Now, I’m assuming since I am dying my family will get the life insurance money. Right?!
That being the case, I’d spend those 30 days with people. Mostly, my family. We’d create more memories. We’d take lots of pictures. I’d spend time with them one-on-one and as a family. We’d talk a lot. I’d also spend time with friends. I’d make certain everything that needed to be said was said. Again, lots of talking. And I think I’d write a lot. Mostly to my family. Things I would have wanted to say to them at different times in the future.
Yes, I would keep doing my job (I love my job and what our church is doing,)…but just until they did not need me… probably by day 2.
Ugh! What a question! After my initial freak out session I would have the longest family group hug ever recorded…then LIVE!
One thing for sure I would do – especially if I were given 30 days now…my kids are 10 and 13, so I would write letters to each of them to open on their graduation day, first broken heart, first love, wedding day, first child and so on… That would be extremely difficult to do and I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Funny thing is, how many of us have “30 days” but don’t know it? Kind of makes me wanta go write those letters!
WOW Anne…Yikes…it is really depressing to think about, but I would have to agree a little bit with Tam on the letter writing to my kids. I have two boys, 11 and 13, and I would definately want to leave them those “special” letters through the years.
BUT…I would also be FREE more…you know, FREE from the anxiety of wondering what other people think, FREE from the stress of every day, FREE from the “stuff” that tends to weigh so heavy on your day.
I have a friend, he is a GREAT guy, LOVES the Lord with all his heart and soul. He is a newlywed, he has only been married 3 years now, and he has stage 4 cancer…they told him 3 weeks ago that he could pass any day now…and you know what??? He is still here, not much longer, but each and every day he spends the entire day alone with his wife, and to him that is the best thing ever.
(Sorry to be depressing with that…)
Thanks for making me THINK a little harder tonight…
Melissa ;)
Wow! What an awesome question. As sobering as it is, those kinds of questions make us evaluate what we are doing and if our priorities are right. One of the comments hit it right on the head when she “how many of us have 30 days and don’t know it?” I think I would keep a video camera by me the whole time to record my thoughts and sayings for my family like “I love you” and “it will be ok” and “you can do it” so they can hear it when they need it after I was gone. I think just in my character I would say things like “the music is great up here” and “I never thought I would look good in white!” Thanks for the question.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Honest—I’ve actually been feeling like there’s so much to do and so little time. God has changed my life and is moving so fast that I want to keep up! I know that I am finally at the point where I am allowing him to use me and I want to do it now! It is incredible and I want to tell and share with as many as I can and get to where he wants me to be—and of course get there with my kids and as many friends as possible!!! In 30 days so many lives can be changed in so many ways!!
It is interesting how so many people (even Christians) are depressed by the thought of death. It is so easy to read a book like Philippians and say that we have counted everything as loss for the sake of Christ, but how many times do we long for the things of this world. We want to travel, or raise our kids, or spend time with our spouses, but if we knew we had 30 days to live, should we not be elated that we have the opportunity to go home! We have the easy road when we die, it’s the people that are left behind that are left with the struggle. As someone who has been left behind many times, I can tell you from experience that they will be OK. In fact, they may even be better in the long run…yes, there are times when God calls people to die to show HIS mercy and grace and love to someone else.
It’s hard to imagine that life moves on without us because we have seen life through our own eyes, and yet, the world continues to spin. While we think that we are missing out on the things we think we want most, we might be missing out on something even better…the call God has for our life.
Why wait to do what you know you should be doing until it’s too late. Live the life God is calling you to live NOW. Don’t wait until the end and you find yourself trying to explain to the Creator of this earth why you were so afraid to take a leap of faith. If you have a plan for the last 30 days of your life, you need to make that the plan for the next 30 days.
I would spend the next 30 days running around the city of chicago telling everyone to go to flowerdust.net and read each and every nugget and pearl of wisdom that flowed from these pages!!!!
Actually, I would have a 30 day celebration–unless I was in pain then it might be hard to do. Hopefully, my celebration would include a surprise party for anyone who is without Christ as special invitees. Of course my fellow believers would be invited.
I walked through the valley of the shadow death before I met Him. I have walked through the valley of the shadow death in warfare after meeting Him. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death when they physically had to remove my heart and put me on a machine at the hospital.
