I always feel the same way this time of the year just before school starts up again.  As summer nears the end I am painfully aware of how unraveled my life has become.  Any semblance of schedule and order in my life has gone completely out the window.  I sleep in because I can which sets me back time-wise, then I don’t get as much work done as I should. I skip exercising because we are busy doing fun things and I eat bad things when we do fun things. My house is messier because we’re on the go a lot and the list goes on.  We definitely have fun in the summer!  We go on vacation, hit the beach and the theme parks. But all of those good things can be distractions to every day life.  And pretty much every summer I end up off course!  

This can happen so easily in any area of life…home, school, work, ministry.

I know that just in the past three years since FTGI began we have experienced the need for some course correction as an organization.  At times we’ve gotten distracted and started down a road that has taken us off the main path.  It’s important to realize that not all distractions are bad in and of themselves.   Sometimes we are taken off course without realizing it because the distraction appears to be a “good” thing.  We have learned the hard way that good things can take your focus off the main thing. (And that’s not usually a good thing!) 

But remember – it’s NEVER too late to correct your course. I came across this definition of course correction as related to a spacecraft and I loved it!

Isn’t that great? The right attitude thruster will aim your “ship” in the right direction.  Don’t beat yourself up because you’ve gotten off course. Give yourself a little pep talk and let that attitude thrust you back in the right direction. Chuck Swindoll writes in his book Strengthening Your Grip, “Attitude is that ‘single string’ that keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.”

Once your attitude has got you aiming in the right direction it’s time to revisit what your “main thing” is.  This is certainly not a new concept and sounds too simple but it is so true.  We need to work hard to “keep the main thing the main thing.”  Protecting your main thruster, whatever that is, will push you along the right path and cause you to soar higher than you ever imagined!!  

And for those of you have gotten so off course that you feel like you don’t even know where you’re going – do not despair.  God has got it all mapped out.  He will direct your paths.  Remember that His word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. (Psalm 119:105) And if you stop long enough to listen God promises that: