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Randy Pausch left this world today.  His inspiration and zest for life captured the nation as he gave his “Last Lecture” at Carnegie Mellon last fall.

Randy was diagnosed in the summer of 2006 with pancreatic cancer.  Facing insurmountable odds and a dim future, Randy still helped to drive and inspire others to face challenging circumstances, even death, with robust joy.  He was quoted as saying, “I don’t know how not to have fun…I’m dying and I’m having fun, and I’m going to keep having fun everyday I’ve got left.”

May his life and last days cause us to appreciate the beauty of life and cherish the meaningful relationships that we have around us today.

As a new adage goes, “If you were to die tomorrow, what would you differently?”

Maybe a more important question is, “What if you were not going to die tomorrow…what would you do differently?”  Who would you serve?  Would you embrace life and challenges with joy?  Would you spend more time with your kids?  Would you love your spouse differently?  Would you be kinder…more loving…even reflect more?

This weekend I am teaching at The Orchard.  (Join us Saturday at 5.00 or Sunday at 9 or 10.45 a.m.)

One of the things that I will be touching on is this notion of significance.

Some excerpts from the message: 

…What if you are exactly the way God wanted you to be?

…What if everything about you is a part of God’s tapestry?

…God wants to be a part of your everyday life, even the mundane and boring.

…What if the greatest thing you ever did in life you will never know about until you get to heaven?

See you tomorrow, or Sunday!

I can’t get enough of this little guy.  I think we will keep him

I heard a speaker several years ago pose the question, “Is God safe?” I thought to myself back then when I heard it, and even now, that it was a loaded question.

I am reminded of a great theologian and writer that lived decades ago, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis. He best captured this idea of “God being safe” in his epic story of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

In C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles, one of the characters hears a description of the Christ figure in this book, Aslan, and it occurs to her for the first time that she might be a little nervous, if she were to come before this magnificent being. And her teacher and guide says, “That you will make no mistake. Anybody that could appear before Aslan without their knees knocking is either braver than most, or just plain silly.”

The little girl says, “then he isn’t safe?”

(I love the next line.)

“Safe! Haven’t you been listening at all!? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he is good. He is the King I tell you.”