"We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing" Psalm 39:6

What is your most profound regret in life? One pastor put it this way..

  "Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me  I  cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing... Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away."
-Mark Buchanan

 "TIME is a relentless river. It rages on, a respecter of no one. And this, this is the only way to slow down time: When I fully enter time's swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention. I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here. I can slow the torrent by being all here. I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment. And when I'm always looking for the glimpse of glory, I slow and enter. And time slows. Weigh down this moment in time with attention fully and the whole of time's river slows, slows, slows.''
-Ann Voskamp -"One Thousand Gifts".

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you." Mother Teresa

Some more great quotes -
"Grace is not about being first or last,
  it's about not counting."
"Nothing is too great for God's power.
   Nothing is too small for God's love."
"A little faith and a great God is enough."
"Learn to win by losing."
(sources unknown)

Here's an activity which I did with students aged  10-12 but could be used with teens or adults.  After reading Psalm 23 from the Bible and underlining and or coloring in key words or phrases, the students were asked to write their own version of the psalm using the template below.
.
 FILL THE GAPS WITH YOUR VERSION OF THE PSALM  
PSALM 23  
 THE LORD THE ………………………….. 
         
A song of  …………………...

​23 The Lord is my ………………….
    I have everything I need.
2. He gives me rest ………………………..
    He leads me to …………………….
3. He gives me new strength.
For the good of his name,
    he leads me on ……………………….
4. Even if I walk
    through a very ……………………….,
I will not be afraid
    because you are with me.
Your ………………..    and your ………………..     comfort me.
5. You prepare a meal for me
    in front of …………………….
You …………………………………...
    You give me more than …………………….
 
6. Surely your ………………………….. will be with me
    all my life.
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What part of this Psalm-poem do you like? Please explain why.

2) Have you ever lain down on green grass or in a field?
​What do you think it would feel like?

3) Is there a part of the Psalm that scares you? Why?
 
4) Is there a part that you find comforting? Why?

5) What do you think David thought God was like?

6) What do you think God is like?

7) Why do you think it is sometimes hard to describe who God is?

8) Why do you think people have different ideas about who God is and what he does?

" Don't ask God to guide your footsteps, if you're not willing to move your feet."
( unknown source)
" Turn the despair of being alone into the wonder of being alone with God."
( unknown source)

Aim towards ...
1. I don't need to tear down others in order to build myself up.
2. I consider inner convictions more the mark of a man than outer toughness.
3. I find talented people an inspiration, not a threat.
4. Seek to know how to take the garbage I am dealt with in life and recycle it into energy.
5. Forgive people who may never have the courage to apologize.
6. Live my private life as if it were public.
7.Consider people more important than plans and projects

(original source unkown)