourselves we are incomplete; but in Christ we have been made complete (Col. 2:10).

You say, "That's easy for you to say. You have a wonderful wife and family. You are blessed. But you don't understand my problems." Yes, I do. My wonderful marriage was very difficult for the first few years. We struggled with many things in our relationship. My wife and I both came to the place where we were unfulfilled in each other. But, like Leah, we both looked to God and said, "This time I will praise the Lord." In fact, we named our second child the very name Leah gave to her fourth -- Judah.

For us, as for Leah, our lives were turned around as we chose to delight in God in spite of being unfulfilled with each other. As we became His worshipers, He began to work on our hearts until we were not only more pleasing to Him, we were also pleasing to each other! What I am relating to you is the very thing that saved and blessed our marriage!

Psalms 37:4 reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." As you delight in God, you change. The negative effects of disappointment and grief fall off. As love and joy from God begin to fulfill us, our very souls are restored and beautified. Yes, delight yourself with Jesus and your self-destructive tendencies will actually begin to vanish. Christ will beautify your life from the inside out.

The Outcome of Leah's Life

What happened with Leah? Well, the long years came and went. In time, Rachel and then Leah died. Jacob, on his deathbed, spoke to his sons: "I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave . . . which Abraham bought . . . for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah" (Gen. 49:29-31).

Jacob had buried Leah in the ancestral place of honor! Oh how those words, though few, say so much! They tell us that God had beautified this afflicted one with salvation. After Leah found fulfillment in God, God gave her fulfillment in Jacob. Over the years, inner peace and spiritual beauty shone forth from Leah; Jacob was knit to her in love. It is not hard to imagine that when Leah died, she left smiling, with the praises of God upon her lips.

Become a worshiper of God! As you surrender your desires to Him, as you put Him first, He will take what you give Him and make it beautiful in its time. He will take what has been bent and imbalanced within you and make you stand upright in His light and glory.

Therefore, this day speak to your soul. Tell the areas of unfulfillment within you that this time you will praise the Lord!

Prayer: Lord, I am a Leah, unlovely and always seeking the love of those who have rejected me. How foolish I have been. How blind. There is no love, no fulfillment in this life apart from You. You are the Tree of Life that satisfies all desires; You are the Healer of my heart. I love You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

InJesus

How to Be Sure You'll Make it Home

How to Be Sure You'll Make it Home

Our friend commuted in his private plane hundreds of times, flying from a little airfield near his house to the community where his office was. Well, not too long ago, knowing that he wanted to get home before the weather set in, he left his office earlier than usual and he headed for his plane. As he was boarding, he told a friend, "I'm going home!" Those may have been his last words. As he landed a few minutes later, the plane went into a skid and it slammed into a tree. He probably died instantly, but he still made it home.

Our friend had made it known to a lot of people that he cared about, he had placed his total trust in Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and take him to heaven when he died. And while it was his home on earth he thought he was heading for, his last words had more meaning than he could have ever known. He really was going home - to the eternal home in heaven that we all hope we'll go to when we take our last flight.

I hope you have that kind of security. I hope you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are, in the words of the Bible, "prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). That you are going to heaven when you die. It has nothing to do with being good enough to be in heaven. It has everything to do with what Jesus did when He died to remove the only thing that will keep you out of heaven - all the sins of your life.

There's a peace and a security that is beyond words in knowing that death no longer has any hold over you. It is, in reality, a non-issue because of Jesus. In Hebrews 2:14, our word for today from the Word of God, God says that Jesus "shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Or as another Bible writer says, "Christ Jesus... has destroyed death" (2 Timothy 1:10).

The Bible doesn't take death lightly. In fact, it refers to death as "the last enemy to be destroyed" (1 Corinthians 15:26). But it goes on to say that "death has been swallowed up in victory" by Jesus blowing the doors off death when He rose from the dead on Easter morning.

One Easter Sunday, Dr. Adrian Rogers' daughter read an amazing poem in their church service. King Death and Father Time are talking outside Jesus' tomb. Death tells Time that he is "guarding just one grave" because Jesus has threatened to challenge him. And, as Death says, "When I steps in to cut 'em down, it's for eternity." But three days later, Time finds Death quivering on the ground.

When Time asks what happened, Death says, "He came and He got ahold of me and He threw me to the ground. He put His foot here on my neck and He took my keys and crown. Two angels came to talk with Him. They glistened like the sun. He said, 'The job's all finished, boys. Redemption's work is done.'" Death concludes by saying, "I'm just a lowly servant now. I've little time to roam. I open up the soul gate and help the saints go home."

