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I most definately DO NOT have a plan for my life. There are too many variables. I take each day as they come with a general direction.
For example, I want to be published author. I've written two novels. I am pursuing publication. I hope to achieve this goal. but I can't plan in it. I can do everything in my power to bring it about, but ultimately, it isn't up to me. I don't own a publishing house. If it doesn't happen, I've got to just move onto something else.
Any life plan would be fluid at best, if not, I think I would end up a bitter and resentful old woman. Old I can't help, the other two I don't want to be.
But, I do think some of the frustrations of my life result from things I would have planned differently.
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Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. - Frederick Buechner
If society prospers at the expense of the intangibles, how can it be called progress?
Realm: second star to the right, straight until morning
Hi everyone... Jumping into this one a bit late...but better than never, eh?
Interesting post everyone has posted. And some valid points made. But it seems that there are always more questions...
Are our lives planned by God/Goddess? And does free will affect the out come.....
And if I had .... would this have happened.....
Personally, I feel that ones life is of free will.
And this I say isn't to conflict with the possibility of certain destinies, or oppertunities! Who really knows?! I just think that things are left to chance, because if God is all caring etc, etc, how can it be in 'his' plan to have childern being molested, or people living in the streets starving......As Elspeth said then we are merely puppets..... I beleive that once and a while, that we are given oppertunities...and it is our choice to take advantage of them. And see what sprouts from those life choices.....Does that mean that it 'was written in the stars' ???? Maybe, maybe not.... we don't know? That is why I believe nothing is set in stone. (remember even the smallest person can change the coarse of history;) ) I believe that at the end of the day, when we are alone with our thoughts. That most need to feel as if they are being lead /or following the right path.
This post has been edited by barddas on 03-Feb-2004, 11:09 AM
Music is holy, art is sacred, and creativity is power
Everyday is EARTH DAY to a farmer
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." Oscar Wilde
Some men are drawn to oceans, they cannot breathe unless the air is scented with a salty mist. Others are drawn to land that is flat, and the air is sullen and is leaden as August. My people were drawn to mountains- Earl Hamner Jr.
Realm: second star to the right, straight until morning
Maybe it's not a 'plan' but possibly aid... or rewards... example.... if you live a honest life( ie kind to others etc....) maybe one is given an opportunity .... something is 'sent' their way and they have the choice to 'take the risk'...
sorry for the ramblings...I'm at work, and it's busy......But this is an interesting topic.....
Realm: second star to the right, straight until morning
QUOTE (Elspeth @ Dec 26 2003, 09:05 PM)
I most definately DO NOT have a plan for my life. There are too many variables. I take each day as they come with a general direction.
For example, I want to be published author. I've written two novels. I am pursuing publication. I hope to achieve this goal. but I can't plan in it. I can do everything in my power to bring it about, but ultimately, it isn't up to me. I don't own a publishing house. If it doesn't happen, I've got to just move onto something else.
Any life plan would be fluid at best, if not, I think I would end up a bitter and resentful old woman. Old I can't help, the other two I don't want to be.
But, I do think some of the frustrations of my life result from things I would have planned differently.
Hey 'Old Woman'
I see what you are saying. There are too many possibilites in life to have a 'solid' plan for ones life. But that doesn't stop anyone from placing milestones, or certain goals that one can strive for.
And as far as some of your fustrations being due to past choices... I think everyone has those feelings.... There are things that I wish I would have done differently... sure. But, it has made me who I am today. And I am content, and happy with that. The past can not be changed, and things that we did when we were younger may have been silly, stupid, or just plain bad choices. But, hopefully we have gained knowledge from those experiences. And knowing that I won't make the same rash mistake again! Makes those choices ok with me....
And dear, Elspeth even if you aren't published. You should not 'move on' ! You have a gift, and even if publishers don't think your stories are 'what we're looking for' . There are people that appreciate you hard work. Me being one of them! You are a storyteller. Keep telling us stories...
Do you believe God has a plan for each and every life? Or do you believe free will, by definition, negates the concept of a plan? And if there are scriptures that molded these beliefs, please share them as well.
I believe that God has a plan for each of our lives, and will guide us along the way to the best possible life for us - IF we seek Him and are willing to follow, to trust, to step out in faith even when we can't see very far ahead.
'Free will' is the thing that trips us up, though; we always have a choice to either follow God or go our own way. It doesn't negate the concept of a plan, it just enables us to get off the path quite easily.
Let me see, what's that bit in Jeremiah that comes to mind about plan... oh, here it is: "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29: 11- 13)
and another good one is: 'So I say to you; ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.: (Luke 11: 9 & 10)
By experience, I've found both of these promises to be fulfilled.