The valley of the shadow death, now has no more shadow–It is now my valley of Light and Life. It is because He is my Light and my Life for He is the Light of the world.
Note: Anne, you might want to check out kindlytalk.com, it’s interesting.
Gotta just keep on keepin’ on. Keep pluggin’ away til the day I die, right?
I’d love to say I’d go on vacation, tell more people about Jesus, eat steak every night, etc…but the truth is, I’d just keep doing what I’ve been called to do (whatever that is??? – lol)
I’d say a good long goodbye to my wife, kids, family, and friends… then I’d buy a one way ticket to the most volitile anti-Christian place on the globe and bring them the message of Jesus Christ. Like Laos, or Iran.
Oh, and all this will be documented in a video for reality television series called 30 Days To Die.
I’m confused as to why so many people consider this question morbid. Human life is fragile. I’m reminded of that every time I’m sitting in the ER with a church member. Even our own sacred text tells us that life is a vapor–here one minute and gone the next.
For me, death and dying are not the subjects I concern myself with. Those are settled for me.
What’s more difficult is how I choose to live. The sobering reality is not that life is short but that I can only “spend” it once. I only have one shot. And if I blow it, there is no “do-over.”
The answer to the question in the post…I would love those to whom I have been given and those who have been given to me.
And the next question is, what do I need to change or re-arrange in my life so that I’m accomplishing that today?
Stop blogging
Hire a cleaning lady
Hire a photographer and/or videographer to accompany me and my family so the kids won’t forget mom–the little ones will without a visual connection
Travel with my family and do fun things
Take a babysitter with us so Doug and I can have lots of dates
Write letters or record videos to the kids with instructions, values they need to pursue, permission to let go
Record an album of our “family songs”
I’d love to say I’d do more about spreading the gospel or what have you but I must admit that I’d rather invest in my family and leave a legacy for them (the living) to carry that out.
Granted, all you did was ask an open-ended question. These are good at allowing people to answer how he or she sees fit; but I will choose to elaborate upon your question, if I may.
I don’t like the idea of living as though life is short or as if “today is your last day”. I understand the motivation behind such questions. Well if I only had 30 days to live I would do all kinds of extraordinary things (extra-ordinary).. I would go above and beyond what I am doing now, blah, blah, blah.
So, the questions demands, why are we not living in such ways now?
It’s a valid question, I suppose, with good intentions and decent life lessons all packed in. But I still have a problem with questions like these.
I don’t want to live today as if it is my last day, let alone living as though this is my last month on earth. For some reason, when I think about things in this manner, it takes the life out of life for me.
I don’t necessarily think this life is all about the exciting “last minute” stuff. The in-ordinary, if you will.
I think life is about the mundane, day-today affairs. Heaven is the fun stuff and that is on its way, probably… what I think I have been asked to do until that day is live life. I don’t think I’m called to take the “gospel” to “the nations” or anything like that; rather, I think I am called to live. To persevere. To “hang in there”, so to say.
It is a peculiar thing to me that the Scriptures speak so highly and so often about suffering. The Scriptures go as far as to say our joy should be found in suffering.
Our joy is in suffering not our joy is in our joy.
I have just started thinking about this recently and don’t have my thoughts fully developed on it yet. But I think there is something to this whole “just live life” thing. There is something that tells me the profundity of life is not found in adventure but in perseverance. It isn’t in the extraordinary moments we see God and discover life, but in the ordinary moments; the day to day tasks to which we should be responsible.
I think the key to our very lives may be found not in some wild and crazy adventure, but, rather, in the daily grind of whatever presents itself between the hours of 9-5.
Call my insurance guy and pay the first month’s premium on a 5 million dollar life insurance policy.
Call my banker and leverage my certain death into a 4 million dollar loan.
Buy my wife some flowers. (Love is in the small things…)
Pay off the mortgages of 5 of my closest friends. (and write them checks for the gift taxes that may or may not accompany this act)
Tell my boss, “Thanks but no thanks.”
I’d go sky diving
I’d go Rocky Mountain climbing
I’d go 2.7 seconds on a bull named FuManchu
and I’d love deeper and I’d speak sweeter
and I’d give forgiveness I’d been denying
Someday I hope I’ll take the chance to live like I am dying!