That's the only thing death can do now is take you to heaven if you know Jesus Christ personally. Maybe you've never grabbed Jesus as your only hope. Eternity is just too long to risk one more day without Him. Today would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I believe that I was made by You and I was made for You, but I believe I've wandered away from You. I've done things that have broken Your laws and broken Your heart. And I believe that You loved me so much that when You died on the cross, some of that sin You were dying for was mine. And I believe You're alive today, and I want You to be alive in me. I want to belong to You from this day on."

You know, if that's where you are right now and you want to be sure you belong to Him, then I want to encourage you to go to our website today. There's some information there I call Yours For Life. And the website is YoursForLife.net. It will help you be sure you belong to Him.

Beginning this day, you can know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are going to heaven when you die because you've put yourself in the hands of the only One who can take you there. And whenever your last day on earth is, you'll just be going home.

Ron Hutchcraft

Choosing Friends

Choosing Friends

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character". 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

As parents, my husband and I stress to our children the importance of choosing godly friends who are willing to share in their joys as well as in their struggles. We want them to have steadfast friends -- people they know they can count on, no matter what happens.

It is important for all of us to choose friends who uplift and encourage us. However, we also need friends who will tell us when we stray from God's ways and lovingly guide us back to the right path.

I have been blessed with such a friend. When I need someone to pray with me or just listen to my joys and sorrows, she is the one I call. I often turn to her for wise and godly guidance. I can count on her to encourage me, but I also know that she will gently nudge me back on course if necessary. The friends we want for ourselves and our children demonstrate these qualities of love as well as those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13.

We have no friend greater than Christ. However, God also places godly people in our path to befriend us. We can be thankful for them and their influence on our lives. In turn, it is also our privilege as followers of Christ to be that same kind of friend to others.

Marcia Hodge

When the Storm Hits

When the Storm Hits

What do you do when the storm hits?

You’re feeling fine, but then your doctor calls you with the results of your blood work. She says, “I’d like for you to come into my office. We’ve found some things we should talk about.”

You think everything is going well with your children. Everything you hear is that they behave themselves when they are away from you and you’ve always gotten good reports from their teachers and other adults. But, one day you get a call from the school Principal informing you that your son is in his office and is in pretty serious trouble.

You knew things were not perfect with your marriage, but compared to others you felt pretty good. You don’t argue much. You’ve just had a good family vacation. Then, one morning as your husband is getting ready for work you notice a suitcase by the door. You ask about it. He says, “I’m leaving. I just don’t want to do this any more.”

You have heard about other families having problems, but your parents have always “gotten along” and you assumed they had a good marriage. But, when you come home from school you find your mother sitting at the kitchen table crying, holding a letter to you from your Dad. Cautiously you open it and begin reading: “I know this is probably hard for you to understand, but I don’t love your mother any more, and I’m tired of playing the game. I want you to know that what is happening with your mother and it is not your fault, and I will always be here for you. I love you very much, but I need a change.”

Work has been a little slow lately but nothing major. Compared to other companies you had faired well. You had managed the economic downturn very well. At least that’s what you thought. Then you see your boss walking toward your office. He walks in and closes the door. He begins by saying, “Joe, I hate to have to do this, but?” You hear nothing after that.

What do you do when the storm hits?

You feel every emotion imaginable and at the same time you feel nothing. You are stunned. You are shocked. You are hurt. You are angry. You are afraid. You are confused. You feel desperate. What do you do when the storm hits?

One night when Jesus and His disciples were on a boat a storm hit them without warning. This is how Matthew describes the scene:

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:23-29, NIV)

The disciples were afraid because of the storm and confused because it seemed that Jesus was unconcerned about them. Although Jesus rebukes them a bit for their lack of faith, at least they knew what to do when the storm hit. They went to Jesus. Obviously they did not know what He would do, or what He could do, but knew they needed to wake Him.

Perhaps that is the message for us when the storm hits, go to Jesus. Go to the One who can calm the storm. Go to the One who is not afraid of the storm. When the storm hits, go to Jesus.

