The Wake-up Call

17 years ago last month, a friend of mine (Mike Warren) said, "I think you're ready for Life Training." I had no idea what this training was, but he was a very good friend and I respected him, so off I went. I had no inkling that this one weekend would shape the next decades of my life. Mike told me the weekend was a "wake-up call;" a gross understatement if there ever was one.

This course (and the subsequent ones, especially WOW) have made a profound and lasting difference in my life. I have learned to see all that comes to me in my life as pure gift; an opportunity to wake up, to see who I am, to forgive myself and others, to choose my next step.

When I took More to Life, I was holding on by my fingernails. I was on a self-destructive path through one relationship after another and barely getting myself out of bed day after day. I had surely had my share of hard things to deal with in life-- but that is true of everyone -- isn't it? I had always been a church-goer and while I agreed that I should have faith, I had no idea how to be "faithful." My view of the world, of God and of life was cynical, at best.

Today I have the "how." I am a person of passion and purpose. I wake up every morning with a song in my heart (if not on my lips) and realize I have everything I ever wanted. I am actually living my dream life.

More to Life isn't a magic show or a series of tricks. It isn't a fix-all or panacea. It was the beginning of my journey of waking up to take radical responsibility for my own life and happiness. It's a work in progress. It's about me - day after day -- looking at the people, circumstances, challenges and issues God brings to my life and saying THANK you. And then having the courage to dig deep and find the gift in each of those people, circumstances, issues and challenges.

Today is the 80th birthday of one of the co-founders of More to Life, Brad Brown, now deceased. On this day, I am thankful to him, to his co-founder, Roy Whitten, and to God. I am grateful for "the wake-up call." I am thankful -- so thankful -- that on the occasion of my own last breath, I will know that I have lived my life fully and faithfully, that I have embodied my vocation and that I have done my part to leave behind an inheritable world. Thank you.