(ok – there has to be country music fans out there)
Great question. I’d like to say “nothing different” because that would mean Im living the exact life God wants me to. I’m not so sure thats the case though
Cliff – great thoughts on the ordinary life. Here’s some of my thoughts on a previous thread called dreams:
“I guess God’s dream for my life is what I’m actually living now (I’m a sovereign God guy). Part of my problem is I have trouble seeing the grand calling in the simple and mundane. If I could than I would be living my ultimate dream.
If my dreams are about the huge thriving church I want to lead, or the incredible blockbuster movie I want to direct, or the fabulous vacation home I want to buy, or even a beautiful passionate perfect spouse… I suppose all of my dreams have been dismissed and for good reason. But if my dreams are whatever God brings me: being the best husband possible to my wife, being the best father possible to my boys, or being the best brother, or son, or cousin, or friend, or neighbor… the simple (and often taken for granted) roles could be the most amazing dream God has for our lives.
I’m thinking that my own struggles and let downs are
about my ego not being made much of – and less about God being made much of in my ordinary life.”
However, this question of having 30 days to live, is important because it brings our most vibrant human passions to the forefront. I think it’s important for us to ask and answer honestly.
I honestly would give my life in the worst possible mission field out there. Why? Because, why not. I’m sentenced to death in 30 days anyway. Why am I not doing that now? Because I have a God-given responsibility to be a husband and a father and a minister to where I’m at right now. 30 days is far different than 30 years. The risks and consequences of my life are drastically changed.
If I would answer this question like you, and say I would do nothing different if I had 30 days to live, then that is what I care about most – living my own life. If I answered by saying all the great trips and activities I would take, then that’s what I care about most – travel and leisure and excitiment. If I say I would risk my life in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ (although super cliche), that would be what I care about most.
Then you could ask, “What about your wife and kids and family and friends? Don’t you care about them most?”
And I would answer, “In 30 days I will be gone. 30 days is not 30 years. They would know I love them most because of the time and care I’ve already invested there, and for the sake of others they would lay down my life for the nations. The legacy I would leave my wife and kids and family and friends – is the passion to lay down one’s life for friends and enemies for the sake of Jesus Christ. We could do this in ordinary ways (wife and kids and family and friends), and in extraordinary ways (bringing the gospel to dangerous nations). To my family, 30 days doesn’t mean as much as 30 years. To those starving for the gospel, 30 days means eternity. So if I were to die in 30 days, I would say that good long goodbye to those I love, and send myself headlong into the most life-threatening mission field on earth. It is cliche, but for me it is the uttermost truth.”
End note: Because I am not dying in 30 days (to my knowledge) – I will continue serving God right where I’m at as a husband, father, friend, and minister. To go die on the mission field would be irresponsible and against God’s will at this point.
So whether I do this or that, there is great joy. Like you stated so beautifully, joy is found most amazingly in what we suffer.
Comments
33 responses to “30 days…”
What a morbid thought and actually kind of depressing.
Maybe I’d stop blogging so I wouldn’t read stuff that depresses me. Heck I’ve only got 30 days to live…I want to smile :)
By the way, I am still laughing at the “side-hug” club. It just cracks me up!
1. Keep my eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) as I near the finish line.
2. Love on my friends and family.
3. Read the Bible and pray each day.
4. Plant one more church.
5. Run one more marathon.
6. Touch more people at the point of need.
7. Keep trying to make a difference in my day.
8. Preach 8 more times.
9. Read Mad Church Disease.
10. Press toward the finish line!
Know that you are loved,
gaj
Now, I’m assuming since I am dying my family will get the life insurance money. Right?!
That being the case, I’d spend those 30 days with people. Mostly, my family. We’d create more memories. We’d take lots of pictures. I’d spend time with them one-on-one and as a family. We’d talk a lot. I’d also spend time with friends. I’d make certain everything that needed to be said was said. Again, lots of talking. And I think I’d write a lot. Mostly to my family. Things I would have wanted to say to them at different times in the future.
Yes, I would keep doing my job (I love my job and what our church is doing,)…but just until they did not need me… probably by day 2.
Ugh! What a question! After my initial freak out session I would have the longest family group hug ever recorded…then LIVE!