Tom Norvell

Taking it to the Boss

Taking it to the Boss

I know you've experienced it. Let's call it consumer frustration or customer frustration. Maybe it's all about a bill you believe there's a mistake on, or a problem with your phone or some other service, or maybe it's a store policy that seems to have you going in circles trying to find an answer. You've talked yourself blue in the face, trying to get some resolution from this salesperson or this customer rep. Then it dawns on you - this person doesn't have any authority to make any difference in this situation. They're just reading from the company script. So what do you do? You ask for the boss, the manager, the owner. That's where I usually get an answer, because they've got the authority to do something!

Authority is really the decisive factor in getting anything done; putting it in the hands of the person who is in charge. Now that's a fundamental secret of getting things done when you pray! Those who understand that mountain-moving faith is about realizing who's in charge are people who pray with power and who get results.

Jesus made that clear in our word for today from the Word of God. In Luke 7, beginning with verse 7, we hear the message a desperate Roman officer sent to Jesus about his dying servant. He was as Scripture says, "valued highly." The centurion says to Jesus, "Say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Then Luke records Jesus' unique response. "When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowds following Him, He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and they found the servant well." Now Jesus had described His own disciples as "you of little faith." But He says this Gentile soldier has great faith. It's the only time in the Bible when we're told Jesus was amazed at someone's faith. Usually, He's amazed at their lack of faith.

So what kind of faith amazes Jesus, and by the way, prays down miracles? Well, it's all about authority. This officer was saying, "Just as I have total authority over my soldiers, Jesus, so You have total authority over this disease my servant has. This disease will do what You tell it to do, Lord!" So when you pray, you pray to Jesus as the Lord over every germ, every virus, every disease on this planet. He is the Lord over every heart of every person in your situation. He is the Lord over every weather system, every home, every piece of land, every human authority, every resource, every corner of this world and this universe. "Jesus, the economy isn't going to decide what happens to me - You are. This condition isn't going to decide it - You are. These people aren't going to decide it - You are. The odds aren't going to decide it - You are, Jesus!"

No matter how big the need, no matter how limited the resources, no matter how short the time, Jesus has whatever it takes to do what needs to be done! So quit coming to Jesus as if He's limited to what we can see and what we can come up with. He's the Boss of everything and everyone that touches your life! If you want something done, go to the person in charge of the whole universe!

Ron Hutchcraft

Sinking Sand

Sinking Sand

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fail for it was founded on that rock! But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. Matthew 7:24-27

Most of us build our lives on certain principles and goals we believe in. This is our foundation. It is what we stand upon, hope in and structure around.

My question to you, is your house built on the rock? The only rock to build this spiritual house on is Jesus. For without His salvation, the hope and guidance from God the father, how can we withstand the storms of this life?

What meaning has this life, if we build it on things we cannot count on?

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Corinthians 15:19

This life we build, with our hopes, dreams, accomplishments, accumulation of possessions, relationships good and bad, when it comes to the end was our body of work worthy? Was it well thought out and something we can be pleased with? Most of all, would it please God the Father?

When things you have planned fall apart, or people you love disappoint you or walk out of your life, do you feel your foundation crumbling? Truth is, if we have not planned for the storms of life, and built our strength up through God's word, when the storm hits, not only are we unprepared, it can discourage us, or devastate us. We have become weak in our faith, and troubled on every side. Many people fall away from their faith during these times, often blaming God or people around them, and it changes their life, perhaps forever.

Ever have that sinking feeling come over you when things start to happen you were not expecting, or that overwhelm you? It is not a good feeling.

These times we are falling into sinking sand. Our eyes off God, and out of his word, and out of his presence. We have succumbed to the doubts, fears and worries of life till it has robbed our very soul of His presence, hope and direction.

When in the beginning, if we had trusted God, if we had REALLY believed in Him, really relied on Him, really made him Lord of our life, really made him our source, we would have been building a foundation based on our trust in his abilities and not on our circumstances or goals, or even thinking. WE would have looked to a higher power, and recognized even in the trials of life he is there, a sure foundation, a anchor for our soul.

Day by day, hour by hour, our spirit and strength would have been growing in his wisdom and knowledge, and not in our own confidence, but in Him.

There have been times in my life, when I wanted to scream because of the horrible things happening. I wanted to indulge myself in the sorrows, and just give up. Longing for peace, I would instead indulge in the worry and sorrow and fear of the moment. It never got me anyplace. Indeed it made me miserable. The light could not enter because I had shut the door to that great inspiration that is found by just quieting my spirit and submitting to God.

You don't have to sink when the storms of life hit. You can build your house on the rock, Jesus Christ. A firm foundation that nothing can shake or prevail against.

