The other day when I saw one of these little Mini Coupers parked near a mall area I was visiting, I could not help but remember my Grandfather.

No, he did not own a Mini Couper, but he did consider it. The only problem was Grandad was over 6ft tall and rather broad boned. He got into a brand new Mini to test drive it and got stuck!

Of course we all laughed when we found out about it.

And of course, every time I see a Mini (which is not all that often here in Texas) it brings back a happy memory to my mind.

Yes, that is how our brain works.

The recall button
An image, a smell, a tune, a person who looks or acts strangely similar to someone in our past and complete past scene comes up quicker than any computer can respond to a keyword search!

Now of course when the past memory that comes into the present is a good one, all is well. It may even make your day. You begin to smile, laugh again or simply enjoy the image and even the movie that replays in your mind.

This is all good, with one exception:

Don’t ever compare that memory with your present experience and end up in a spiral of wishing to be back in those “good old days”.

If you allow that to happen, then the positive memory will become negative and can actually hinder your present.

However a good past memory CAN serve as a shake up if you are not where you should be today, and consequently “yesterday was better”. Perhaps you are not even where you were in your stage of growth in life, “back then”. (You should not be there, but much further ahead).

If you discover one of these two possibilities to be true, then the first thing to do is wake up!

• Do not condemn yourself! Spending time in condemning yourself would only waste more time. As you know, life is short and time wasted can never be recovered.

• Do take this wake up call seriously and act on it! Make a change in the direction of your life, NOW.

How can you make that change?

• The first step of course is to recognize that you need to change.

  Now remember, if you have made some mistakes God is with you, and NOT to condemn you. Remember the parable of the prodigal son? (You can find it in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32) Did the father condemn his son when he returned to his sense? Not at all, he was waiting for him with open arms. That well describes your Heavenly Father!

• The second step is to DECIDE you want to and WILL change.
• Make a plan of action. What steps do you need to take to get to be where you know you should be?
• Act on your plan!

The recipe for real changes is: Think, plan and ACT!

This little exercise will help you make sure you are still on course.

A trip away will always give you the opportunity to gain a new perspective on your daily routines. There is nothing like getting away from your familiar surroundings for a while to help you to think clearly.

I recently had this opportunity and it was certainly good to be able to have some time to think clearly and re-evaluate many areas of my life.

Here are some questions I was considering. I am sharing these with you because I think that it is good for all of us to ask ourselves these questions from time to time. This will ensure that we stay on course.

Is what I am doing right now leading me in the direction I really want to go.
In other words, am I really fulfilling my destiny? You might be thinking: But I am not sure what my destiny is. How can I find that?

Your destiny is within you. When you are moving in the direction of that inner compass there is a satisfaction, a “knowing” that you are doing what you were born to do.

One good test is: Are you passionate about what you are doing?

Am I using my time in the most productive way?
We are creative beings, and being productive is a part of productivity.The more productive we are, the better we feel about ourselves and the world around us.

I had to admit that not every day was as productive as I would like it to be.

So I started looking for areas where I was perhaps getting bogged down with unnecessary details. (Yes I found some of those There were some things I would be eliminating from my schedule when I returned home.

How are the negative influences around me affecting me?
Now this a question that perhaps we need to ask ourselves regularly. Of course the ideal situation is to get rid of all negative influences around us. But that is not always possible.

For example: you may work with some negative folk, or need to deal with such people in business.

However if you and I are not careful some of these influences can “rub off” onto us. Have you ever noticed that? You may be mostly a very positive and cheerful person. Yet suddenly you find yourself speaking negative words, grumping a little and every getting upset over things that would not normally bother you.

What happened? Of course you might be facing some unusually difficult challenges in your life. But if that is not the case, perhaps some negativity has managed to rub off on you?

I wrote an article about this over on my blog Mindset for Living. (Decide How Daily Experiences Will Affect Your Mind)

There is more coming on topics around this subject too over on Mindset For Living

Do I have enough positive influences around me?
Now this is something we can control. Perhaps it is time to start extending your circle of friends and associates. Start reaching out to some highly motivated folk. If you cannot find them in your immediate sphere, try Twitter. There are masses of great folk there who will certainly inspire and motivate you.

Is my mind as active as it should be?
When life gets tough or even dull (it shouldn’t though) – we can tend to “switch off”

You might want to take a look at my articles about Coping or Conquering. It takes an active mind to conquer, while it is rather easy to drift along in a passive state when you are simply coping.

It is a good idea to write down some of your discoveries in your journal. And if you find some things in your life that need changing, don’t forget to take action!

P.S. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kiwichamp

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.
18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land-against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

When God calls you, He has already made all the preparations necessary for you to succeed. Failing is never an option when you obey God’s call for your life.

Do you feel worthy of God’s call?
If you don’t feel worthy of God’s call on your life, you are not alone. Jeremiah was not exactly the ideal candidate to become a prophet to the nations. He did not seem to be a great candidate for success either.

Let’s face it, if you were to interviewing candidates for the position of a prophet to the nations, would you choose someone who by his own admission could not speak? (See Jeremiah 1:6 “… I do not know to speak for I am only a child”) I am sure you wouldn’t choose someone as unsure of themselves as Jeremiah was.

In fact, I am sure you would see him as weak, perhaps even unstable and certainly not ready for the position that was open in your organization. No, according to man’s criteria, Jeremiah was not the ideal choice.

But God saw beyond the outward appearances (of course). He saw beyond the fears and doubts that Jeremiah was expressing and choose the man He knew he could trust.

If you sense God calling you to be and do something you think is too hard for you, remember this:

• God knows you better than you know yourself.
• If God called you, then you KNOW you can be ALL He is calling you to be and you KNOW you can do all He is calling you to do.

God equipped Jeremiah:
God gave Jeremiah:

• The words to speak,
• Careful instructions as to what he should do and how he should react,
• A guarantee of success.

Special instructions:
God gave Jeremiah specific instructions:

• Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.
• Do not be terrified by them or I will terrify you before them. This is a very sobering command accompanied by a consequence of disobedience. Do not be afraid of them.

Fear and Faith
Fear is actually misguided faith. Fear believes the worst can happen. Fear is faith in evil. Losers walk in fear.

When you walk in faith you believe for the best outcome. You know that God is good and so only good (or what is good for you) can happen. God is looking for men and women of faith, to obey Him and follow Him. Winners walk in faith.

If your faith is focused on evil, then evil can happen. If your faith is solidly placed in the good things that can happen to you, God will see to it that you are protected from evil, and only that which can do you good will happen in your life.

Evil may fight against you, but it will not prevail. This is the promise that God gave to Jeremiah, and is the same promise He has for YOU.

All He asks is that you trust and obey!

This is No #4 of the Series “Why Did God Call Jeremiah?”