One thing for sure I would do – especially if I were given 30 days now…my kids are 10 and 13, so I would write letters to each of them to open on their graduation day, first broken heart, first love, wedding day, first child and so on… That would be extremely difficult to do and I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Funny thing is, how many of us have “30 days” but don’t know it? Kind of makes me wanta go write those letters!
Oh, and I’d drink lots and lots of Mochas!!!
you’re so morbid!
WOW Anne…Yikes…it is really depressing to think about, but I would have to agree a little bit with Tam on the letter writing to my kids. I have two boys, 11 and 13, and I would definately want to leave them those “special” letters through the years.
BUT…I would also be FREE more…you know, FREE from the anxiety of wondering what other people think, FREE from the stress of every day, FREE from the “stuff” that tends to weigh so heavy on your day.
I have a friend, he is a GREAT guy, LOVES the Lord with all his heart and soul. He is a newlywed, he has only been married 3 years now, and he has stage 4 cancer…they told him 3 weeks ago that he could pass any day now…and you know what??? He is still here, not much longer, but each and every day he spends the entire day alone with his wife, and to him that is the best thing ever.
(Sorry to be depressing with that…)
Thanks for making me THINK a little harder tonight…
Melissa ;)
Wow! What an awesome question. As sobering as it is, those kinds of questions make us evaluate what we are doing and if our priorities are right. One of the comments hit it right on the head when she “how many of us have 30 days and don’t know it?” I think I would keep a video camera by me the whole time to record my thoughts and sayings for my family like “I love you” and “it will be ok” and “you can do it” so they can hear it when they need it after I was gone. I think just in my character I would say things like “the music is great up here” and “I never thought I would look good in white!” Thanks for the question.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
go back to africa one last time. tell as many people as i could about Jesus. have a lot of sex.
I think I would keep doing what I am doing.
Nothing different.
Nothing more or less.
30 days left or 30 years left, to me it makes no difference.
It’s all life and I’m living it no matter how long I have left.
I think I’m just going to try my best to kick today’s ass. And if I see tomorrow, I’m going to kick tomorrow’s ass just the same.
cb
Honest—I’ve actually been feeling like there’s so much to do and so little time. God has changed my life and is moving so fast that I want to keep up! I know that I am finally at the point where I am allowing him to use me and I want to do it now! It is incredible and I want to tell and share with as many as I can and get to where he wants me to be—and of course get there with my kids and as many friends as possible!!! In 30 days so many lives can be changed in so many ways!!
See the Kansas City Royals win a game.
:)
I would do 30 days of acts of kindness.
I’ve always dreamt to do this.
Then I would eat every fat food known to man.
Ice cream for breakfast, pecan pie for lunch, and prime rib and the dressings for dinner. etc.
I would take my closest confidante to a secure location and share EVERYTHING of my life with no fear to her.
I would not fear
I would not cry
I would not worry
I would leave everything in HIS hands as I await my homecoming.
Anne,
Rich Mullins wrote a great song about death. People called him morbid too.
It is interesting how so many people (even Christians) are depressed by the thought of death. It is so easy to read a book like Philippians and say that we have counted everything as loss for the sake of Christ, but how many times do we long for the things of this world. We want to travel, or raise our kids, or spend time with our spouses, but if we knew we had 30 days to live, should we not be elated that we have the opportunity to go home! We have the easy road when we die, it’s the people that are left behind that are left with the struggle. As someone who has been left behind many times, I can tell you from experience that they will be OK. In fact, they may even be better in the long run…yes, there are times when God calls people to die to show HIS mercy and grace and love to someone else.
It’s hard to imagine that life moves on without us because we have seen life through our own eyes, and yet, the world continues to spin. While we think that we are missing out on the things we think we want most, we might be missing out on something even better…the call God has for our life.
Why wait to do what you know you should be doing until it’s too late. Live the life God is calling you to live NOW. Don’t wait until the end and you find yourself trying to explain to the Creator of this earth why you were so afraid to take a leap of faith. If you have a plan for the last 30 days of your life, you need to make that the plan for the next 30 days.
Blessings to you all!
:)
not think about WGs.
Stay here, and try to accomplish what we were sent here to do.