My friend, we have this one life, and soon it will be past. Don't base your life on what you see, or what you feel, base it on what God sees, and what He wants for you. Look at the big picture. He is over all, above all, sees all, and knows the answers before we even utter the questions.

I will lift my eyes unto the hills, from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made heavens and the earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Millie Plastaras

God Loves You More Than You Love Yourself

God Loves You More Than You Love Yourself

ROMANS 5:8 NKJ
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God has proven His love for you. So don't doubt it. What proves that God loves you more than you love yourself? He died in your place -- suffering the punishment for sin that you deserved, so you could go free. God was more willing to suffer Himself than to see you suffer.

Of course, the devil constantly tries to get you to doubt that God loves you. That's why you must rely on what the Bible says -- not what your feelings or circumstances may tell you.

You may think you don't love yourself -- maybe you think you hate yourself. Even if you don't think too highly of what you have done, you still love yourself in the sense that you desire the best for yourself. You don't desire pain or loss.

So it is with God -- He desires good for you -- even more than you do. And He demonstrated at Calvary that He would put your interest before His own.

1 JOHN 4:16 NKJ
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

There are at least two reasons why God loves you so much.

First, it is His nature to love. The Bible says that God is love. Love is the word that best describes God's nature.

Second, you are His creation. God loves you just as good earthly parents love their offspring. People may not seem very special to others, but to their mother and father they are always special. This should help you understand how God could really like you -- even though you may not like yourself very much.

Also, God sees you as you can be and will become -- not just as you are now. God has faith in you and in His ability to make you someone special.

Momsooky

Sheep Shoving

Sheep Shoving

There's a lot of sheep-talk in the Bible, which puts city boy here at a distinct disadvantage. I grew up in Chicago, we didn't have them. Now if the Bible used cockroaches as an example, I'd be all set. But I've had to learn about sheep from friends who have been around them a lot. One of our ministry team has worked with ranchers a lot with their sheep. And he told me the other day about how the shepherd gets his sheep to go where he wants them to go! There's a way that works and a way that doesn't work. My co-worker said he has seen people get behind sheep and try to push them along. Notice I said, try! It doesn't work, no matter how much noise he makes or how he waves his arms. When they are pushed by a shepherd, sheep just scatter. But when he gets out in front of them; when he leads them the way he wants them to go, the sheep follow after him.

Over and over in God's Word we are described as being like sheep, and Jesus is described as being our Shepherd. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:11 says, "He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and He carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those who have young." Notice the Lord gets us to go where He wants us to go not by pushing. It says He gently leads. Remember the 23rd Psalm, "He leads me beside quiet waters."

Now it may be that God has put you in a position where you're doing some shepherding. In other words, there are some people under your influence who need to go in a certain direction, and you're trying to get them to go there. The sheep may be your own children, or some people in ministry with you, or people you minister to, or people who work with you, or just some folks you're trying to motivate to go a certain way. If you're trying to do any shepherding, take a lesson from the Great Shepherd and many other shepherds... gently lead them. Even though you sometimes feel like really pushing them. Leading just works so much better than pushing.

If you're trying to push your "sheep," you tend to be impatient with them. In fact, that's why we often start pushing because they're not responding. If you're leading them, you'll be willing to take time for them to get it right. If you're pushing, you probably dwell a lot on what they're doing wrong. If you're leading, you're dwelling on the things they're doing right and you're encouraging from there to work on the rest. When you're behind the sheep trying to forcibly direct them, you tend to make moving the most important thing. When you're in front of the sheep leading them, you tend to communicate that the sheep are most important.

Honestly now, which one best describes you. Are you behind those sheep, nagging, criticizing, coercing? You're pushing, and they will probably just run away. Or are you modeling where you want them to go, giving correction gently and privately, praising, encouraging, and enabling? If so, then you are leading the sheep. And they're a lot more likely to follow.

Now, sheep sometimes wander off and they require some strong bringing back with a staff. But most of the time, all of us sheep follow gentle, consistent leadership the best. We don't like to be pushed. We like to be led. The destination the shepherd wants the sheep to go is the same, whether he's up front leading or behind pushing. What's different is how the sheep respond. If you have a sheep that isn't going where you're trying to take him or her, consider if part of the problem is the shepherd.

Maybe it's time for a little less of that hard pushing from behind, and maybe it's time for a little more of that gentle leading from out in front.

Ron Hutchcraft