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"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king..."
I'm glad I popped back in here. Old fool, thank you so much for your kind words.
Siusaidh, I have to disagree vehemently with the concept of free-will being what trips us up. It is one of God's greatest gifts. Otherwise we would be like the 40 year old child still living with their parents, having to ask permission to use the car and only being allowed to do or think what mom and dad lets them.
Free will is an amazing gift.
I have done a great deal of soul living since I first posted this topic. It is so true that sometimes we seem to stay in one place for a long time and then in a matter of weeks have years worth of experience.
I still, most definately do not believe in a plan. I would question the origional Hebrew use of the word in Jeremiah. And even if it is plan as we know it I think that is differnet than many people chose to define God's plans.
To me it is a matter of macro vs. micro. God has a macro plan for my life. That I live here on this earth in such a way that I come to Him and then get to celebrate eternal life in His presence. That is the plan. Whether I become a writer or a singer or a mother or an executive are choices I must make, hopefully best utilizing the gifts He has given me. If I ask for guidence along the way, He will nudge me in the direction that will be best for me in the macro sense.
I also know if we are faithful and obedient to the precepts of who God is, we will find our lives enriched. But I cannot see that as a 'plan' as in a track we fall into and then mindlessly follow throughout the rest of our days.
Siusaidh, I have to disagree vehemently with the concept of free-will being what trips us up. It is one of God's greatest gifts.... I still, most definately do not believe in a plan. I would question the origional Hebrew use of the word in Jeremiah. And even if it is plan as we know it I think that is differnet than many people chose to define God's plans.
To me it is a matter of macro vs. micro. God has a macro plan for my life. That I live here on this earth in such a way that I come to Him and then get to celebrate eternal life in His presence. That is the plan. Whether I become a writer or a singer or a mother or an executive are choices I must make, hopefully best utilizing the gifts He has given me. If I ask for guidence along the way, He will nudge me in the direction that will be best for me in the macro sense.
I also know if we are faithful and obedient to the precepts of who God is, we will find our lives enriched. But I cannot see that as a 'plan' as in a track we fall into and then mindlessly follow throughout the rest of our days.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear when I said that its free will that trips us up... I didn't mean free will is a negative thing. I just meant that it is the place where we have to make a choice as to what we do or believe... its the junction where we have to choose what we do, and we always have the potential to choose negatively.
But don't you think that God does have a plan for each of us, a path for our lives where if we walk along that path we will find the most fulfillment and sense of purpose? In the biggest sense, God wants us to seek Him & want a relationship with Him; any time we are not seeking Him and attuned to Him, we're missing out on a good thing... In a different sense, it seems to me that God has a plan for each of us in that he sets us in what country we're in, amongst the people we're with, in the era we've been born in even, in order to interact with them & find fulfillment or purpose.
I agree with you that God has a 'marco plan' for our lives - I do not see a 'plan' as being a track we mindlessly follow!
So often it comes down to words. I have been around people who rabidly believe God has a plan for their entire existence, everything that has ever happened to them was planned from the dawn of time by God, and to believe otherwise is heresy. That has become my definition of ?plan? and hence why I believe there isn?t a plan.
Yes, you are right in what you said about free-will. It is what trips us up, but it also the reason we need grace. And without the need for forgiveness there would be no need for Christ. Neat circle isn't it?
I think I?m sticking with the philosophy that God has a plan for all his children, that they live with Him someday in paradise. That is the plan. He created us all uniquely and therefore we are all best suited for certain things and certain ways of life. When we live within the range of our creation we are happier and more fulfilled than when we live outside of it. God cares about the tiniest details of our lives, but He doesn?t plan them for us.
I have been around people who rabidly believe God has a plan for their entire existence, everything that has ever happened to them was planned from the dawn of time by God, and to believe otherwise is heresy. That has become my definition of ?plan? and hence why I believe there isn?t a plan...
Yes, you are right in what you said about free-will. It is what trips us up, but it also the reason we need grace. And without the need for forgiveness there would be no need for Christ. Neat circle isn't it?
*whew* Good then, we're on the same wavelength there! I too have talked to people who believe in a 'plan' almost to the point of predestination... I don't think every single thing that happens to us was planned from the dawn of time either... if it was, there really would be no need for grace or Christ's sacrifice or even prayers spoken seeking guidance - we'd be no more than rats in a maze.
Grace! Ah, that is the most astonishing, awesome concept... its the thing that can bring me to my knees, in sheer appreciation of a Creator God who has such kind regard for each of us...
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