I would spend the next 30 days running around the city of chicago telling everyone to go to flowerdust.net and read each and every nugget and pearl of wisdom that flowed from these pages!!!!
(make the check payable to …)
Great question though…makes you think!
Write hot checks.
Actually, I would have a 30 day celebration–unless I was in pain then it might be hard to do. Hopefully, my celebration would include a surprise party for anyone who is without Christ as special invitees. Of course my fellow believers would be invited.
I walked through the valley of the shadow death before I met Him. I have walked through the valley of the shadow death in warfare after meeting Him. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death when they physically had to remove my heart and put me on a machine at the hospital.
The valley of the shadow death, now has no more shadow–It is now my valley of Light and Life. It is because He is my Light and my Life for He is the Light of the world.
Note: Anne, you might want to check out kindlytalk.com, it’s interesting.
Gotta just keep on keepin’ on. Keep pluggin’ away til the day I die, right?
I’d love to say I’d go on vacation, tell more people about Jesus, eat steak every night, etc…but the truth is, I’d just keep doing what I’ve been called to do (whatever that is??? – lol)
I dunno…maybe a lame response. Good ? though.
After completely freaking out!
I’d say a good long goodbye to my wife, kids, family, and friends… then I’d buy a one way ticket to the most volitile anti-Christian place on the globe and bring them the message of Jesus Christ. Like Laos, or Iran.
Oh, and all this will be documented in a video for reality television series called 30 Days To Die.
That’s it.
Cliff – I’m with you. Not much I’d do different. Hang out as much as possible w/ the wife and kids, which is what I try to do now anyway.
If I have time, I might have to find the guy who invented Lawn Darts (remember those?), and ask him what the heck he was thinking. Someone ought to.
I’m confused as to why so many people consider this question morbid. Human life is fragile. I’m reminded of that every time I’m sitting in the ER with a church member. Even our own sacred text tells us that life is a vapor–here one minute and gone the next.
For me, death and dying are not the subjects I concern myself with. Those are settled for me.
What’s more difficult is how I choose to live. The sobering reality is not that life is short but that I can only “spend” it once. I only have one shot. And if I blow it, there is no “do-over.”
The answer to the question in the post…I would love those to whom I have been given and those who have been given to me.
And the next question is, what do I need to change or re-arrange in my life so that I’m accomplishing that today?
I would love on my family
love on my community
then I would have the biggest bar-b-que party I could muster up in a short amount of time.
Stop blogging
Hire a cleaning lady
Hire a photographer and/or videographer to accompany me and my family so the kids won’t forget mom–the little ones will without a visual connection
Travel with my family and do fun things
Take a babysitter with us so Doug and I can have lots of dates
Write letters or record videos to the kids with instructions, values they need to pursue, permission to let go
Record an album of our “family songs”
I’d love to say I’d do more about spreading the gospel or what have you but I must admit that I’d rather invest in my family and leave a legacy for them (the living) to carry that out.
I’m back.
Granted, all you did was ask an open-ended question. These are good at allowing people to answer how he or she sees fit; but I will choose to elaborate upon your question, if I may.
I don’t like the idea of living as though life is short or as if “today is your last day”. I understand the motivation behind such questions. Well if I only had 30 days to live I would do all kinds of extraordinary things (extra-ordinary).. I would go above and beyond what I am doing now, blah, blah, blah.
So, the questions demands, why are we not living in such ways now?
It’s a valid question, I suppose, with good intentions and decent life lessons all packed in. But I still have a problem with questions like these.
I don’t want to live today as if it is my last day, let alone living as though this is my last month on earth. For some reason, when I think about things in this manner, it takes the life out of life for me.
I don’t necessarily think this life is all about the exciting “last minute” stuff. The in-ordinary, if you will.
I think life is about the mundane, day-today affairs. Heaven is the fun stuff and that is on its way, probably… what I think I have been asked to do until that day is live life. I don’t think I’m called to take the “gospel” to “the nations” or anything like that; rather, I think I am called to live. To persevere. To “hang in there”, so to say.
It is a peculiar thing to me that the Scriptures speak so highly and so often about suffering. The Scriptures go as far as to say our joy should be found in suffering.
Our joy is in suffering not our joy is in our joy.
