Driving time is my "reading" time. No, I'm not one of those people who have the steering wheel in one hand and a novel in the other. That's just nuts.
My "reading" is actually listening to books on CD. A few weeks ago, I'd checked out three books on CD. On previous trips, I had listened to the first two. My final selection was "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.
I can't remember how I stumbled upon Randy's presentation on YouTube; I may have even used a part of it in a lesson before. If you want to invest one hour and sixteen minutes watching an inspirational video, click this link to watch Randy Pausch's "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams".
What makes this video unique? Here's the backstory: Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Not long after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he gave this speech as his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon to an audience of over 400. His point is not about being afraid to die; it's about not being afraid to live.
Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008. He left behind a wife and three kids--ages 5, 2, and 1. His speech and this book isn't really for you or me. It's for his kids. He wanted to leave something behind that would tell them about who he was and what he believed.
The book I listened to was an expansion of his Carnegie Mellon lecture. It is a wonderful book.
God used that book to talk to me. You see, I've been frustrated about my professional career for a while now. Sales haven't been good this fall and I was traveling all the time. I've been asking God when the storm will pass.
We just finished the Thanksgiving holiday, but in my heart it's been more like "Complaintsgiving". It took a peek inside the life of a man given only months to live to help me realize just how well my life is going.
It's funny that it really took God two books to get my attention this week. "The Last Lecture" was one of them; the "Book of Genesis" is the other. "How so?", you may ask.
Well, our lesson this week is about Abraham. You can read all about Abraham in Genesis chapters 12 through 23. It might take you 14 minutes to read. But those chapters cover decades of Abraham's life. His patience and faith was tested over and over. In preparing for Sunday (9:50 am, of course), it took me until yesterday for it to get through my thick head that things that happened in Abraham's life can teach lessons in yours and mine.
What kinds of things?
Well, first of all: read our scripture passages of Genesis 12:1-4, Genesis 15:1-6, and Genesis 17:1-14.
Secondly, come to class this week and you'll find out.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." -- Randy Pausch
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