The great life is not an accident. It is the result of setting a goal and reaching for it. No leader doubts this great truth yet many people live their lives without concrete goals. The reason they do is found in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” There are those timid souls whose faith is so weak that they cannot reach for what they cannot see.

In 1963 President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in which he promised that America would put a man on the moon before the decade was up. Skeptics were everywhere, but the goal was real. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. As he did he said, “That is one small step for man and one giant step for mankind.” What it really was, was America reaching a goal that had been courageously set.

If we had never set that goal then we would have never walked on the moon. No other country on earth set such a goal and to this day, no other country on earth has set human foot on the moon. You cannot reach what you do not reach for!

There are two great principle of goal setting that we all need to take to heart.

(1) We must set goals. It is the secret to progress and achievement. Set personal goals. Set family goals. Set spiritual goals. You will be amazed at how goal setting can change your life.

(2) Set visible reminders of your goals. A forgotten goal is a forsaken goal. NASA had the great visible reminder on earth. Every time a NASA worker looked into the night sky and saw the moon he or she would remember the goal of walking on the moon.

Whatever your goal, make a visible reminder and keep it before you.

Aim for the moon. God will help you soar higher than you ever thought possible.

Lonnie Davis

Happy Talk

I love music. My first love is Christian music, but I also like some country music and even some pop. The other night I happened to catch a play version of “South Pacific” on television. I did not see much of it, but I did catch a song that really had a great thought. The song was called “Happy Talk.” The line I loved said,

“Happy talk, keep talking happy talk. Talk about things you’d like to do. You gotta have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, How you gonna have a dream come true?”

I love it when people discover things that God told us thousands of years ago. Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. (Philippians 4:8).

If you have ever heard one, that is a command to “Happy Talk!” Why is there such a need in our lives for happy thoughts and happy talk?

First, because the happy talk is internal talk. It is what you tell yourself about yourself. If you tell yourself over and over how stupid you are or what a big mess you have made of your life, you will believe yourself. When you spend the day talking negatively to yourself and about yourself, you will develop the blues and maybe even head toward depression.

Second, because if you do not take care of yourself, no one else will. That is not a negative thought it is just a truth about life. There are those who love you enough that they will try to take care of you, but if you are bent of meditating on negative thoughts, they cannot keep up with all the negativity you can put into your heart. Take care of yourself. Think on good things. Practice happy talk.

Keep talking happy talk. You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true?”

What dream are you dreaming?