I have just started thinking about this recently and don’t have my thoughts fully developed on it yet. But I think there is something to this whole “just live life” thing. There is something that tells me the profundity of life is not found in adventure but in perseverance. It isn’t in the extraordinary moments we see God and discover life, but in the ordinary moments; the day to day tasks to which we should be responsible.
I think the key to our very lives may be found not in some wild and crazy adventure, but, rather, in the daily grind of whatever presents itself between the hours of 9-5.
So, again, what would I do with 30 days left?
Keep on keepin’ on.
cb
I would leave for Paris today! I wouldn’t need 5 years of financial commitment for my ministry there, I could just jump right in!
Call my insurance guy and pay the first month’s premium on a 5 million dollar life insurance policy.
Call my banker and leverage my certain death into a 4 million dollar loan.
Buy my wife some flowers. (Love is in the small things…)
Pay off the mortgages of 5 of my closest friends. (and write them checks for the gift taxes that may or may not accompany this act)
Tell my boss, “Thanks but no thanks.”
Be bolder, be braver and stop wasting time cleaning the house.
I would like to be one of Alan Gable’s 5 closest friends.
I’d go sky diving
I’d go Rocky Mountain climbing
I’d go 2.7 seconds on a bull named FuManchu
and I’d love deeper and I’d speak sweeter
and I’d give forgiveness I’d been denying
Someday I hope I’ll take the chance to live like I am dying!
(ok – there has to be country music fans out there)
Great question. I’d like to say “nothing different” because that would mean Im living the exact life God wants me to. I’m not so sure thats the case though
Flake on my student loans
Cliff – great thoughts on the ordinary life. Here’s some of my thoughts on a previous thread called dreams:
“I guess God’s dream for my life is what I’m actually living now (I’m a sovereign God guy). Part of my problem is I have trouble seeing the grand calling in the simple and mundane. If I could than I would be living my ultimate dream.
If my dreams are about the huge thriving church I want to lead, or the incredible blockbuster movie I want to direct, or the fabulous vacation home I want to buy, or even a beautiful passionate perfect spouse… I suppose all of my dreams have been dismissed and for good reason. But if my dreams are whatever God brings me: being the best husband possible to my wife, being the best father possible to my boys, or being the best brother, or son, or cousin, or friend, or neighbor… the simple (and often taken for granted) roles could be the most amazing dream God has for our lives.
I’m thinking that my own struggles and let downs are
about my ego not being made much of – and less about God being made much of in my ordinary life.”
However, this question of having 30 days to live, is important because it brings our most vibrant human passions to the forefront. I think it’s important for us to ask and answer honestly.
I honestly would give my life in the worst possible mission field out there. Why? Because, why not. I’m sentenced to death in 30 days anyway. Why am I not doing that now? Because I have a God-given responsibility to be a husband and a father and a minister to where I’m at right now. 30 days is far different than 30 years. The risks and consequences of my life are drastically changed.
If I would answer this question like you, and say I would do nothing different if I had 30 days to live, then that is what I care about most – living my own life. If I answered by saying all the great trips and activities I would take, then that’s what I care about most – travel and leisure and excitiment. If I say I would risk my life in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ (although super cliche), that would be what I care about most.
Then you could ask, “What about your wife and kids and family and friends? Don’t you care about them most?”
And I would answer, “In 30 days I will be gone. 30 days is not 30 years. They would know I love them most because of the time and care I’ve already invested there, and for the sake of others they would lay down my life for the nations. The legacy I would leave my wife and kids and family and friends – is the passion to lay down one’s life for friends and enemies for the sake of Jesus Christ. We could do this in ordinary ways (wife and kids and family and friends), and in extraordinary ways (bringing the gospel to dangerous nations). To my family, 30 days doesn’t mean as much as 30 years. To those starving for the gospel, 30 days means eternity. So if I were to die in 30 days, I would say that good long goodbye to those I love, and send myself headlong into the most life-threatening mission field on earth. It is cliche, but for me it is the uttermost truth.”
End note: Because I am not dying in 30 days (to my knowledge) – I will continue serving God right where I’m at as a husband, father, friend, and minister. To go die on the mission field would be irresponsible and against God’s will at this point.
So whether I do this or that, there is great joy. Like you stated so beautifully, joy is found most amazingly in what we suffer.