Moment Maker: You Can Live Your Life or It Will Live You

Moment Maker: You Can Live Your Life or It Will Live You

Life is made of moments. What are you doing to make the most of them? In Moment Maker , Carlos Whittaker shows you how to make each moment count, so those moments add up to a life rich with meaning, deeply satisfying, and full of purpose. Every day we have an opportunity to make our lives meaningful, to make them matter. Yet, for so many of us, we let too much of life happen without taking notice. For author, speaker, and podcaster Carlos Whittaker, living deliberately has become a way of life. Making moments that are significant, memorable, or impactful are a part of how he navigates each day, and it has forever changed the landscape of his story. In Moment Maker , Carlos shares powerful stories and examples from ordinary life, as well as insights from Scripture, that have formed his practical and meaningful game plan for living on purpose and with purpose. In these pages, he will guide you to: Increase awareness of your surroundings, the people you encounter, and the needs of others - Recognize opportunities that present themselves and be encouraged to seize them - Discover how to create, receive, and rescue key moments in everyday life - Unlock the satisfaction of living to the full depth of your life's potential The beauty of having a moment-making life is that it does not require a big investment of time, energy, or money. It simply requires a commitment to pay attention. All around you there are opportunities to meet a need, shift your focus, and begin healing. It is time to become a Moment Maker. XX Carlos Whittaker is an author, speaker and worship leader.  He has been on the leadership team for Catalyst as well as leading worship at many of their events. He regularly speaks at the largest churches all over the country. He and his wife Heather and their children live in Nashville, TN.  Carlos blogs at: carloswhittaker.com Moment Maker you can live your life or it will live you By Carlos Whittaker ZONDERVAN Copyright © 2013 Carlos Whittaker All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-33797-3 Contents Introduction: The Moment That Made Me, 9, Part One: CREATED MOMENTS, 15, 1. Creating Value, 23, 2. Creating Hope, 29, 3. Creating Joy, 37, 4. Creating Perspective, 47, 5. Creating Thankfulness, 55, Part Two: RECEIVED MOMENTS, 65, 6. Receiving Focus, 73, 7. Receiving Insight, 81, 8. Receiving Faith, 87, 9. Receiving Life, 93, 10. Receiving Truth, 99, Part Three: RESCUED MOMENTS, 107, 11. Rescuing Weakness, 115, 12. Rescuing Silence, 125, 13. Rescuing Feelings, 133, 14. Rescuing Opportunities, 141, 15. Rescuing Patience, 151, Conclusion: The Moment that Made Me a Moment Maker, 159, Afterword: The Moment-Making Method, 167, CHAPTER 1 CREATING VALUE It was my eighth birthday. For my party I wanted a Scooby-Doo theme. I remember the conversation with my mom. "Carlitos. What kind of birthday party do you want?" "I want a Scooby-Doo party." "Okay. What does that mean?" "I want Scooby-Doo all over my party." And I got it. In the gymnasium at Briarlake Baptist Church my dreams came true. Now, little did Carmen know that what her son really meant was that he wanted Daphne Anne Blake — you know, the redhead in the gang — at his party ... not Scooby-Doo. Actually, I'm not sure I really understood that. At least, not until Chandra Bishop came walking up those stairs dressed up as Daphne Anne Blake. Mama mia! The party went from being a Scooby-Doo party with all of my eight-year-old friends to a roller-skating date with me and Daphne Anne Blake ... I mean, Chandra Bishop. The day before the party, my mom took me to Kmart, and we hit the birthday aisle. It was filled with paper plates, cups, streamers, tablecloths, knives, forks, hats, and anything else a parent would need to throw their kid the perfect themed party. And right there, between the Captain Caveman plates and the Punky Brewster cups, was about twenty-five dollars worth of Scooby-Doo goodness. She bought it all. Even the candles were somehow Scooby-Doo. And just like that—we were ready for a Scooby-Doo party. It was great. Exactly what I wanted. Everybody went home with Scooby-Doo goodie bags filled with Scooby-Doo PEZ dispensers and other junk that would probably end up in the trash. I got to skate around the gym of Briarlake Baptist Church with Chandra Bishop. It almost felt like a real date. The next year we tried Walmart for another set of plates, cups, and napkins, I'm sure. I don't remember what the theme of year nine was though—either because Chandra Bishop wasn't there or because it reminded me a lot of the year before ... and the year after. You see, when we get used to things, we begin to get callous toward them. It is especially true in this age of Pinterest and YouTube. In fact, a new trend is popping up. It's the "I'm gonna outdo your birthday party" movement. Maybe this existed in the '80s and I was oblivious to it, but I can't remember all the moms trying to outdo each other in the birthday-pa