Christian Focus

The average human being lives approximately 30,000 days - which sounded like a long stretch of time until I did the math and discovered that, as of today, I will have lived 20,005 of mine. Catherine L. Morgan envisions these Thirty Thousand Days as a journey home, traveling on a rattle trap train toward a sure and certain future of abundance.

In the meantime, however, there is waiting, and there is heartbreak, and no matter how well we try to manage our journey, there is always regret. This following life, then, is one in which we look boldly at Solomon's cynical Old Testament pronouncement that "all is vanity" and "a chasing after the wind" - all the while trusting in Jesus' promise of an abundant life.

Living Well

Offering her own wisdom alongside that of others, Catherine lays down a cobblestone path of words for this journey gleaned from her personal reading of a broad range of authors and thinkers. She speaks out of the context of experiences gained through inner-city ministry with her family in an impoverished section of the sprawling Denver metro-area. Far from Chicken Soup for the Soul, her conclusions are a bracing cup of strong tea - no sugar.

If we want to live well within the gift of our thirty-thousand days:

We will walk purposefully.
We will offer up our hearts to care passionately.
We will open our hands to give generously and unclench our grasp from around the things of Earth.
We will love deeply because it is commanded - not because it is easy.
We will stand firmly in a dangerous faith.
Bold Questions

Pursuing "the things over which Christ presides" is a chasing after light, a darkness fighting strategy if ever there was one. And this is the gift of viewing our days on this planet as a temporary prelude to a glorious eternity. Childlike, we will ask questions that promote a bold following:

Why not read Psalm 37 with a reckless abandon? What would it be like to wholeheartedly trust, dwell, do good, and delight? Can I even imagine a life without fretting?

What if my present circumstances are a canvas against which the glory of God will be radically put on display? What if this current set of troubles is "light and momentary" after all?

Am I able to view my marriage - or my singleness - as a mission? Can I hold my church membership in the same light as a gym membership in which I "expect to sweat, to strain, to run an extra mile?" Let this thought marinate to adjust your perceptions on community and the local church:

"I am an alien and stranger here in the thick of a great battle. If I am engaged in this battle, I will need the refuge of the church. Love will sustain me. If I do not perceive this need, maybe I am not really engaging the fight."
Leaning into the truth that I am mightily loved by God, that He delights in my delight, I am emboldened to discover where this great love might lead. Catherine points out a pattern in the book of Acts that I'm eager to see reproduced in my life and in the lives of those I love: "The disciples prayed, and then they were amazed. They prayed, and then they were amazed."

With thirty thousand days ticking by so quickly in this journey, I stand ready to be amazed.

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This book was provided by the author in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Michele Morin

This book is beautifully written, very encouraging, and thought provoking. Catherine Morgan inspires us to live our lives as Christians with purpose and consistency. She shares her own struggles, with transparency. This book is filled with wisdom and delightful little personal stories from the author's own life. A must read!

Cyndy Little, Greensboro, NC/ USA